1.7 million people suffered from a work-related illness in 2020/21. Health and safety training not only results in a safer workplace, promotes less risk to the business – it also gives employees and employers peace of mind.

Effective health and safety training in the workplace can also save your business money – ill-health and accidents can cost. Despite this, the question still remains for many – do you really have to train your employees in health and safety?

According to the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 (HSWA), it is the employer’s responsibility to provide ‘such information, instruction, training and supervision… to ensure the health and safety at work of [their] employees.’

Common law dictates that all employers have a duty of care, which is an obligation to protect their employees. Protecting your employees starts with providing health and safety training. This means employers must ensure that everyone in the workplace or on site are remaining vigilant about any possible health and safety risks.

Ideally, staff on all levels within a company will share duties associated with health and safety, which is why providing training is vital in making sure that everyone understands the importance of maintaining a safe workplace.

The health and safety training needed will vary, depending on the type of workplace. The first step to implementing an effective health and safety training program is identifying what kind of training needs to be done.

Employees need to provide health and safety training to their employees, both as a legal and a logical requirement. Additionally, your employees should be using their training as and when it’s needed – otherwise, they are at risk of injury, or even death.

There are many ways you can promote a health and safety conscious environment in your workplace.

Writing up your company’s health and safety policies is a legal requirement for companies with 5 or more employees. Not only this, but it’s greatly important for communicating health and safety procedures across the entire company.

Employers need to make sure everyone on site is aware of the existing policies, and if there are any changes made, they need to be made aware and updated. You should aim to review your health and safety policy every year or when there have been changes to Health and Safety Regulations that effect your business.

Training should cover specific topics which are likely to be encountered, including anything likely to become a health and safety issue in the near future. Training will give employees knowledge of things like first aid, how to prevent injuries to themselves and others through their actions whilst at work, the safe use of equipment and what to do in case of a fire.

We offer both face-to-face and online e-learning training, each of which has its own benefits.

Face-to-face learning can be more bespoke to an individual employer’s needs, whereas e-learning is cheaper, perfect for small groups and much more flexible.

If you need advice on finding which skills your team needs to improve, get in touch!