Employers Responsibilities

The Employer Is Responsible For The Safety & Security of All Staff Members At All Times Whilst At Work

The Health & Safety Executive is the U.K. Government Appointed independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness. The HSE are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain's workplaces. The HSE is funded by the UK Government through the Department of Work & Pensions and is charged with the responsibility to ensure that employees are provided with a safe and secure working environment, and has the power to prosecute companies and employers who do not meet this legal requirement.

Employers Responsibility

Under the law employers are responsible for health and safety management. The following provides a broad outline of how the law applies to employers. Don't forget, employees and the self employed have important responsibilities too.

It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.

This means making sure that workers and others are protected from anything that may cause harm, effectively controlling any risks to injury or health that could arise in the workplace.

Employers have duties under health and safety law to assess risks in the workplace. Risk assessments should be carried out that address ALL risks that might cause harm in the workplace.

Employers must give you information about the risks in your workplace and how you are protected, also instruct and train you on how to deal with the risks.

Employers must consult employees on health and safety issues. Consultation must be either direct or through a safety representative that is either elected by the workforce or appointed by a trade union.

For more details on how health and safety law is meant to work, HSE has produced a booklet: Health and safety regulation: A short guide.

Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations (HSIER) to display the approved poster in a prominent position in each workplace or to provide each worker with a copy of the approved leaflet Health and Safety Law: What you need to know that outlines British health and safety law.

If workers think their employer is exposing them to risks or is not carrying out their legal duties regards to health and safety, and if this has been pointed this out to them but no satisfactory response has been received, workers can make a complaint to HSE.

Resources From The Health & Safety Executive

The HSE have a huge resource section covering Personal Safety Training and Violence At Work.

For more information, or to book a Personal Safety Training Seminar, please contact us on 01279 419427, or email from our contact page.