Tougher Penalties For Safety Negligent Bosses Have Been Welcomed by Top UK Injury Lawyer
There is soon to be a Health and Safety Offences Act passed, and it will mean that negligent bosses will face a penalty of up to £20,000, whereas the maximum used to be £5,000. there is also going to be an increase in the amount of offences that bosses can be charged with. It is set to tighten up safety standards in the work place.
There will doubtless be less work related deaths and injuries, and it will be a case of really negligent employers facing custodial sentences. Making directors more safety conscious can only be a positive.
The act received Royal Assent on 16/10/2008. it is essentially a strengthening of the rights that employees have under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
It is the obligation of an employer to enlighten their staffs as to the health and safety issues that affect them on a daily basis. There is a requirement for employers to report any accidents and incidents that occur in the workplace, and any that were not doing this previously, may well be given a shot in the arm with this new act.
Employers should be carrying out risk assessments, in order to ascertain the requirements that need putting in place, to instil an adequate level of safety for both visitors and employees. It is important that the correct amount of first aider's are on hand at all times, and that first aid equipment is accessible at all times.
It is also a case of employees taking care of their own personal safety, as well.
Accident books are essential, and any incident, irrespective of severity, needs to be logged. It is an essential record as it could be referred to in the event of a personal injury claim and the likes. It also shows up any recurrence of incidents, and highlights any possible need for change.
Accidents in the workplace happen on a daily basis, and it is an impossibility to be able to eradicate them altogether. It is not an impossibility though, to keep the frequency of accidents down to a minimum.
It is the law that every employer has an insurance certificate, in case of anyone getting injured, and having to make an injury claim. The certificate should be positioned where all employees can see it. If this is not the case where you work, then enquiries need to be made with your employer.