LoginPage 3: Health and safety - duties of an employer
Health and safety is one of the many responsibilities of an employer. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act the company and its managers can be held liable for injuries to employees and others. This means that individuals, as well as businesses, can be prosecuted for breaches of the law. Prosecution can result in unlimited fines or even in prison sentences.
'If you cannot do it safely, don't do it.' Since 2006 FirstGroup has used Injury Prevention as part of its approach to safety. Injury Prevention is a safety tool that the whole of First uses. It helps safety to become a way of life. The process providestraining and development on, for example, safety planning and risk assessment. A related database stores reported data from Injury Prevention handbooks. This data is then used to identify problem areas, required actions to combat these and further training needs, but it also helps to highlight areas of excellence. Where best practice is identified, this can be shared across the company.
Injury Prevention depends upon good leadership. Managers must have the knowledge, the power and the courage to ensure Injury Prevention principles are embraced by First's 136,000 employees. Managers are required to implement the Injury Prevention principles.
Injury Prevention training provides employees with the knowledge to behave in a safe way. Injury Prevention handbooks enable employees to understand the issues connected to safety and to be involved in improving safety for themselves, for their colleagues and their customers.
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