Workplace health and safety is a discipline which aims to protect people against risks to health or safety arising out of their daily work activities. Business owners and employers should be aware of their responsibilities to their workers to ensure any workplace risks to health or safety are minimized and procedures are in place to assess and control those risks.
There are several reasons for establishing good health and safety practices in the workplace, such as a moral obligation on the employer that an employee should not have to unduly risk injury in their normal undertakings at work. This also applies to other people associated with the workplace, such as the general public, tradespersons working temporarily and delivery persons.
There are economic issues to any government relating to health and safety as there are costs to the state if citizens are unable to work through work related injury or illness. There are costs related to medical treatment, either through the short term recovery of an injury or over the long term through contraction of an illness. The state may also have to provide social security payments to the incapacitated, in some cases for the rest of the employees working life. A worker who is unable to work through illness or injury will not contribute to the state through taxes and so results in a loss of revenue for the government.
There are also an economic impact to the employer who may sustain costs in the event of a workplace incident. In many cases an workplace accident can lead to litigation which will cost the organization in legal fees, leading to compensatory damages or even fines. Any workplace accident will also have to be investigated by the relevant authorities, sometimes the police, which can lead to lost production and sales if a production line or manufacturing process has to be shut down until any investigation is completed.
Poor occupational safeguards can also impact workforce confidence and productivity, especially when correct safety equipment is not provided by the employer. Preventable workplace incidents can also have a wider impact, as poor publicity surrounding accidents can reduce consumer confidence and turn the local community against the organization affected.
Copyright 2008 Workplace Health and Safety Guide