Safety and Health Risks

Paper Summary:

This paper contends that workers' health and safety has become a major issue of debate in the U.K. corporate world because it has been found that, in several cases, occupational injuries occur not due to the negligence of the employees, but more because of inappropriate safety measures in the working environment. The paper discusses the guidelines for ensuring a safe workplace. A number of court cases dealing with workplace injuries are examined in the paper.

From the Paper:

"It is clear from the guidelines that every firm is required to perform a thorough risk assessment to determine the potential for health and safety hazards at the workplace and to take appropriate action in this connection. The terms "suitable" and "sufficient" imply that employers 'will recognize all foreseeable hazards, assess the risks arising from these measures and identify both the measures needed to control the risks and any other appropriate action necessary to comply with the employer's duties'. (EEC Directive)
The most important characteristic of the standards of workplace safety that are now prevalent in the UK is that they are based on a three-step framework. In other words, all standards including the Management of Safety and Health at Work regulations 1999 are developed using a three-step system. These are a) identification of problems b) assessment of risks and c) risk control. Employers are under a strict legal obligation to examine operational procedures to ensure their compliance with health and safety guidelines and to assess potential risks. Work-related operations are to be carefully reviewed and regularly improved in order to minimize the risk of injuries and fatalities at work. Similar other regularly standards in the UK advocate risk assessment and control method. For example The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH) (UK) requires employers to regular evaluate operational procedures and take appropriate action to assess and control potential risks to healthy and safety of workers."

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