The information employees need to know about health and safety
Employers have many responsibilities in relation to health and safety, such as carrying out a risk assessment and ensuring workers get the right level of health and safety training. Another important responsibility is providing employees with information about health and safety in the workplace.
What should employers be telling their workforce?
It is a legal obligation for employers to let their workers know of:
- The risks and dangers related to their particular type of work, equipment and machinery, or other aspects of the workplace
- What is being done or what will be done to reduce or remove risks and dangers
- What they, the employees, should do in a range of dangerous situations
- Who is responsible for health and safety at work, known as the ‘competent person’.
How should health and safety information be relayed?
Employers should give employees the crucial health and safety information they need to know in whatever form is the most suitable, as long as everyone understands the key facts. Individual letters or documents are a good idea, as are highly visible posters or monthly health and safety training re-cap sessions.
Special arrangements may need to be made, however, for workers who don’t speak or understand English very well, or those who have a condition which means they need to be given information in different ways to others.