It you are an employer then you need to understand your legal duties, this can be done through undertaking a NEBOSH course.
Employers are responsible for health and safety management when employees and customers are within their care. Whilst employees also have some responsibilities, employers have to make sure they understand their duties in order to maintain a safe working environment. An employers main duty is to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees and other stakeholders who might be affected by their business activities. Within the law, employers are required to do whatever is reasonably practical to achieve this.
Employers have to make sure their workers and others are protected from any activities which may cause them harm. This may be working from height, working with particular materials or simply every day working. By protecting them from anything which may cause harm, employers are effectively controlling any injury or health risks which could occur within the workplace.
One duty of employers in the workplace is to assess any risks which may occur. The assessments should address all potential risks which may cause harm. If an employer hasn't carried out a risk assessment before, then they may find it difficult to assess all risks. This is where the NEBOSH course can help.
The NEBOSH course helps delegates to identify risks within the workplace and shows them how they can record findings. All risk assessments must be made available to employees and employees must be trained in how to deal with the risks, should they occur.
Employers are also required to consult employees on potential health and safety issues. This can either be directly, through a safety representative or through a trade union. By failing to consult employees about health and safety issues, the employer could be breaking the law.
One of the key factors in running a safe workplace is effective communication. Even if the employer knows everything they need to about an area, they need to be able to communicate this to employees effectively. The NEBOSH course also teaches delegates how to communicate an effective health and safety culture within their organisation.
Should workers think their employer is exposing them to risks, or not carry out legal duties with regards to health and safety, they can make a complaint which means the employer risks being liable. By taking a
NEBOSH course, employers can ensure they have done all they can to work with
health and safety.