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Whatever line of business you are in, there will be health and safety concerns that will go hand-in-hand with it. Accidents happen, and they are a fact of life. But one of your major responsibilities as a business leader or manager is to manage the risks of an accident and do your very best to remove any potential dangers. So important are they that you might as well hire business plan services and include these tenets in the policy. Where you know of a risk to the health and safety of those around you and there is an accident, you will be held responsible.

Accidents are no laughing matter and they happen all of the time as a result of a company’s mistakes or their inability to manage risk properly, says Peter Peterka. They can end in businesses getting sued for compensation. In some situations, a fatal accident could even spell prison time for the company bosses. 

As a business leader, your responsibilities lie in the safety and security of your staff, customers, and visitors. In everything that you do in the running of your company, you should ensure that these responsibilities are paramount in your business strategy.  

Get Insured 

Whatever trade you are in, you need to make sure that your health and safety is managed in an appropriate manner. This will mean making sure that you have a fully comprehensive insurance policy that covers everything that applies to your company. For example, anywhere with customers will need public liability insurance as well as a general policy to cover the building, fixtures, and the stock. A tradesperson may need electrical contractor insurance, and any businesses that operate vehicles will need appropriate vehicle cover. 

Insurance policies are there for if there happens to be an accident that your busines is responsible for. Getting covered is essential, as the damages that you may need to pay out in the event of a claim could run some considerable sums. 

Manage Risks

Check out the potential hazards in your business by completing a risk assessment. To do this, you will need to look at everything that could go wrong and work out who is at risk. Are there any ways that you could reduce this risk, either by changing the way that something is done, using signage or through staff training? 

The risk assessment should look into your fire safety procedures to make sure they are valid and in use. They should also look at all safety equipment, safe exit routes, storage facilities, and any machinery or chemicals that are used. 

Carrying out risk assessments periodically means that you are less likely to be the cause of an accident in your workplace. If you come across any potential hazards, you need to do whatever you can to rectify it or make it as safe as possible. 

Adequate Training
Whoever you have working for you needs to be fully trained in all relevant aspects of health and safety. Fire procedures are essential, and a full tour of the workspace to learn about how to raise the alarm and where to go in an emergency is vital.