When you are running a business, you must ensure your staff are safe at all times. You have a responsibility to give them somewhere that is safe to work and ensure that all potential risks are dealt with accordingly. For this reason, you could end up spending more money than you thought about dealing with health and safety issues in your business. Below, we are going to discuss some costs of health and safety in a business, so read on to find out more about this.
Safety Equipment
Depending on the kind of business you are running, you might need to invest in some specialist health and safety equipment. This can include masks for certain tasks, gloves or even visors. You will also need to have fire blankets and fire extinguishers on hand for any potential risks. The cost of this equipment can add up and so you must ensure you are budgeting for this.
Fire Alarm Tests
Many people believe that you can test your fire alarm in your commercial office by simply pressing a button each week but this is not the case at all. In fact, you should really be having a fire alarm test conducted by an external company if you want to make sure that you are adhering to all health and safety requirements. To do this, you should consider companies such as Trade Facilities Services who can help.
Office Furniture
Did you know that you have an obligation as an employer to provide a comfortable space for your team to work? If they have any health issues, you should be providing them with suitable equipment and office furniture so that are able to sit there for hours on end. Comfortable office furniture that is ergonomic can be expensive, especially if you opt for high-quality options. Make sure that you have the budget for this, especially if you are hiring a large team.
First Aid Training
Finally, you must ensure that you have someone who is medically trained to deal with any issues when they occur. You will usually need to have at least one first aid trained staff member but it can be useful to have more than that. The more people that you want to have trained by professionals to perform first aid tasks, the more expensive this will be. This is certainly something to be carefully considered.
Budget For These
Health and safety are very important in any business and so you must be willing to pay for any measures that need to be put in place. Before hiring an external company to help you manage your health and safety obligations, you should do your research to make sure that they are cost-effective. You may feel that you need to make your budget stretch to adhere to these costs.
You should never ignore any health and safety requirements because you can’t afford to deal with them. You are required by law to have the right equipment and training so don’t let this fall to the wayside. Have you had experiences of some unexpected costs of health and safety in a business? Let us know in the comments below.