Table of Contents
In Short
- Health and safety laws apply to all businesses, regardless of size.
- Small businesses must conduct regular risk assessments and manage hazards.
- Non-compliance can lead to fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage.
Tips for Businesses
Ensure your small business complies with health and safety laws by conducting regular risk assessments and addressing potential hazards. Staying proactive about safety will protect your employees and reduce the risk of legal action or financial penalties. Clear policies and ongoing training can help maintain a safe workplace.
When you employ staff to work for your business, your responsibilities extend beyond paying them for their work. Instead, you must also ensure your workplace is safe and does not contain hazards or risks that could harm your employees’ health. This article will explain the importance of health and safety for your small business and how to comply with relevant laws.
Am I Legally Responsible for Health and Safety in My Business?
As a business owner, you are responsible for the health and safety of your business. This is your legal duty, so you must comply. Health and safety law protects:
- you;
- your employees; and
- the public.
If an accident occurs within your business, you must immediately assist those affected. You must also report it to the Health and Safety Executive if it is an injury or illness, as well as less serious accidents that could have been worse.
Most of the rules on health and safety are found in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). Complying with these protects not only people but also your business’s reputation. The government department in charge of health and safety in businesses is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). However, local authorities are also responsible for enforcing health and safety rules in some circumstances, such as if your business is a shop or a restaurant.
How Do I Assess Workplace Risks?
You need to know the risks and hazards in your business to ensure your colleagues stay safe in the workplace. To do so, you should consider whether your business poses potential risks to employees or members of the public. If so, you must conduct a workplace risk assessment.
When you carry out a risk assessment for your business, you should identify risks and take reasonable steps to prevent them from causing harm to others, such as an accident or illness. If your business employs five or more employees, it is a legal requirement to write down your risk assessment.
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Do I Need a Health and Safety Policy as a Small Business?
If your business employs five or more people, you must have a health and safety policy by law. Although you are not legally required to have this with less than five employees, your employees have a right to ask you what your policies are. Therefore, although the policy does not need to be in writing, you do need to be able to state it.
Where you are legally required to have a written health and safety policy, you must explain how you will assess and prevent risks. It must also cover the following:
- a statement of intent;
- detail of who is responsible for health and safety and their role, outlining their applicable skills; and
- the arrangements you have made to ensure the health and safety policy is carried out, such as training.
It is best practice to review your health and safety policy yearly. Furthermore, when you write a health and safety policy, you are legally required to consult your workers about it and other potential health and safety issues in your business.
What is Employer’s Liability Insurance?
Another legal requirement for employers is to have employer’s liability insurance. This applies to most businesses unless you do not employ staff or your staff consists only of family closely related to you.
Having this insurance means you can pay compensation if an employee makes a personal injury claim. You are also required to display a health and safety poster in your workplace, which the Health and Safety Executive provides on its website. Alternatively, you can give each worker a pocket card or a health and safety leaflet. Although you are not legally required to list first aiders on this, it is best practice to do so.
Business owners have a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for employees and customers. Download our free guide.
Key Takeaways
As a business owner, you are responsible for the health and safety of your business, which means you must protect employees and the public. Most legal duties you are obliged to comply with are in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. These include:
- carrying out a written risk assessment regarding hazards in the workplace;
- taking steps to prevent accidents;
- having a written health and safety policy where you employ five or more staff
- maintaining employment liability insurance unless you only employ close family; and
- displaying a health and safety poster in the workplace or giving employers a pocket card/health and safety leaflet.
If you need help understanding the legal importance of health and safety in small businesses. LegalVision’s experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Health and Safety Executive is the government department in charge of business health and safety. However, local authorities may also step in for certain types of small businesses, such as shops and restaurants.
If someone suffers an injury or gets ill at your workplace, you must report it to the Health and Safety Executive. This includes where the injury was not serious but could have been worse.
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