Employee health and safety should be a primary concern for all organisation in order to create a conducive work environment. But how can an organisation ensure that it is doing enough to maintain the required health and safety standards at the workplace?
Read on to learn how forming a health and safety committee can help organizations to ensure the welfare of its employees.
Roles of a Health and Safety Committee
HSC is an advisory body that includes representatives of both the employer and the employees in the workplace. Such a body identifies and makes recommendations to minimize any workplace hazards that the employees might face while performing their jobs. This committee also trains the employees in workplace safety conduct and protects the rights of the workers such as the right to refuse dangerous work.
- Identifying Hazards
The most important role of such a committee is to analyse and establish any and all hazards to the employees in the workplace before it results in a workplace injury or illness. They must identify and assess any potential hazards and report them to the management.
- Developing safety conduct
This committee is tasked with developing a code of conduct or safety rules for a workplace. For example, they decide the procedure to be followed in the case of a fire in the workplace. In some workplaces such as labs and factories, certain areas may pose a greater risk to the workers and hence may require special rules.
- Follow up on Inquiries and Complaints
This committee must ensure that any complaint that has been made by the workers are investigated and dealt with in a timely fashion to ensure that no further workplace injuries or accidents may occur. any enquiries made by the committee to the management on health and safety issues must be satisfactorily resolved.
- Maintain Records
This committee also maintains a record of any accident that might have occurred. They also keep a record of any compensation that needs to be made to employees who have been injured or harmed in the line of work.
- Safety Training
The HSC also prepares educational modules to help employees understand and practice safety regulations and conduct in the workplace. Saftey modules need to be updated regularly to keep up with any new development in the workplace. This committee is also responsible for orienting new employees with workplace safety rules.
- Recommending Safety Equipment
Based on the workplace environment this committee must also recommend and arrange for the procurement of safety equipment. For example in a workshop space which produces a lot of dust may be detrimental to the employees’ health in the long run. The committee must decide whether to issue disposable dust mask or reusable dust masks based on the number of employees, their roles etc.
Special types of masks such as FFP3 masks may be needed. In extreme conditions, an employee must be equipped with a full-face respirator.
Why is a Health and Safety Committee needed?
- Reduces Risk
The primary reason for an HSC is that reduces risk to the workers’ health and safety. Certain workplaces or roles are particularly dangerous and need special attention. The HSC ensures that all safety standards are met and worker safety is prioritised by the management.
- Increases productivity and Morale
when workers know that they are safe in their work environment their morale is automatically boosted and they perform their roles better. Robust safety policies also and sure that production processes are not interrupted by unnecessary accidents which improve overall productivity of the company as well.
- Protects the company from litigation by employees
If an accident occurs due to lack of safety rules or inadequate safety equipment injured workers can file a case of negligence in the court of law against the employer. however an effective HSC and shows that such accidents don't occur in the first place and if they do the liability of the employer is reduced.
Conclusion
Health and safety committee is essential for organisations. it is beneficial for both the employees as well as the employer. From the employee perspective, it ensures that workplace hazards are identified and controlled and for the employer, it is an essential requirement to ensure workers’ safety and satisfaction. All organisations must invest time and resources in setting up and running such a committee.
