Health and safety week is upon us once again, and people all over the country will be celebrating the life-changing piece of legislation that was first introduced over 40 years ago. Britain has one of the most impressive combined health and safety records in the world, and a lot of that is thanks to the Health and Safety at Work Act that was introduced in 1974. From this week, the 15-19th of June we will celebrate the achievements of UK practitioners in the health and safety industry, and this year’s event is set to be even bigger than last year’s.
This year the focus will be on occupational health, which has often been viewed as a poor relation to health and safety. Overall, safety cases in the workplace have dropped, but occupational health cases are still on the rise. In fact, 1.2 million people in the UK are known to be suffering from work-related illnesses. Bringing this number down is a huge aim for the leaders in health and safety, which is why this week is so important to raise awareness.
It is hoped that Health and safety week 2015 will inspire employers and employees to embrace a healthy workplace, with initiatives and programmes to be launched throughout the year. Among the many partners promoting this weekly event will be the British Safety Council (BBC), the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Companies all over the country are encouraged to take part in a number of ways. This could include hosting a health week at work, with ideas such as bringing health and safety consultants into the office for a health and safety audit or review, or carrying out a DSE assessment to ensure your staff are using computers and phones correctly. You could even carry out well-being initiatives, where you encourage employees to act healthily by providing fresh fruit and water, encouraging them to have regular walks away from the desk and so on.
Companies are also encouraged to send in “healfies” health and safety selfies – of their teams and share them around on social media, search for #healfies. Here at Park City, we’ll be doing our very own healfies and you’ll be able to see them throughout health and safety week. Health and safety procedures are vital for keeping our working environments protected and secure, so get involved and help Park City to spread awareness.
