Having an employee injure themselves on the job can potentially come with a number of serious financial and legal consequences, which makes it imperative that every company takes safety seriously. There is no way to fully mitigate the risk of workplace injuries, but you can still greatly decrease the chances of an accident happening by implementing safety policies and ensuring that employees abide by them.
When creating your company safety policies, it’s always a good idea to consult with a personal injury lawyer. By doing so, you’ll be able to gain a greater insight into all relevant workplace safety laws and requirements and the steps you need to take to follow them. In this way, you’ll not only be making your workplace safer, but you can also help to lower your risk of facing an injury liability lawsuit. Below are a few example policies.
Hold Regular Safety Meetings
Holding regular health and safety meetings is one of the best ways to continuously remind employees about potential risks and how best to avoid them. Although these safety meetings are obviously important for construction companies and other higher-risk professions, it is recommended that every business holds a safety meeting at least occasionally. Even if it’s a bank or IT company, no company is fully without risk and the best way to protect your company from this risk is remind employees of the importance of workplace safety.
Use Proper Signs and Warnings
Another great way to remind employees of the potential hazards they may encounter is to use warning and hazard signs. Any potentially dangerous piece of equipment or machinery should feature a sign and instructions on proper usage. Similarly, signs should always be used to warn of potential slipping hazards, such as wet floors or icy sidewalks. As well, any areas where heavy lifting may be performed should always feature signs to remind employees of the proper lifting technique. By making sure to be diligent and using signs to label each and every potential hazard, you can go a long way towards preventing injuries and limiting your liability.
Have Designated Safety Leaders
Although safety should be a priority for every employee, it’s still a good idea to designate a few employees as safety leaders. The goal of these leaders is to create a culture of safety by monitoring their fellow employees and gently reminding them of the proper safety procedures. The goal of having such safety leaders isn’t for them to continuously tattle on their fellow workers. However, if you have an employee that constantly ignores safety requirements, it is vital that it be brought to management’s attention since the employee is putting themselves and the company at risk. In this sense, a company safety policy should also outline potential penalties and consequences for repeated safety violations in order to show employees that the company takes safety seriously.
The unfortunate fact is that workplace injuries are incredibly common, which is why it’s necessary that you do everything you can to prevent them. In this way, implementing a clear, coherent employee health and safety policy should be an immediate priority. Creating a culture of workplace safety starts at the top, meaning that it’s up to the owners and/or management to ensure all employees take safety seriously.
