Remember to check your health and safety policies

Guy Fawkes night is a late autumn highlight for many people in the UK and it can be a lot of fun – if it’s celebrated safely and considerately, of course.

After all, what’s not to like about roaring bonfires, dramatic firework displays, and yummy seasonal foodie treats like parkin and treacle toffee?

But whether you’re attending an organised event or having an informal family party in your back garden, you must always make sure you follow the firework code and act responsibly.

Thanks to Mr Fawkes and his failed gunpowder plot, November 5th celebrations serve as a good safety reminder for everyone – so why not take this opportunity to review your health and safety policies at work?

Providing health and safety advice to employers is among HR:4UK’s key services, and we’re delighted to be working with highly experienced health & safety, quality and environmental professional Lucy Walsh.

Midlands-based Lucy has been delivering health & safety support to businesses from a wide range of industry sectors for more than two decades and offers expert advice.  She has invaluable experience in assisting employers of all sizes (including large global organisations), to implement safe-systems-of work, gain accreditations and find unique solutions to manage their risks.

With a background in construction, Lucy is also experienced in warehousing & distribution, electrical & mechanical engineering and food manufacturing.

Lucy said: “HR:4UK clients tend to be fairly proactive and approach us for help when they need it. They mostly understand the importance of health & safety but seek our guidance when they’re not sure of what or how to address certain areas within their operation. To identify those areas, we carry out an initial inspection or audit, looking at all the basics. 

“It’s so much better when employers actively look for health and safety advice. The worst-case scenarios I’ve seen are where people don’t seek professional help as they think it’s going to be expensive.  It’s not expensive to get advice, but it can be very costly if you haven’t got the right measures in place and something goes wrong. If that happens, we can end up firefighting and the employer picks up a huge bill.”

Often employers are simply unaware of their responsibilities and don’t know they’re not complying with the latest legislation.

Lucy added: “People forget to update their policies. The paperwork sits in a folder, untouched, for two years because the employer hadn’t realised the policy had to be updated every year.

By undertaking an audit, we can quickly identify such issues and advise the employer on how to rectify the situation.”

Having Lucy working with us means we can now offer the highest levels of consultancy and advice when addressing your health and safety needs.

We can take the worry out of health and safety, while at the same time protecting you and your business from the worst-case scenario of non-compliance.

So, this November 5th, why not “remember remember” to review your health and safety policies and check that everything is up to date?

Remember too that our expert consultants are just a phone call away if you need help or advice. Contact us on 01455 444222