H&S Policy Builder

Why Do Businesses Need A Health & Safety Policy?

It’s the law. As part of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, businesses with 5 or more employees must have a Health & Safety policy (in writing), stating how health and safety are managed, and with whom the key responsibilities lie. The main reason for this legislation is so you, your employees and visitors to your workplace are kept safe, accident occurrences are reduced or removed, and guidelines for workplace safety are clearly defined.

Why Do Businesses Need To Review Their Health & Safety Policies?

Reviewing your Health & Safety policy at least once a year, in general, is to assess whether your present Health & Safety policy reflects any changes to your business or organisation, such as:

• The introduction of new machinery or technology
• The creation of a new position or department
• The revamping or redecorating of your workplace
• The introduction of a new working practice

You also need to review your Health & Safety policy if an incident occurs, or if you notice that existing procedures are no longer ensuring the safety of you, your employees, and/or visitors to your workplace.

And it’s a legal requirement…
Reviewing your Health & Safety policy is also a legal requirement, and failure to comply with the law can result in heavy fines, disqualification, and possible imprisonment in the most serious of cases.

What Does A Health & Safety Policy Review Involve?

Carrying out a Health & Safety policy review involves first carrying out a risk assessment to find out whether the goals around safety that you’ve set, are still being met.

Carrying out your risk assessment may include tasks such as:

• Thoroughly checking the condition of safety equipment and its prevalence
• Thoroughly checking the condition of machinery, and that specific safety procedures are in place and still effective
• Speaking to staff to discuss recent incidents, how they were dealt with, and if current procedures were sufficient
• Looking at wider workplace maintenance tasks and their specific safety procedures

Once you’ve carried out your risk assessment, use the information you’ve gathered to review and amend your Health & Safety policy accordingly, making sure to include new procedures and the goals you want to achieve.

Health & Safety Policy Templates

Key Benefits Of The VISION H&S Policy Builder

By using the VISION H&S Policy Builder to create or update your Health & Safety policy, you, your business, and your team will start enjoying a whole range of benefits including:

• More time – With its intuitive dashboard, its fully-customisable, easy-to-implement legally compliant content, and Health & Safety software, the VISION H&S Policy Builder allows you to build or update your Health & Safety policy in minutes, giving you and your team more time to focus on other important aspects of your business

• Increased flexibility – Because the VISION H&S Policy Builder is Cloud-based, you and selected team members can securely build, review or update your Health & Safety policy using the relevant Health & Safety policy template, whether in the office, at home, or on the road.

• Fewer sleepless nights – With the VISION H&S Policy Builder, you’ll always know in advance when your policy needs updating or when new industry legislation comes into effect, meaning less stress for you and your team, plus fewer sleepless nights.