HEALTH & SAFETY
financial cost of workplace accidents to a business can be disastrous not to mention potential for negligence claims, fines and lengthy court cases
CALCULATING ROI When creating a business case for safety investment, decision makers will often conduct a risk vs benefit analysis and examine the expected ROI. Keeping people safe is obviously the greatest return for investment in safety but often the business case to release budget for additional safety systems requires financial justification. It’s important to note that the long-term implications of workplace accidents and fatalities can destroy a business. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports that injuries resulting from accidents in the workplace costs Britain an estimated £5.6bn every year with businesses, individuals and wider society paying the bill. The costs to an employer include cover for absenteeism, potential healthcare costs and increased administration, sick payment, loss of productivity, insurance payments and additional recruitment. The reputational damage can take years to repair with some businesses never fully recovering from bad press.
Companies also need to consider the potential
for long legal battles which can run for several years in some cases, and eye watering fines that result from accidents at work. Fines are often the result of unsafe equipment, lack of procedures and insufficient risk assessment and if cases reach the Crown Court, there is no cap on the fine and related compensation claims and legal costs increase the financial burden.
In 2021 an interiors company was fined £910k following the tragic death of a self-employed lorry driver who was struck by a wheeled shovel loader working nearby. The HSE found that risks had not been sufficiently assessed and safe working measures had not been implemented. 2021 also saw a meat company fined £700k when a contractor suffered life changing injuries when he was struck and dragged by a forklift truck. The resulting HSE investigation found that the company’s workplace transport risk assessment was insufficient in managing pedestrian and vehicle segregation. In 2019, a cardboard manufacturer was found guilty of breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, after a visiting lorry driver was struck by a forklift truck and suffered life changing injuries. The company was fined more
than £117,000 and ordered to pay a further £5,404 in costs.
And in 2017, a manufacturing company was fined £2,000,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 in costs when an employee tragically died as the result of a workplace accident. The HSE investigator said:
“It is not good enough for companies to assume they are doing all they can to control the risk just because there have been no previous incidents.” These examples provide a stark reminder of the risk businesses take when planning and safety consideration is inadequate. Serious and fatal accidents have a direct impact on the performance of the business and its financial stability. Businesses must remember they have a duty of care to their employees – everybody has the right to be safe at work. At a time when many businesses are struggling with rising costs and supply chain issues, additional investment might seem like a ‘nice to have’, but it’s important to look at the whole picture in the long term to fully understand the real cost of lack of investment in safety.
David Thomas General Manager ZoneSafe
wwww.zonesafe.com
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FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | OCTOBER 2022 31
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