Avoiding Workplace Accidents: What Employers and Employees Need to Do
Occupational accidents affect companies and society as a whole, as well as the costs that can be incurred in human lives or suffering by workers and their families.
According to specialists in work injury claims in Gloucestershire that deal with many workplace accident cases, the reduction of accidents at work has many benefits, obviously for society, workers and their families, and benefits also for companies, since a reduction in occupational accidents, involves:
- Reduction of sick leave
- Lower costs and interruptions in the production processes of companies
- Reduced early retirement costs
- And it reduces insurance payments
To avoid all types of work accidents, both employers and workers must know what they can do by establishing much safer workspaces.
The companies or employers
They must perform a Risk Assessment, as a first step to ensure the safety and health of workers, to know what the hazards are, and which workers are at risk. Based on this evaluation, they can then decide what the necessary prevention measures are and the terms of their adoption can be established.
Once the risks have been evaluated, the necessary measures must be adopted for each hazard depending on the degree of risk involved and the seriousness of the damage that may be caused.
Some factors requiring study are the workplace, equipment and facilities, transport, training and information of workers, work at height, fires and explosions, hazardous substances, and psychosocial factors.
Slips, trips, and falls are the main cause of work accidents in all areas. Therefore, special care should be taken in the maintenance of the facilities, to prevent this type of accident.
Information and Training: Workers have the right to receive information about the risks to their health and safety, the preventive measures to be adopted, first aid and emergency procedures in the company, as well as receive the necessary training regarding the security management system, the responsibilities of employees and the specific dangers and risks, as well as preventive measures and protective equipment.
Workers must also take measures to prevent workplace accidents
In addition, they have the obligation to inform the designated authority about elements or situations in their place of work that present a danger, both in terms of work equipment and facilities, their place of work or transport.
It is the responsibility of workers to ensure their own safety, taking into account the training and instructions received from the company or the employer. This involves using correctly the facilities and work equipment, using the personal protective equipment placed at their disposal, and using all the security devices in the correct way.
In spite of such measures, there are thousands of workplace accidents which occur each year in the UK. In such cases, it is essential to access expert advice from personal injury solicitors in order to protect the rights of employees and ensure a satisfactory outcome to any claim for compensation made against the company, employer, or another responsible third party.