LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE
AS THE HSA PREPARES TO LAUNCH A MAJOR INITIATIVE AIMED AT SMALL BUSINESSES IN 2011, ASSISTANT CHIEF EXECUTIVE MARY DORGAN SAYS IT IS VITAL THAT SMES DO NOT IGNORE HEALTH-AND-SAFETY REGULATIONS, ESPECIALLY DURING A RECESSION. LINDA DALY REPORTS
Dorgan warns against complacency in organisations. In Feb-
ruary 2009, a survey carried out by Britain’s National Accident Helpline found that six out of 10 employees thought their employer was placing less emphasis on health and safety as a result of the recession. Dorgan acknowledges that companies may have been more
focused on their bottom line than health-and-safety standards since the downturn in the economy. She adds, however, that as Ireland emerges from the recession, some firms could neglect compliance even further. “There is research and evidence that suggests accidents
increase in an economy that’s coming out of recession.There are a number of reasons for that but one of them may be that the focus is catching up on lost time and lost revenue.” Indeed, companies that fail to hire an adequate number of
staff to coincide with growing workloads,or that putmore pres- sure on staff as a result of the downturn, could find themselves faced with a number of health and safety-related issues, including stress, illness and accidents. “We completely appreciate why the focus at the moment is
on saving costs and trying to keep the business surviving,but we want to present the benefits of compliance to companies in a way that makes sense,” says Dorgan. And if there’s one thing that small business owners under-
stand, it is the bottom line.The HSA has reported that work- place accidents cost the economy in excess of €3bn annually, with an estimated 150 workers suffering an injury or illness due to their work daily. More specifically,workplace accidents can impact on a com-
pany’s brand and business reputation. Insurance premiums will increase after a claim, and, depending on the injury or ill- ness, a company can be hit with expensive compensation claims also. “Cutting corners on health and safety will lead to greater
costs in the long run, whether that’s through the cost of an accident or through lost hours and sick pay. Businesses that have suffered an accident have had the real tale to tell,” says Dorgan. Likewise, companies could find themselves at a loss if the
HSA finds them in breach of health-and-safety legislation. The Authority carries out both reactive and proactive
inspections as part of its inspection programme, the former aris- ing after an accident, incident or complaint. Proactive inspections on the other hand may be routine or targeted, but will be spontaneous to the firms in question. Businesses of all sizes have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees by putting in place a
health-and-safety management system, which extends across everything that the business does, notes Dorgan. Not only should employers design and maintain a safe place
of work, but theymust provide all information, instruction and training to employees regarding health and safety, she adds. It is worth noting that business owners also have a duty of
preventing risks to other people, including visitors, customers and suppliers who come on-site. If a HSA inspector finds that a company has been contra-
vening health and safety legislation, he will issue an improve- ment direction, to which an employer must respond with an improvement plan. An improvement notice might also be issued requiring that
any contraventions are addressed within 14 days. If there is a risk of serious injury to anybody, the inspector can issue a pro- hibition notice. If the HSA is still unhappy with the business’s actions, sum-
mary proceedings are taken in the District Court. Depending on the seriousness of contraventions, cases could eventually go in front of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Regardless of such actions,Dorgan says companies shouldn’t
fear the inspection programme. “The programme itself is not something to fear, it actually
helps firms to maintain health-and-safety standards. Inspec- tion is not about trying to catch businesses out but is designed to make workplaces safer,” she says. For companies trying to survive in the current climate, espe-
cially those who are up against it in terms of time, resources and staff,Dorgan says health-and-safety compliance needn’t be a huge administrative burden. “We realise that anything that’s legislatively based – and
the business of health and safety is based on a number of regulations – presents an administrative burden for companies. However, there is a government target to reduce that adminis- trative burden and obligation on businesses. It is possible for us, the HSA, to make it an awful lot easier for employers to navigate this area.” Dorgan points to theHSAwebsite,
www.hsa.ie, as a resource
for making health and safety more manageable for businesses. “There is no doubt that health and safety does take time ini-
tially in order to put the systems in place, but we would argue that once you’ve done that it becomes business as usual,” she says.
This article does not constitute legal advice and should not be taken as such.Owner Manager urges you to obtain professional advice when dealing with legal issues.
VOL 3 ISSUE 4 2010 OWNER MANAGER 29
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