Health And Safety At Workplace

Question: Discuss about the Health And Safety At Workplace? Answer: Part 1 The Health and Safety at Work Act states that it is the duty of an employer to protect the employees. In return, it is also the duty of the employee to make sure that they protect their health and take care of themselves. A casualty death may also be reported in case of failure to provide the first aid at the time of sudden injury or illness (Council, 2013). The employer should ensure that the employee receives proper care and attention at the time of such illness or injury. Every organisation should make rules concerning the health and safety of the employers. At the unlikely event of any accident, while the employee is at work it is the responsibility of the employer to provide immediate assistance. The appropriate and adequate circumstances will differ from situation to situation (Cowley, 2015). Trained first aiders, items to be made available in the first aid box and first aid room are the requirements that all the employers should make sure. The employers should ensure that all the first aid requirements are fulfilled and assessment is carried out at regular intervals. In my organisation, a similar kind of provision is there concerning first aid of the employees. At regular intervals, first aid assessment is carried out to ensure that the employees are aware of the rules relating to first aid. The assessment includes hazards related to work and risks involved while working under hazardous conditions. In my organisation, the employer makes sure that while considering the hazards of work appropriate level of safety is also provided (Enright, 2014). The duty of protection does not only lie on the employer, it is also the employee who has the duty to protect him or her. The employer has the duty to ensure that the employers are safe and healthy while they are employed in their organisation. To prevent injuries from happening, the employer should ensure that safe plant and equipment is used. The employer should prevent the risks when the employee uses any agents or any other substance while he is at work. Employers should conduct trainings at regular intervals to train the employees how to take care of their own health and safety (Hancock, 2015). The employer should also provide proper equipment and training to employees and appoint an independent Safety Officer who will be responsible for all kind of injuries that take place at workplace. In my organisation, a Safety Officer is also appointed who is responsible for maintaining the health and safety of the employees. My organisation Head provides proper equipments such as helmets and uniform to reduce the occurrence of accidents at my workplace. Any substance that is likely to cause accidents, preventive risks are taken for such situations in my organisation. Apart from the duty of the employers to ensure safety of the employees, the employees also owes duty towards their own self. According to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it also the duty of the employees to take care of their own health and others who may get affected by their actions while they are at work. It is the duty of the employees to make sure that, they do not engage in any improper behavior that is likely to cause danger to themselves and others. While at work, it is the duty of the employees not to remain under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. Such influence not only reduces productivity of work but also increases the likelihood of accidents (Goetsch, 2013). If the employer conducts regular medical checkups for the employees then it is duty of the employee to get the checkups done on them. If an employee can foresee any risk that is involved in their work, then he should report the risk to the appropriate authority. As an employee myself, I understand the importance of taking care of myself while I am at workplace. Communication of the risks that is involved in a workplace is essential. Communication will be effective if an independent body is established. Direct communication between the employer and the employee is difficult; therefore, an independent body will enhance communication between the employee and the employer. The stakeholders play a very important role in promoting effective health and safety practices at workplace in the health and social care settings (Goetsch, 2013). They play a key role in driving strategic change towards the regulatory and legislative measures. Understanding the role of stakeholders is essential for proper implementation and planning of the welfare activities. Part 2 In recent time, concerns relating to exposure to radiation and overutilization at workplace have caught attention for a number of reasons. Over the last two years, concerns related to radiation exposure were coming into picture. David J. Brenner has stated that, radiation exposure from medical radiographic imaging is comparatively unregulated; this is in striking contrast to radiation exposure in occupational settings, which is stringently regulated despite it contributing a far smaller population exposure. It was noted in the United Kingdom that exposure to radiation has doubled in 30 years. Such kind of exposure happens when people are a part of heavy chemical engineering industries (Hadley and Tyquin, 2014). In delivering business, successful organisations understand the need of sensible and proper risk management. This advance supports innovation, growth and protection as an organisation most important asset. Reduced sickness and a good reputation may be counted as positive outcomes. A good and safety culture can bring about many changes and may benefit the company as a result. When people are a part of an industry where in a lot of physical work is required then people become more vulnerable to diseases such as musculosketal disorders or aching arms. In such a situation, manual handling of goods should be replaced with an escalator that is capable of transporting the goods from one place to another easily. Manual handling of goods are one of the main reason why employee suffers from diseases related to back and spine. According to the Health and Safety Act, 1974, such issues should be reported to the Health and Safety Executive. As an employer, one should control the risk in our workplace. To do this an employee should decide as to what might cause harm to the employee and decide the steps to avoid situations that may cause harm to the employee. This is called risk assessment. This process is not restricted to paperwork rather this process is about knowing the measures to control the risks present at a given workplace. RIDDOR means Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. This body imposes duties on the employers and other self-employed people to report cases concerning accidents that happen at workplace. This is also a kind of risk assessment where in people are imposed with an obligation of analysing the risks associated with a particular kind of employment. Similarly, a website is present that provides information and gives guidance for the control of substances that are hazardous in nature. This website is known as COSHH, that is, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. The substances that are declared as hazardous include, products having chemicals, fumes, dusts and mists. However, COSHH does not cover asbestos, lead and radioactive substances (Hancock, 2015). In the workplace, COSHH sets out essentials concerning the control exposure. It adopts a straightforward advice in factsheets and control guidance sheets. There are different type of sheets that are available for providing advice to the employers. The sheets are, industry specific sheets, direct advice sheets and generic control guidance sheets. Reference List: Council, E.B., 2013. Health and safety at work. Cowley, M.B., 2015. Moot Court Report: Applying the Equality Act (2010) the Health Safety at Work Act (1974).Available at SSRN. Enright, P.T., 2014. Work Health Safety legislation; the fire engineers neglected duty?.Case Studies in Fire Safety,2, pp.1-8. Goetsch, D.L., 2013.Construction safety and health. NJ: Pearson. Hadley, J. and Tyquin, P., 2014. Harmonised work health and safety legislation: Recent developments.Governance Directions,66(8), p.508. Hancock, P., 2015, April. Professional ethics: Health and safety-an essential element of ethical practice. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Hori, H., 2013. [Present state and problems of work environment control in the workplaces using hazardous materials based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act in Japan].Journal of UOEH,35, pp.73-78. Hughes, P. and Ferrett, E., 2015.Introduction to Health and Safety at Work: For the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Routledge. Hughes, P. and Ferrett, E., 2015.Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction: For the NEBOSH National Certificate in Construction Health and Safety. Routledge. Smith, M. and Lee, C., 2015. Workplace: Overseas assignment?: Work health and safety obligations will apply.