Section.2 (3) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 demands that, if there are five or more employees in the workplace, employers must prepare a written statement of their health and safety policy. This must be brought to the attention of their employees. e.g. by giving each employee a copy.
Not only is a safety policy necessary under the law, it does contribute greatly to an accident-free workplace and has a real cash benefit to a business. Many insurance companies will now give discounts to businesses with a written health & safety policy and procedures. They know that compliance with safety legislation is a good basis for defence against a claim for compensation from an injured employee or member of the public.
A structured Health & Safety Policy will also go a long way towards protecting the employer should things go wrong and an accident occurs. Investigators will give much credit to an employer who can demonstrate with written evidence they are doing everything they can to comply with legislation.
Employers must also ensure that the organisation and the arrangements for carrying out the Policy are in place. Put simply, this means that the employer should ensure that responsibilities for all the elements have been delegated to specific individuals, risk assessments are carried out, control measures are put in place, and the Organisation has a means of monitoring the Policy to ensure its’ effectiveness.
Under Section 2(3) of the HSW Act the Policy must be regularly reviewed and revised when necessary. An employer might need to review the Policy for various reasons, including: -