Looking after your...

• Business
• People
• Reputation

Business

Good health and safety management and successful business are complementary. You will already have a way of cutting down losses in the goods, services you provide or things you make. Properly applied these controls should also help you manage health and safety. You’ll want to do this so that you have well-trained people, healthy and at work.

If you lose key people through poor health and safety, you put the products and work you supply to others at risk. The key is to get your workforce to recognise that managing health and safety is important and your priority value.

• More information for smaller businesses

People

When your staff are well-protected and well-trained they add value to your business because they:

• are better motivated;
• take less sickness absence; and
• show greater loyalty.

To involve your workforce you need to:

• set them a good example;
• train them well;
• listen to their concerns; and
• encourage them to suggest solutions to problems

Reputation

The public and workers expect HSE to take strong enforcement action. Failures can bring penalties of imprisonment or unlimited fines. HSE and local authorities increasingly publicise enforcement decisions and prosecutions. Adverse publicity will:

• put customers off doing business with you;
• prejudice your position on any prequalification or preferential supplier lists; and
• spread a bad reputation more quickly through the industry than good performance.

• Examples of enforcement action