Teen workers can be assets to your workforce, but they are more vulnerable and you must ensure their health and safety at work. One way to look after teens’ and other workers’ health and safety at work is to provide training to ensure that each employee recognises hazards and is competent in safe work practices. Stress safety, particularly among first-line supervisors, since they have the greatest opportunity to influence teens and their work habits.
The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The obligations employees have to themselves and each other as well as the general responsibilities that companies have toward workers and members of the public are all set out in the Act. To put it bluntly, health and safety is about preventing injury to people. There are lots of different ways in which someone can be harmed in the workplace, from accidents with people working at height to work-related illness or stress.
Companies have been dealing with Health and Safety for a number of years now because of the variety of regulations that exist. The main piece of legislation that covers health and safety is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The Health and Safety at Work Act seeks to:
- Secure the health, safety and welfare of persons at work
- Protect other persons such as customers, service providers, etc. against risks to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of people at work
- Controlling the keeping and use of explosive or highly flammable or otherwise dangerous substances, and generally preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of such substances, and
- Controlling the emission into the atmosphere of noxious or offensive substances from premises of any class
Your duties under health and safety and fire law are compulsory, regardless of the size of the premises or workforce. The requirements of regulations can seem bewildering. Many people worry about their liability in case of accidents. The person suffering the injuries might wish to take legal action for compensation should there be an accident. In addition to the legal health and safety requirements, there is also a moral objective for ensuring people’s safety.
Acting safely means taking into consideration the possible hazardous consequences of actions and changing behaviour in order to avoid them. Improving safety behaviour helps everyone. There are numerous types of intervention to improve safety behaviour. They include:
- Training
- Performance
- Creating reward systems based on observed behaviour and/or outcomes
- Designing new instruction systems
- Influencing attitudes and beliefs
- Encouraging improved supervisor/manager behaviour
- Engineering or altering manufacturing systems
Ensuring the health and safety of everyone is clearly common sense and every workplace must take action. Most people now expect their safety to be considered as they enter a building. Any business with over 5 employees is legally required to have a complete health and safety at work strategy. The policy statement should have a general declaration of intent, outlining in broad terms the organisation’s overall viewpoint relative to the management of health and safety, including reference to the broad responsibilities of both managers and workforce.
There is a three-step procedure for dealing with workplace hazards. First they must be recognised, then they must be assessed, and finally, if necessary, they must be controlled. Most of the hazards you will find in your health and safety at work assessment will target a particular part of the body such as the lungs, skin or liver. Removing occupational hazards is one way of improving worker protection.
