It is important for an employer to create a safe and healthy physical work environment, and for leaders to go beyond their legal obligations to ensure workplace safety. When an employer or their worker is sick or injured at work, it is difficult for both parties, and can be easily avoided with a few important preventative steps. To go over how workplace safety can be ensured by employers, we spoke to US Standard Products to go over everything you need to know.
Employers set the standard for safety in their business, and therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that they are complying with workplace safety laws. If the employer is not adhering to the workplace safety standards, that likely means that the employees are not following all the regulations as well. As the law and regulation continually changes, it is important for someone to be responsible for ensuring consistent adherence, by assessing new products and materials before they are used by the team. US Standard Productsexplains that this might include allowing an occupational health expert to come to your workplace and make health and safety recommendations. The good news is you don’t need to do it all on your own. You can develop the necessary health and safety programming by teaming up with workplace representatives and can become a part of health and safety committees. When you have a system in place to support your workers, it is important to make this information readily available. This can be done by distributing health and safety information and protective equipment to your employees regularly.
While it is common to assume that full responsibility falls to the employer, employees also play an important role in workplace safety. US Standard Practicesexplain that first and foremost, workers should always ensure that they know their rights for compensation and ability to refuse unsafe work. If an employee believes that the work involves an unreasonable amount of danger, they are legally allowed to refuse to do the work barring a few professions. Employees are responsible for always wearing protective equipment and should take steps to minimize risk in their work area. Employees can also make it their duty to bring workplace hazards to the attention of employers, co-workers and health and safety committees. As someone who works in this environment, it is more likely that as an employee, you will find workplace dangers before a superior. Employees can also take part in the education and safety processes by joining or consulting a health and safety group to discuss workplace issues and concerns. U.S Standard Productsexplain that there are dozens of resources available to support you and your team, and it is important that you take advantage of all of them that fit your team.
It is your right as an employee to have protective equipment, procedures, and training available and your workplace. If you would like to ensure that you have equipped yourself with all of the best equipment for following regulation and safety rules, head to the US Standard Products website to learn more about how their products stack up against the competition and provide environmentally responsible alternatives.
