Practical Health & Safety Support for Offices

It’s quite a common misconception that the health and safety in an office environment is less important than in more obviously high-risk workplaces such as construction sites or factories.

In reality, whilst the potential for harm might be greater in other workplaces, Health and Safety law applies to all organisations. So, whilst you might not immediately consider your office to be a dangerous place, you cannot neglect your responsibilities as an employer to keep your staff safe.  In fact just one serious incident could have a profoundly negative effect on the profitability of your business through fines imposed as well as other hidden costs of employee absence and reputational damage.

When looking at offices, in additional to business as usual risks, there are a number of specific situations that would warrant a review of your existing health and safety arrangements, these could include:

• Change of premises – whether relocating to a new building, or refurbishing an existing one risk assessments, fire safety and DSE should all be reviewed.
• New employees – it is important to ensure that all new employees fully understand the health and safety risks and how to avoid them as part of their induction training.
• Changes to roles and work processes – with any change to roles and working practices there could be a change in associated risks so a review should be undertaken. Areas for consideration include home working, lone working policies, DSE.

Our experienced team of health and safety consultants can be commissioned to undertake a full audit of your health and safety systems and provide guidance and training as appropriate to ensure you have appropriate procedures in place and that staff are adequately trained.