Whatever type of business - whatever the premises : if you employ more than 5 you have statutory duties under the Health & Safety legislation.

This guide is intended as an introduction to responsibilities of employers under Health & Safety, and related legislation. It is unfortunately true that a large number of employers do not know the law or their responsibilities. The worst that can happen is that someone may be injured or killed. Other consequences can be an unlimited fine, a prison sentence, immediate closure of the business or failure of the business because of a successful case against the company.

Taking reasonable safety precautions is of course something that applies in your personal and business life and even if you are the only employee. When you employ 5 or more the law requires evidence in writing that you have considered various Health & Safety issues in detail. The following applies to companies employing 5 or more:

The policy statement will list management’s responsibilities and also delegated officers for such duties as first aid, fire officers and similar.

The law requires an official Health & Safety poster to be displayed with the two boxes completed. You must keep an accident book which uses the statutory forms BI 510. Also you must keep a separate record Reporting Injuries, Deceases and Dangerous Occurrences (Known as RIDDOR). These events are to be recorded on forms F2508 and F2058A.

The law requires that you carry out risk assessments and hazard assessments for ALL operations your business carries out. These must be evidenced in writing and every practical step to remove hazards and eliminate or reduce risks MUST be carried out.

The legislation requires the environment to be safe. At its most basic this means premises that are clean, ventilated & well maintained with any hazards clearly indicated. Any especially hazardous areas probably require to have access restricted to suitably trained and qualified personnel. A ‘Safe system of work’ document should document procedures in the case of accidents or emergencies.

It is a requirement that all staff are informed of the company’s safety policies & procedures. It is also a requirement that staff be trained in all aspects of their job to ensure safety and to avoid stress caused by not knowing how to handle the equipment or procedures correctly.

Employees do have responsibilities of ‘due care’ both for their own and colleagues safety. BUT if management know that safety rules are being ignored and fail to act in order to remedy this situation then management WILL still be prosecuted.

Regular users of computers, defined as those using a computer for more than 2 hours per day need special attention. Key requirements are to teach correct posture and provide suitable furniture to enable this. Secondly to provide frequent breaks for users. Thirdly to provide training on BOTH hardware and software in order to reduce stress. (You may have heard of the case where an employer was forced to pay £25,000 for not teaching an employee how to use a computer mouse. This is a true, if extreme example – the employer was Shell.

Many substances used for simple operations in businesses may in some way be hazardous to health. All substances need to be assessed and where appropriate the substances may need to be kept in a locked, restricted area, may need employee training before they use them, may need protective clothing to be used. Problem substances can be natural substances and may be raw materials. It should not be thought this only applies to chemicals.

The purpose of this leaflet is to give a brief ‘lay man’ approach to a complex subject. It makes no claim to be complete. There are other rules and regulations not covered here. If anything you have read raises concerns then seek professional advice. Often problems, even current complete non-compliance can be corrected quickly and at modest cost.