Should safety-training courses be mandatory?

Posted on 29th Jul, 2016 | By Lorretta Tatham

Good health and safety practices at work are essential by law. Although safety-training courses aren’t currently mandatory, employers do have to provide whatever information, instruction, and training they can to ensure health and safety of employees at work.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, takes this idea even further – recommending scenarios and situations in which health and safety-training courses are particularly important.

These include:

• When a new employees starts work
• When current employees are faced with something new
• When skills become a little rusty or out-dated

Health and safety at work in the UK

According to the HSE, workplace health and safety had a major role to play in injuries and illness in 2014/15. During this time period, 1.2 million people suffered from a work-related illness and 611,000 injuries were sustained at work. A further 142 workers were killed at work and 76,000 other injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR. In total, work-related illness and injury resulted in 27.3 million working days lost – which cost businesses a lot of money. In fact, £14.3 billion was the estimated cost of work-related injuries and ill health during this one year time period alone.

By reducing the number of injuries and accidents in the workplace, other factors, such as the cost of injuries to business, will also be positively impacted – creating a happier, healthier working environment for all.

Why attend safety-training courses?

In addition to reducing injuries and costs to businesses, safety training also ensures:

• A motivated, happy workforce
• Increased productivity and profitability
• Preferential insurance rates
• A good reputation

If training is not made mandatory, risks include:

• Poor awareness of good safety practices among employees
• Lack of awareness when it comes to ensuring health and safety in others
• Legal implications should an accident occur
• Damaging court fines, affecting the longevity and reputation of a business

At Browns Ladders, we recognise the importance of health and safety training at work – which is why we set up Browns Safety Services. Designed to give employees and employers all the information they need to work safely, our wide variety of courses instil best practice.

Our offerings range from our Working at Height Training Courseto ourAbrasive Wheels Training and One Day Emergency First Aid at Work. The majority of our courses last for just one day or half a day – allowing you to develop new skills without spending days away from the workplace. To find out more about our safety training courses, give our Course Enquiries team a call today on 01282 615517.

In the meantime, to improve your safety practices at work, you might like to consider our collection of access equipment and accessories. Designed to keep you safe when working at a height, you’ll find everything from stabilisers and mats to ladder belts and safety feet.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Have our safety training courses helped prevent accidents in your workplace? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or tweet us @brownssafety