It is not for nothing that organizations stress on good working conditions, healthy workplace environments and safe working practices. There are strict laws about this in many countries and over and above that organizations adopt it as a matter of core values. However, apart from complying with law, and staying legal there is more to workplace health and safety than meets the eye.

Just as good and healthy practices are the essentials for maintaining a long and healthy life, so are they essential for maintaining a long and healthy life for your business. The first and foremost purpose of having health and safety practices in the workplace is to create an environment in which you, your employees or workers and any visitors feel safe and able to perform their tasks without any hesitation.

When you achieve this, health and safety practices bring in many more benefits. It is understood that when there is a safe environment at work, your employees will want to come to work. Any business knows that employee attrition, absenteeism can be major obstacles. When you create a healthy and safe workplace, you automatically reduce and make difficult the existence of factors that will keep workers away. The other benefit you will see is that your workers will be healthier, there will be lesser accidents and injuries and thus more productivity and better output. It’s like a chain reaction.

Employees notice when the organization takes extra measure to protect their interests. If you notice, most of the discords between management and workforce exists because workers feel that management doesn’t care. This is especially so in factories. When workers see that processes and policies are made with their safety in mind, there will be no reason for disagreements. You can only imagine how much time, money and resources this will save.

Too many employers feel that investing in extra measures at workplace is money spent where there is no need. The truth however is that workplace health and safety, when practiced diligently brings innumerable benefits that in the end add up to the bottom line in terms of higher productivity, lesser time lost in solving disputes, employees that bring more to the table. Also, what most employers overlook is that it adds great credibility to your organization and reputation. In the instance of an accident, and a compensation claim, your workplace safety and health practices will be of great aid in getting you support.

As I attend more and more Risk Management, OH&S and Manual Handling training for work, I’ve noticed that as boring as these courses often are, I am bringing my newly-aware eyes home and looking with dissatisfaction around my house. I went through all the usual kid-safe safaris way back when my children were crawling and toddling from one room to another. Not a furniture corner remained unpadded or a glass object d’art put out of harms way. Yet, freshly trained for the office, I see that I have let things slide since the darling trio reached the independence years of the charming pre-pubescent.

Risk Management trains the eye to assess the inherent risk of building and event sites. Unconfined refuse, unsafe scaffolding, construction left-overs, etc. Every aspect is inspected for safety and potential to injure. The trained eye also casts a knowing gaze over backyard party preparations. Damaged fence posts from soccer balls kicked too hard; wire poking free from the corner where once passionfruit vines had trailed; tree roots and rocks protruding from an unkempt lawn, hidden bone-size holes in same. A long time ago, in the time period generally known as “before kids walking “, our backyard looked quite good with everything in its proper place. Then the kids, followed by an active, partly insane dog, took over and there went paradise. I dragged my husband into the wilds with lectures on risk control, damaged arms and legs not belong to this family, and hazardous waste pooling behind the garage. He assured me the waste was in no way toxic and we made ourselves busy fixing and barricading the rest of the yard. It took a whole weekend.

Manual handling. Ah, now there’s a torturous lesson in how to keep the eyes open, let alone alert! However… it also showed me that I really shouldn’t attempt to carry too many grocery bags in one trip just to get the job done quicker. It also further demonstrated the need to insistently share more of the heavy and arduous chores around the home such as vacuuming and bedmaking. At one stage I had been determined that my children would grow up knowing how to make their own beds and look after their personal environments [read, their bedrooms]. Somewhere along the way it became much easier and less stressful to do it myself. So, I am back to insisting they shoulder their share of the burdens in order to receive their share of the subsequent blessings – me in a good mood and with energy! I also, with stern visage, folded arms and tapping foot, insist that husband clean up after himself and learn to put his own clothes away.

Occupational Health and Safety. This is the biggy! I scan the house at all times, often without realising it, and point out the dangers in leaving the hairdryer plugged into the wall with the cord draped over the fruit bowl [don't ask!]. Warn of the potential fire hazard of not unplugging the laptop from the charger and leaving it nestled among the blankets on the lounge. Gently remind of the dangers of leaving toys, clothing and schoolbags scattered across floors and/or blocking doorways. Trip hazard, children, and probably mine! Being electrocuted, set on fire, tripping over and breaking a leg does not make for a happy and energised mother. And dad won’t be too happy about it either.

I thought it wasn’t really getting through to the children until the other day. I overheard number three darling telling number two that leaving her cd player in the middle of the room with the cord stretched across the walkway was completely unsafe, and “I could have tripped over and broken a leg, you know!” I sighed in bliss. They do listen after all.

So, while the warnings and reminders continue unabated, my husband [equally as trained in OH&S] and I back them up with ensuring our home remains reasonably safe for us all to live in. Those areas deemed irretrievable [at least until the children grow up and move into their own OH&S problems] have been fortified to prevent access. Those areas we can fix, we do. Last weekend we discovered that underneath the growing pile of unused bicycles, roller blades, skateboards and assorted sorry-looking balls, was a boat! We’ve cleaned out the spiderwebs, tested the engines, and this weekend, we’re going to see if the old thing still floats. Don’t worry. With our minds still firmly on the safety and well being of our darling children, we’ve drawn up lists of things that need cleaning, sorting and putting away and have put them, and the young ones, in the experienced hands of their grandparents. Happy Boating!

In the UK it is the Health & Safety Executive HSE who act to ensure that all of our workplaces are as safe as possible. In the 35 years since it was established the HSE has overseen a dramatic fall in death and injury rates in the workplace. In 1974 when the executive started, 651 died as a result of workplace incidents, a number that fell a huge 70%, according to HSE statistics, to a figure of 180 in 2008.

With Britain now returning the lowest average number of fatalities at 1.3 per 100,000 compared to an average of 2.5 for the rest of Europe, the contribution of the HSE to the UK workplace is clearly reaping rewards. Unfortunately, and despite the best efforts of the HSE, preventable deaths and injuries still occur in the workplace.

With authority comes responsibility and it is the role of employers to protect their staff and any other people who come into contact with their company such as customers, visitors or members of the public. Employers have a duty to protect workers and the public from dangers caused by their work – and the HSE is committed to making sure they do that.

How far do these responsibilities extend and what can you do if you feel that you haven’t been protected adequately?

Employers are obliged to do a number of things. Initially an employer must assess the risks of the workplace and ensure that any risks are eliminated or at least controlled. A risk management programme needs to be conducted. According to the HSE this covers five main areas.

Plant and machinery must be operationally safe and safe working systems set and adhered to. Any dangerous substances must be moves, stored and used safely. Adequate welfare facilities must be provided. Health and safety instruction, training, supervision and information must be given. Workers must be consulted in matters related to health and safety. Of course as employees we too all have responsibilities. Health and safety isn’t entirely someone else’s responsibility. Safety at work is a two way street and it’s very important that we all co-operate with safety measures, with instruction and follow the rules as well as using our common sense to stay out of danger.

What if you’ve fulfilled your side of that relationship but feel your employer hasn’t? What if you have had an accident at work and feel they haven’t taken enough care over your health and your welfare? That the systems weren’t in place to protect you? Maybe you’ve had to take time off work as a result or your future earning potential has suffered?

You may be entitled to compensation.

Take the advice of a specialist work accident solicitor. Most will give you a free consultation to determine the likelihood of a claim’s success. If your position appears strong the chances are that the solicitor will take on your case on a no win no fee basis. You’ve got nothing to lose.