World Day for Safety and Health at Work

The new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act received Royal Assent on 15 March, following an expedited passage through Parliament. This brief explainer tells you what, as a Company Secretary, The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. And this year it is focusing on enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health.
The UK is a founding member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) – which promotes the event each year – and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) will be supporting the day, while here at Bridgehouse we have teamed up with Eclipze HR founder, Stephanie Buck, to discuss how good governance and effective human resources planning can help with your health and safety strategies.
This has never been more important, with the nature of the workplace changing dramatically because of the pandemic and a mix of home and office working becoming the norm for many people.
Stephanie Buck: Health, safety and the role of HR
It is safe to say that coronavirus has drastically impacted workers and workplaces across the globe. It has totally changed the workplace environment and as such health and safety has become a hot topic on the HR agenda.
The six fundamental responsibilities of an employer regarding health and safety remain:
- Providing a safe place to work
- Providing safe equipment
- Ensuring staff are properly trained
- Carrying out risk assessments
- Ensuring proper facilities are available for employees
- Appointing someone to oversee H&S
However, over the past two years health and safety has faced some very different challenges, which has somewhat shifted the mindset and the priorities. Simply sticking to traditional approaches can expose employers to the risk of missing what has fast become a very important element of the health and safety spectrum – increased workers’ concerns about economic insecurity, mental health and physical well-being.
These elements have all been affected by the compounding implications of isolation, the challenges of working remotely, and anxiety over returning to the office safely.
Each year there are approximately 2.3 million deaths as a result of work-related illnesses – and in 2020/21 stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50% of all work-related ill-health cases.
With a fully or partially remote workforce it is even harder to remain aware of how healthy employees are both physically and mentally. This is still an important responsibility that we have as employers and one that directly impacts workplace culture.
So, World Day for Health and Safety at Work is a perfect time to stop and ask ourselves: Are we doing enough to help manage the new dynamic of health and safety? Does our current HR agenda account for employee burnout or the anxieties of isolation? Are the remote work environments of our employees fit for purpose? What about our new starters, is there enough guidance for them on the practice of health and safety?
I often tell my clients that being proactive doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money or making drastic changes. There are some really simple solutions to start with, such as encouraging staff to take proper breaks and use their holidays. In addition, it is important to ensure the company culture does not encourage staff to work anti-social hours (evenings/ weekends) and promotes making regular contact with remote staff for informal chats.
The world of HR is ever-changing, so an agile approach to health and safety is imperative to getting the employee experience right.
Ibi Eso: Health, safety and the role of good governance
The huge changes in work practices for many employees means that employers need to re-evaluate their practices and codes to ensure that they are still fit-for-purpose. As a Company Secretary specialist, this is an area we have become increasingly involved with, as the role has evolved to provide not just compliance and regulatory services and guidance but to act as the moral compass of a business.
The most obvious switch is the location of the workplace, which for many will involve the home becoming their exclusive or some-time working environment. But whereas offices have to comply with statutory health and safety legislation – and many forward-thinking employers go far beyond these standards – currently homes do not.
So companies need to put in place guidance to assist remote-working staff and possibly to help staff with the appropriate equipment to create the right work station, while balancing this with the need to not intrude upon their domestic environment.
But in many ways the practical and pragmatic steps are the easy part. A more fundamental change is reassessment of company culture. Does the way the business operates cater for the additional or different emotional support staff members working remotely may need? What may provide flexibility and a better work/life balance for one person, may be isolating and lonely for another.
And do staff feel as valued and as well considered for fresh opportunities when they work remotely as those who are more present in the office? In a new working world, employers need to step back and consider whether the culture that runs through the business is adapting to ensure that those ‘out of sight’ do not feel ‘out of mind’.
There are active measures that businesses can take, and it’s a journey we have been on here at Bridgehouse. Remote business check-ins are one way to keep everyone up-to-date with company developments, while less formal virtual coffee breaks are a relaxed way of keeping people involved in the collective culture.
For those onboarding especially, regular contact with a line manager or an assigned member of the management team is an effective and personal way of making sure that the new person feels connected with their new employer and also free to ask questions or raise concerns.
The situation is still evolving and above all employers need to retain a flexible attitude, constantly evaluating their systems and their culture to ensure that these are keeping up with the modern requirements of the workplace.
If you haven’t started this journey already, World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a great place to start.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
The theme this year focuses on building a positive, inclusive and sustainable occupational safety and health (OSH) culture with the involvement of all parties. Within this, employers and employees can make the OSH element an important part of their work and daily life by prioritising the safety of themselves as well as those around them.
Stephanie Buck is a people expert and employee experience strategist. She is director of Eclipze HR – https://www.eclipze.co.uk/
Ibi Eso is founder and director of company secretary and governance specialist Bridgehouse – https://bhcsecretaries.co.uk/
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