The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The Act sets out the general duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and to each other. These duties are qualified in the Act by the principle of ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ In other words, an employer does not have to take measures to avoid or reduce the risk if they are technically impossible or if the time, trouble or cost of the measures would be grossly disproportionate to the risk. What the law requires here is what good management and common sense would lead employers to do anyway that is, to look at what the risks are and take sensible measures to tackle them.
THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT 1974
The act outlines the responsibilities and duties of employers, managers and employees.
Employers have a duty to:
* Have a clear health and safety policy in place.
* Ensure the work environment is safe for all employees. This includes providing and maintaining equipment that is safe and is not a risk to employees.
* Provide information, supervision and training regarding health and safety in the workplace.
In my work place we have a comprehending set of health and safety policies and procedures. All policies and procedures are reviewed regularly or as and when needed.
As a Manager I am involved in maintaining the equipments and systems in the house. This goes from the stair lift, fire alarm system, electric and gas services PAT testing etc.
The staff does a weekly H&S check in which any areas of concerns or repair will be highlighted. As a manager I will make sure necessary steps has been take to rectify or reduce the highlighted issues. Any issues detected during this audit which are beyond my job role to take a decision, are reported to the employer and appropriate action is discussed.
The company has a Training Manager who is responsible for providing the training to...