Safety Hazards in the Workplace

A hazard definition in safety at work is any source of potential harm that may injure an employee or worker. This isn’t limited to physical objects such as machinery, but can also include biohazards or psychological stressors. To protect your staff and business reputation, it’s mandatory to take steps to control workplace risks.

According to the HSE’s most recent injury and ill health statistics, of the 581,000 estimated self-reported injuries in 2018/19, 29% were as a result of slips, trips or falls and 20% were caused by handling, lifting or carrying. Employers often see these types of accidents as low risk; however, given their prevalence, they can incur significant costs related to absence, fines and reputational damage. Slips and trips can also be an associated factor in more serious and even fatal injuries, while falls from height continue to be the number one cause of fatal injury at work. It is therefore essential that slip, trip and fall hazards are considered as part of your risk assessment.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, or PUWER, require employer to ensure that any equipment provided for use at work is suitable for the intended use, safe to use and maintained in a safe condition. All work equipment must be inspected to ensure it is correctly installed and doesn’t subsequently deteriorate and must only be used by people who have received adequate information, instruction and training. Employers can sometimes fail to recognise that even ‘harmless’ looking machinery such as a pallet truck would be covered under the PUWER Regulations and that risk assessment, servicing and training are required for use.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 place duties on employers with regards to electricity use within the workplace. They require employers to ensure electrical systems are safely installed and maintained as necessary to prevent them becoming dangerous, and to carry out work on electrical systems in ways that prevent danger.

Legislation also requires employers to decide on the frequency of testing and inspection of electrical equipment based on the findings of a risk assessment. It’s good practice to write down how often each piece of equipment is to be checked – make sure the checks are carried out and keep a record of the results.

Our health and safety software, MyH&S, can help with bespoke monitoring lists which can be edited or created by you. These can help with basic office inspections to check for slip and trip hazards and can also be used for inspecting and monitoring work equipment. The system, once set up, will prompt you when monitoring checks are required to ensure they are not overlooked

The law requires that access to dangerous parts should be prevented, or the movement of dangerous parts stopped before a person enters the danger zone.

The average level of fine has increased 381% since sentencing guidelines were introduced in 2016, from £27,000 to £130,000 per conviction. In addition to the trauma caused to the individual, a serious safety incident could have a significant impact on an organisation’s bottom line. With this in mind, the cost of expert Health & Safety support is likely to be far less than the cost of non-compliance.

Yes. As part of our fixed-fee Health & Safety service, we will conduct a General Risk Assessment (health and safety audit) of your premises, practices and procedures to identify and remedy any areas where you’re exposed. We can also help you to formulate assessments for specific risk areas such as DSE, manual handling, COSHH and fire safety.

Yes. If you suffer a workplace accident, our Accident and Investigation Support will help you to gather information, determine root causes and implement solutions, with the aim of protecting your interests and proactively preventing further harm.