Workplace health and safety (H&S) training is indispensable and should never be overlooked.
Unfortunately, health and safety practices in the workplace are not always taken seriously. Some businesses seem to treat them like a simple box to be ticked after hiring someone, without giving them much afterthought.
In this article, we’ll provide an overview of why this shouldn’t be the case and some tangible actions you can take right now to ensure the health & safety of your employees.
Why is Work H&S Training Important?
Work health & safety training is important because it can prevent work-related accidents and ill health for employees while also avoiding unnecessary costs to the employer.
H&S statistics show us that, in a year, 581,000 injuries occur at work, 1.4 million suffer from work-related illnesses, and 147 are killed in workplace accidents.
Furthermore, 27% of the young people end up putting themselves at risk because they fail to follow these procedures.
For UK employers, this translates into the loss of 28.2 million working days and £15 billion in damage.
Basically, there are several reasons why investing in H&S training should be a priority for all employers:
- To guarantee the safety of their employees and prevent these unpleasant or tragic scenarios
- To demonstrate to them that they are valued and properly cared fo
- To avoid the financial costs associated with these accidents or occupational ill health
- To meet a legal duty
Is there a Legal Requirement to Provide H&S Training?
Yes, there is a legal requirement to provide H&S training at work in the UK and it is regulated by the Health and Safety at Work Act from 1974.
It requires employers to provide whatever type of H&S training, equipment, PPE and information is necessary to guarantee the safety of their employees.
This was also expanded by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations in 1999.
While the points vary depending on the industry, it identifies the situations in which work health and safety training is particularly essential. For example, when a new employee starts the job or when they are required to undertake new tasks that involve different procedures and, therefore, the potential for an increased risk.
Obviously, this cannot be a one-size-fits-all regulation as it depends on the setting. The risks associated with office work are completely different from those that a manual worker must face.
It is every employer’s responsibility to identify the type of training required in their specific industry and workplace.
Types of Health and Safety Training
To give you a general idea, there are three main types of training that you must provide to your employees.
Induction Training
Conducted when a new employee is introduced to your work environment, induction training involves all the H&S procedures required to work there safely as well as to help them familiarise themselves with the new workplace.
This usually involves:
- Workplace orientatio
- Fire & emergency procedures
- H&S related to the job and location, such as accident reporting procedure and risk assessment;
- Safe use of any equipment or machinery involved
- First aid
- Maintenance and storage of PPE, if needed.
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Refresher Training
Refresher training should be carried out regularly to ensure that employees still remember and, most importantly, are actually following the procedures that you have put in place.
Once they become accustomed to their workplace and complacent with procedures that they personally deem unnecessary, that is exactly when accidents are far more likely to happen.
Refresher training is also needed when some of your employees’ skills or H&S knowledge become outdated because of external reasons, such as a change in technology.
As an employer, it is your responsibility to identify the areas that your employees need refresher training for.
Fire Safety Training
While the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 made basic fire training a legal requirement, it might not be enough should an emergency situation present itself.
That is why some members of your staff should also undertake more in-depth fire warden training.
This is to ensure that, regardless of the shift pattern, you can always guarantee an adequate number of highly trained employees who will see that both preventative and emergency procedures are followed.
Organising H&S Training
Thanks to online courses, H&S training does not need to complicate your shift pattern nor require you to bring all of your employees in one place at the same time to complete it.
As well as a versatile and exhaustive essentials pack (consisting of Health & Safety, Fire Safety, and First Aid), at Learn2Excel we offer a variety of occupational health and safety courses tailored to different industries:
This usually involves:
Meeting your legal duty and creating a safe environment for your employees has never been easier.
After identifying the type or risks associated with your industry and workplace, you can organise a thorough introductory training schedule and let your employees take the refresher courses at their own pace without affecting their day-to-day duties.
