Employees want to feel safe at work and as an employer, you are responsible for their well-being and safety. But it goes further than that.
As an employer, you not only want your employees to feel safe because it makes for a happier, more stable and productive environment, it’s actually your duty and legal responsibility to provide them with a safe and healthy workplace.
It may be worthwhile doing an internal survey at your workplace to establish whether or not your employees feel safe and where improvements and changes can be made. It’s also worth doing a full risk assessment to ensure that you’ve got all aspects of workplace safety covered. It’s about assessing where the risks are and taking proactive steps to mitigate them.
Industries such as manufacturing or construction will have different needs to lower risk environments such as office-based businesses, but the aim should be to create a win-win outcome where both the employees and the employer feel safe.
Your employees should feel safe and secure and cared for and as an employer, you will have the peace-of-mind that you’ve fulfilled your legal obligations. Importantly, you have the trust and support of your team. If your workers believe that their wellbeing is a priority for you, they’re likely to be more productive and more loyal and that’s good news for your business and your bottom-line.
Here are some aspects of employee safety that you need to consider:
Physical safety. Minimising the threat of physical violence in the workplace (whether it’s internal such as customer on employee or employee to employee or external, ie intruder to employee or customer) is crucial.
Investigate whether security solutions such as an alarm system, access control, panic buttons, appropriate lighting, a ‘buddy’ system for employees working after-hours, video surveillance and remote management of security systems are right for your business. You may even want to consider upgrading your perimeter lighting and security lighting in the parking areas to make your employees feel safer.
Training. Your employees need comprehensive (and ongoing) training about workplace safety. Knowledge is power and whether it’s training about cybersafety or OHS, it’s your responsibility to ensure that they’re up-to-date with any new developments and are fully au fait with workplace policies and procedures.
Safety with regards to natural disasters. Even if your workplace is unlikely to ever be under threat from a natural disaster like a flood or earthquake, you still need to have a workplace emergency plan in place. Compliant smoke and fire alarms need to be in place and maintained to optimum performance and your staff need to be aware of safety procedures including evacuation plans in the event of a natural disaster. Regular practice runs, such as fire drills are a necessary nuisance.
Cybersafety. Cybersafety is one of the world’s biggest challenges and your employees need to feel that their personal information and data are secure. You need to protect your networks and workplace devices with up-to-date cyber security protocols including firewalls, anti-virus software, password protection, updated software versions and regular back-ups.
But don’t wait for an emergency before you put the appropriate safeguards in place. One of the best ways of meeting your duty of care as an employer and ensuring legal compliance is by having a workplace assessment and by consulting a reputable security company.
Crown Security is a trusted vendor with over 25 years’ experience in commercial and residential security solutions including CCTV camera systems and security systems in Perth. They can manage your commercial security project from initial planning stage through to installation, ensuring that you have a comprehensive system that meets your requirements and which makes your employees feel safe at work.
