Moral, Financial and Legal
Moral, Financial and Legal
• Definitions
• Welfare – The provision of facilities to maintain the health and well-being of individuals in the
workplace
• Environment –All living and non- living things around us. Eg. Birds, Animals, trees, water, air and
soil
• Accident – Any unplanned incident that result in injury or ill-health or property damage.
• Unsafe Act- Any activity which can cause harm eg. Driving at high speed
• Unsafe Condition- Any condition which can cause harm Eg. Slippery floor
Why might the management of an organisation not consider health and safety
to be a priority?
• Feeling that nothing will happen to us [Cavalier attitude to the management of risks.]
The Moral Reason for Managing Health and Safety
Global statistics from the International Labour Organization (ILO) Safe Work Programme:
• 270 million accidents and 160 million diseases a year due to work.
Discussion
• Injured employee.
• Company.
• Line manager.
Answers
• Injured employee:
– Pain and suffering, lost time/wages, impact on family, on-going impact on work.
• The company:
– Payment of sick pay, overtime cover for employee, recruitment costs for replacement,
insurance claims, fines/prosecutions, increased insurance premiums.
– Loss of skills from team, time and cost of retraining replacement, effect of overtime
cover on shifts.
• Loss of production
• Overtime costs
• Leave salary
– Indirect - arise as a consequence of the event but may not directly involve money. Often
difficult to quantify.
Insured Costs
• Fire.
• Worker injury/death.
• Medical costs.
Uninsured Costs
• Sick pay.
• Overtime.
• Equipment repairs.
• Lost materials.
End of Section 1.1 Exercise
An organization has no proper health and safety standards and management and employees do not
consider safe working important and they are focused on increased production. There were many
accidents, small and big , during recent times.
1. What could be the reason for management not considering health and safety
important? (8)
2. What are costs the management may have to pay when an accident takes place? (8)
3. Even if the management has taken all required insurance, an accident will still cause a
lot of expenses. Explain these costs (5)
‒ Conventions.
‒ Recommendations.
ILO CONVENTIONS
• These are put to vote among nominated members form different member nations
• ILO will help in making the law and implementing it by guidance and technical support
• ILO will also provide information through published recommendations and codes of practice.
• ILO has the power to take actions against those who do not follow up
• These safety laws, when implemented, will improve the health and safety standards of the
country.
‒ supplements C155 and gives more guidance on how to comply with its policies.
‒ Fire authority.
‒ Insurance companies.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
Breach of H&S legislation is usually a criminal offence, leading to:
Enforcement action:
• Improvement notices.
• Prohibition Notices
Prosecution:
Sources of Information
– www.hse.gov.uk
‒ www.osha.gov
‒ https://osha.europa.eu/en
• A country had only some local standards for health and safety. Now the Government want to
implement international standards.
1. What are the two main standards that the ILO has produced for health and safety? What do
countries do with these standards? (6)
2. What action could be taken against organisations breaking health and safety law? (2)
3. For the companies, what are international standards possible other than Government rules ? (1)
The Employer
Responsibility for ensuring that the workplace is safe and free of health risk rests with the employer.
The Employer
The employer carries ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the workplace is safe and free of health
and safety risks.
Ensures the safety of workers and ‘others’, e.g. visitors and contractors.
Employers’ Responsibilities
• Ensure that workplaces, machinery, equipment and work processes are safe and without risks to
health.
• Ensure that chemical, physical and biological substances and agents are without risk to health
when protective measures have been taken.
• Provide adequate protective clothing and equipment to prevent risks of accidents or adverse
health effects.
Employers’ Responsibilities
Everybody is responsible for health and safety - but most of the responsibility lies with the employer to
provide:
• Report any situation that they believe could be a hazard and which they cannot themselves
correct.
• Directors and senior managers can have enormous influence over their organization and its
priorities.
• The way they are perceived by those lower in the management hierarchy is very important; they
must demonstrate clear commitment and leadership with regard to health and safety.
Middle managers and supervisors are involved in the day-to-day operational running of the organisation
so are responsible for the health and safety standards within the operations under their control.
• Employers in shared facilities should communicate to develop appropriate health and safety
standards and appropriate policies and procedures.
• This may include:
‒ Joint management-committee
meetings.
• Shared Responsibilities
• Discuss on fire, spills, emergencies, site rules, visitor and traffic management
The management of a company is not aware of the legal requirements. You are appointed as a
consultant in that company for HSE.
• What will you advise them on Management’s duties to health and safety? (4)
• If you are talking in a workers meeting, what will you advise them on their duties ? (4)
• If you are talking in a middle managers meeting, what will you advise them on their duties ? (4)
If a client can be held responsible for an injury caused by a contractor working for the client, then it
must be in the client’s own best interests to ensure that contractors do not endanger workers or others.
Shared Duties
The way that a client manages contractors can be broken down into three key areas:
• Selection of contractors.
The way that a client manages contractors can be broken down into four key areas:
• Risk assessments.
• Accident records.
• Eenforcement action.
• Adequate resources.
Planning the Work
• Risk assessments.
• Method statements.
Co-ordination of Work
• Clients must:
• A company has been employing contractors for completing the projects. Many contractors may
not have high standards in Health and Safety. If you are in charge of health and safety, explain
the following.
2. What will you documents will you check while selecting a contractor ?