Health and safety may seem like a lot of hard work, but it is there for a reason. It’s to keep you, your employees, and your customers safe. So, whether you are newly self-employed or looking to review your health and safety policies for the new year, we have teamed up with health and safety expert, Katie Hughes from Sure Safety, to provide you with the top 6 handy health and safety tips for the self-employed:
1. Create a Health and Safety policy
Legally, every business needs a Health and Safety Policy. There is a misconception that if you have less than five employees you do not need an H&S policy. You do - you just do not have to write it down! However, we would always recommend writing down your H&S policy. This allows you to really think about H&S within your workplace and set out clearly how you would manage a health and safety issue. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a fantastic resource for H&S information, including how to create a Health and Safety policy.
2. Carry out risk assessments
We use risk assessments all the time in our day-to-day lives, from driving to deciding whether to take an umbrella out with us. With regards to your business, a risk is a calculation around the likelihood - and severity of - a hazard causing you or those around you harm. For example, if you are using a good-quality ladder to work at height, the likelihood of you coming to harm is far less than if you were using a broken and inadequate ladder.
A risk assessment is identifying as many of these risks as possible, detailing how to mitigate them, and distinguishing ways in which to deal with these risks should they occur. The HSE provides an effective Risk Assessment template to help you get started. We would always recommend that the risk assessment is conducted by someone who is experienced and knows the job inside out as they will have a greater understanding of potential risks and how to resolve them.
3. Be aware of the relevant legislation and regulations
There are two key pieces of legislation that you should be aware of - the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Construction (design and management) Regulations 2015 (CDM). Both dictate the health and safety protocols you need to follow to ensure your business remains legal. We would recommend being particularly aware of the CDM Regulations. These define what ‘construction work’ is and it may surprise people to know that occupations such as painting, decorating and maintenance – both domestic and commercial – are classed as ‘construction’. As such, these professions must adhere to the CDM Regulations about health and safety. If you’re unsure whether you fall within this category, have a look at the HSE website which will hopefully clarify it for you.
4. Do a first aid course
During your risk assessment, you may have identified the need to do a first aid course to keep both you and your employees safe. However, even if you have not identified this need, we would still recommend - if you have the time and the budget - doing a course. This can be the emergency first aid at work course, which is only one day as opposed to the three-day full first aid course, or an online course.
Whichever you choose, doing a first aid course can only benefit you and your business.
5. Remember to declare your health and safety policy to your business insurer
As well as ensuring you and your employees return home safely from work each evening, health and safety policies and risk assessments may help bring your business insurance premium down. If you can demonstrate you are working within health and safety guidelines and regulations and can provide a H&S policy, it may help to save you money in the long run. Likewise, if you do not have a health and safety policy it could adversely affect your insurance.
6. Be proactive!
This is probably the best advice we can offer! Every business needs ‘health and safety’, whether that is through hiring a consultant, being part of an industry body that can provide guidance and advice, or simply accessing the HSE resources. Whichever route you choose, do it now rather than after something goes wrong.