Online Punch

In Scotland, a new initiative has been taken by Hugh Henry, a member of the Scottish Parliament, to provide better protection to the shop workers and other such workers providing some service to the public. Henry is hopeful that the draft of a new bill named The Workers (Aggravated Offences) Bill will be ready by May 2010.

The main provision of the bill will be to recognise abuse and assault on workers as aggravated crime and the assaulters to be penalised heavily. There is already an Emergency Workers Act of 2005 which imposes tough penalties on the public for assault on frontline workers who provide emergency services. The present bill is aiming at having the same penalties in case of abuse of shop workers too.

Henry said that assault on shopworkers is quite common and although some regulations are there, tougher penalties are needed to protect them. The shopworkers deal with the public daily and since there is face-to face interaction, the risk of abusive behaviour and assault is greater. The law should thus be there to act as a deterrent.

Various unions have already extended their support to this bill. The general secretary of USDAW adds that one in ten workers is assaulted by the public and the present law is not providing enough protection. USDAW has already started a campaign to have such a law in England and Wales as well.

Protecting the health and safety of employees is an essential part of risk management. The health and safety consultants from Workplace Law can assist managers and supervisors in all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams, and to help their organisation find the best ways to lead and promote health and safety, and therefore meet its legal obligations.

It’s a popular misconception in more than a few companies that, so long as each and every employee has sufficient health and safety instruction, they are suitably prepared for any situation. The truth is that, irrespective of the industry you’re in, a basic education in health and safety regulations and risk asessment simply is not enough. You must provide your employees with sufficient supervision, not to mention equip them properly and give them the chance to practice. Every team needs an approachable supervisor to observe the work area, but this person must also take an even larger function on the floor. A supervisor is required to understand that health and safety education is crucial and be able to get everybody excited about it.

In addition to following health and safety legislation, the function of a supervisor includes checking up on employee performance levels too. This is not a simple undertaking. The supervisor must possess extensive knowledge of both the business and production as well as an in-depth knowledge of up-to-date regulations regarding safety, risk assessment and CPR.

Providing basic training in health and safety really is not sufficient for your workers. They must acquire practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of problem areas. They also require insights into the necessary precautions that they are required to take not to mention understanding what to do if disaster strikes. Employees are only totally protected when everything has become second nature.

Instruction is in fact useless without safety apparatus. If staff find they don’t have gear that is essential, or even discover that supplies are broken when they actually need them, then all the education available will not help them.

Maintaining your equipment on a regular basis is a necessity. When your apparatus does not meet the applicable standards, have it mended or call out a maintenance engineer as soon as you can.

Your staff have to have appropriate health & safety education, but in addition they also must have quality gear, scheduled practise excercises, and a supervisor with infectious enthusiasm. Only then will complying with all the safety regulations soon become a normal part of life in the workplace and no longer something troublesome everyone has to attempt to remember.

A report by the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council (RRAC), an independent advisory group formed by the Prime Minister, suggests that small businesses often lack clarity on health and safety issues.

According to the report, this can be attributed to three main causes. One is that such organisations are not confident in understanding and managing the risks they face. Another cause is that small organisations receive a number of diverse messages from different organisations such as legal and commercial partners, insurers, media and even the government, which leads to confusion. Also, there are those who exaggerate the small businesses’ perception of risk. Such ‘risk-mongers’ overstate the risk that small organisations face and get more business by advising them on the same.

Apart from looking into the causes, the report also proposes certain measures to improve the situation. One of the recommendations is that the Law Society, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and other bodies representing the legal profession should consider actions to prevent the abuse of regulation in this area by the no-win, no-fee lawyers. If this is not viable, the report suggests the Ministry of Justice to enact a law in this respect.

It also proposes that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) to assess if advice provided by the insurers to small businesses is adding to the uncertainty about health and safety measures.

Sarah Veale, a member of the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council said the government, insurers, media, lawyers and consultants, all provide varied messages about health and safety to the small businesses, which creates confusion and uncertainty. She said this results in these organizations either risking their employees and the public or wasting money on protection against exaggerated risks.

Workplace Law is a major provider of accredited health and safety training, with well established study programmes for IOSH and NEBOSH courses; they provide hundreds of organisations throughout the country with consultancy and support to meet the specific needs within their own workplace - click on NEBOSH Study for training to assist in the development and implementation of safety systems within your own workplace environment.

It’s thought in a significant amount of businesses that, since all of their employees have the required level of health & safety education, they have everything they need to cope with an emergency. In reality however, staff should have more than simply basic training in safety regulations and risk assessment. Equipping staff, hiring a skilled supervisior and promoting regular safety exercises are all important factors. Every team must have a great supervisor to oversee employee performance, but this person must also take a still larger function on the floor. Whomever you choose as the supervisor needs to see their health & safety training as crucial and be able to get other people feeling enthusiastic.

As well as insuring conformity with health & safety legislation, the role of a supervisor includes checking up on employee performance as well. This isn’t a simple undertaking. A good standard business knowledge is a requirement for a supervisory job in addition to a very high level of knowledge of safety laws, the identification of problem areas, and CPR. It simply is not enough to supply your staff with health & safety training. Your staff have to gain practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of hazards. Staff need to understand how to eliminate problems and also how to cope if disaster strikes. Only when these procedures become a habit are workers properly protected. Education is in reality useless if you don’t purchase the required safety equipment. When they do not have the correct apparatus or should employees discover that items are broken in an emergency situation, then all the education available is not going to help them. You must check every item often to verify that you have all the required apparatus and that all the supplies are being properly looked after. When you have a fault with your safety apparatus, be certain to have it rectified ASAP and returned to the appropriate location. Your workers must have good health & safety training, however they must have the right equipment, the chance to practise, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. And then adopting health & safety legislation will before long be a normal component of life in the workplace rather than an inconvenience everyone has to try to remember.