This reports that in 2018/19 28.2 million working days were lost due to work related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries and that in 2017/18 the annual cost of work place injury was £5.2 billion.
This is another reminder that businesses of all sizes must take steps to understand their duties and develop good Health and Safety practices in the workplace.
So what are your duties? As an employer you have a duty to as far as is reasonably practicable, protect the health, safety and welfare of your employees and other people who may be affected by your business.
This in effect means controlling any risks to injury or health that could arise in your workplace, by undertaking risk assessments, addressing all risks that might cause harm in your workplace, in consultation with your employees.
Information about the identified risks and how they are to be addressed must be provided to your workforce along with appropriate instruction and training on how to deal with these risks.
Failure to meet your duties can lead to prosecution of your company and of yourself. Convictions for such offences can attract fines that can seriously impact the running of your business or custodial sentences.
You cannot afford to avoid Health and Safety.