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Employers have a legal and moral responsibility to safeguard your health and safety at work. However, if you’re not aware of your rights you might accept health and safety processes that fall below expected standards. Below, we explore your health and safety rights at work.
Your rights
There are a number of health and safety rights given to you by law. For a start, you have the right to all the appropriate personal protective equipment you require for your job. You also have the right to rest breaks, time off from work during the week, and annual paid holiday. On top of this, you have the right to leave work without being disciplined if you have reasonable safety concerns, plus you can tell your employer about any health and safety concerns you have.
Your responsibilities
In return, there are also responsibilities that you must consider. The main rule is that you should take reasonable care for your own – and colleagues’ – health and safety. You also have the responsibility to cooperate with your employer during health and safety training and to report any injuries or illnesses you’ve suffered due to work. You should also refrain from interfering with health and safety processes and inform your employers if you have an ability that might limit your capabilities at work.
Health and safety
Ultimately, any employer should have a general health and safety policy. This overarching policy should lead to regular reviews and assessments to monitor the safety levels in the workplace. On top of this, adequate training should be offered to enable employees to reasonably look after their own health and safety.
Employers should…
Employers have other rules they should live by to meet the best health and safety standards. They should provide access to water and washing facilities. Plus, they should strive to educate and inform employees about the inherent risks in the workplace that can’t be mitigated.
Concerns
If you have concerns about health and safety standards in your workplace, then it’s important to raise them – not just for yourself, but for your colleagues too. If you have a concern, then you should raise it with your workplace’s designated health and safety executive. Once you’ve raised your concerns it’s worth following up in the ensuing weeks to ensure that your worries are being acted upon.
If you’ve suffered an injury that wasn’t your fault in the workplace, then it could be a result of below-par health and safety processes. In this situation, you can make a personal injury claim to try and win the compensation you deserve to help give you peace of mind during your recovery.
