Every workplace has potential risks and if you are an employer then you are legally obliged to protect your staff against any potential health and safety hazards in the workplace.
In order to prevent accidents it’s important to identify all of the risks associated with the workplace and by providing comfortable workwear specific to a job, you will help employees feel safer.
In order to anticipate any potential risks in the workplace, you will need to carry out a risk assessment for each task that will be performed. The individual risks vary by industry and can also be specific to your business.
For example, consider how long you will be on your feet during a shift and what kind of safety boots would be comfortable and safe. You might be working in extreme temperatures and need to decide how you would be exposed to them and how best to protect yourself from them.
If you work in construction you might need to think about what type of safety gloves will be best to protect your hands on the job, and in industries where employees work with heavy machinery it's important to take extra precautions to properly manage the risks that can put them in danger.
As well as identifying the risks you also need to identify any individual risks for every one in the workplace. Think about the age and overall health and ability of the individual when determining what type of work would be best for them. As an example, if you work in a dusty environment, someone with asthma will need to take extra precautions and wear suitable PPE.
Introduce a health and safety policy for your workplace. This document should specify things such as how the employees should work, what PPE is required and how tools and machinery should be handled. By providing a written record of rules and regulations you are setting a standard that everyone has access to and can follow to proceed at work in a safe manner.
If any new hazards are identified, a solution must be produced and the risk assessment and health and safety policy should be updated.
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