British Values: What is the Health and Safety at Work Act?
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) is an important piece of legislation for workplaces that has existed in the UK for over 40 years.
It ensures that ALL employers are provided with a safe working environment and that they look out for the physical and mental health of their employees—wherever and whatever size of their place of work. The HASAWA relates to all permanent, part-time, freelancers and temporary workers in the workplace. It also covers visiting members of the public to the space(s).
It is important to make sure to read and understand YOUR company's health and safety policies and understand how to keep yourself and others safe in your job role.
Most of these policies will cover these 6 key areas :
Provide a safe place of work
Provide safe equipment
Ensure staff are properly trained
Carry out risk assessments
Provide proper facilities
Appoint a competent person to oversee health and safety
🏢 Providing a safe place of work covers the physical workplace ensuring that premises are up to standard for all staff members and members of the public visiting. This includes things like fire safety, cleanliness, and the handling of harmful substances like cleaning products. Some workplaces will have more factors to consider than an office building.
💻 Providing safe equipment that’s used at work, including computers and electronic devices, must be maintained to ensure it’s safe to use. This would usually involve periodic safety checks by an appointed person and a set process to report any faults so they can be repaired. You may also need a desk assessment to make sure you do not gain injuries from working.
👩🏫 Training staff is very important in order to create a safe workplace. This includes both onsite training (to ensure all staff have been trained to use their equipment properly) and general health and safety training, such as manual handling and fire safety.
⚠️ Risk assessments are an important part of HASAWA. It allows employers to put in place appropriate preventative actions for each risk identified. Employers must protect ‘as far as is reasonably practical’ the health and safety of their employees. If something is identified as a very low-risk factor, and would incur significant costs to mitigate, it might not need to be actioned by your employer.
But it is not just about the office, employers still have a responsibility towards the health and safety of their employees who are working from home. They may need to consider the differing risk factors involved in remote working, such as off-site display screen equipment, maintaining communication and managing stress.
🚰 Providing proper facilities at work covers the basics like toilets, clean drinking water, heating and air conditioning. Employees also have their part to play in keeping these areas clean and tidy and in taking responsibility for their own health and safety.
💁 Appointing a competent person to oversee health and safety at a workplace is vital for the business. This person would be responsible for ensuring that all health and safety duties are being carried out and adhered to by employees. This might include routine safety inspections and managing day-to-day operations throughout the business.
You can find out more about more details and what the UK government says about HASAWA here:
