Employers’ health and
safety responsibilities
Dr. Balasubramanian, CEO www.visionunlimited.in , Thought
Leader, Transformation Coach
Employers have a responsibility to
provide a safe workplace in every industry. To provide a workplace free from
serious hazards and comply with standards, rules and regulations issued under
the occupational safety and hazards Act, examine workplace conditions to make
sure they conform to applicable standards, make sure employees have safe tools
and equipment and properly maintain the said equipment, use colour codes,
posters, labels or signs to warn employees of potential hazards.
The primary responsibilities of the
employer also include establishing or updating standard operating procedures
and communicate them so that employee follows safety and health requirements.
The employees are also expected to provide safety training in a language
employees can understand.
Periodical medical examinations and
training, keep first-aid box at a prominent place, encourage all employees to
adopt an injury and illness prevention program which are based on a common set
of key elements such as management leadership, worker participation, hazard
identification, hazard prevention and control, education and training, and
program evaluation and improvement.
Employees can be retained if they
are paid well, appreciated, listened to, promoted, involved in decision making,
mentored, challenged and given enough security and safety. Especially, the
employees must be given an opportunity to speak out on the lapses of the
employers during the exit interview and the valid points are to be incorporated
by taking them as positive feedback.
Basically less or no harassment at
work, safe and congenial environment,
hygienic rest rooms, basic amenities such as good drinking water, unadulterated
and healthy food at the canteen, safe pick-up and drop at least during tough
times like floods and rain if not daily, awareness programs on bad habits, awareness
training on happy relationship, awareness training on good saving habits would
surely help the employees very healthy both physically and mentally.
Setting unachievable targets at the
work place, not recognizing and rewarding them suitably can cause mental illness;
giving values for self-esteem of the employees surely increase the morale,
health insurance coverage for the employees and their spouse/children would surely
motivate the employees to perform better.
Ironically, best care given to
employees end up in better performances by the employees by which the
organization becomes healthy and for the employees it is otherwise.
Diet meals for the aged employees,
crèche for the women employees, commutation arrangement, free or subsidized
healthy food, safety tools and gadgets, health awareness camps would go a long
way in the benefit of employees and in turn the employers.
Irrespective of the size of the
business all the employers must prevent risks to health, ensure that plant and
machinery is safe to use, ensure safe working practices are set up and
followed, make sure that all materials are handled and stored safely, set up
emergency plans, make sure ventilation, temperature, lighting, avoid
potentially dangerous work involving manual handling, provide health
supervision, report certain accidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous
occurrences to either the Health and Safety authority or the local authority
depending on the business.
It is also important to keep the
floors, walkways, stairs, roadways safe to use, protect people falling from
height or into dangerous substances, provide appropriate rest breaks and the
right holiday entitlement. The next dangerous point is to make sure that
employees, who work alone, or off site, can do so safely and healthily.
Presently many such care points are
missing in IT sector where employees are being treated like slaves. Even a
holiday provided for State Election is also given as compensatory holiday. Most
of the employees, especially young women leave their office premises in an
unsafe environment to take up their bus or train.
Employers are expected to treat
their employees as their asset rather than treating building and machinery as
asset.
Places like elevators, parking
areas, toilets are to be kept very safe with proper guards, lighting and other
safety measures.
If the employers provide healthy
and congenial atmosphere, employees are sure to give their best in turn.
Finally timely salary and benefits,
annual appraisal with right systems, proper job rotation and promotions,
opportunities to study further, compassion to sick and pregnant employees are
to be kept in mind to motivate the employees which in turn would enhance the
physical and mental health of employees. It is also important for the employers
to give confidence to the family members of employees about such health aspects
for better reciprocation.
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