Health and Safety and the Workplace

On 28th January, 2007 the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, launched a Guide entitled "Business Continuity Planning - Responding to an Influenza Pandemic".

From March 29th 2004, most enclosed places of work will be smoke free. The primary purpose of the 'Smoke Free at Work' initiative is to afford protection to workers and the public who are exposed to the harmful effects of second hand tobacco smoke

General guidance to good work practices are contained in this document. It is not exhaustive but provides high-level information pertaining to the more common tasks in the workplace.

An employer must ensure that the physical environment of the place of work is adequate. This article give general information on the steps an employer should take to ensure a safe working environment.

Effective health and safety training underpins the preventive approach in the 1989 Act and other health and safety legislation. Employers must provide their employees with the instruction and training necessary to ensure their health and safety. There are specific training obligations for employees involved in the safety consultation and safety representation processes. Health and safety training must form part of the training of all people who work at the workplace.

Preparing and implementing a Safety Statement and keeping it up to date is the most important step in managing health and safety within a business. This will not in itself prevent accidents and ill health at the workplace. But by making a commitment to promoting safety and health and specifying the health and safety measures and resources being provided, the Safety Statement plays a vital part in the implementation of health and safety policies.

The law requires employers to prepare a Safety Statement and carry out risk assessments, but it has a practical purpose. This is to help manage employees' health and safety, to get the balance right between the size of any health and safety problems and what must have to do about them.

'Risk' is the likelihood, great or small, that someone will be harmed by the hazard, together with the severity of the harm suffered. An assessment of the risk is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people in their workplace, so that an employer can weigh up whether enough precautions have been taken or should do more to prevent harm.

The key elements of successful health and safety management are set out in this section. The manner and extent to which the individual elements will be applied will depend on factors such as size of the organisation, its management structure, the nature of its activities and the risks involved.

This article deals with how an organisation should carry out a review of their Health and Safety Management system and gives general guidance on developing a Health and Safety Policy.