Consulting for Safety The Way Forward
Consulting with employees on health and safety matters has always been thought to lower accident rates and bring benefits in safety culture.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out research in 1990 and concluded that workplaces with trade union representatives had 25% lower accident rates compared with non-unionised organisations. Further research in the 1990’s found that companies with safety committees, whether unionised or non-unionised, had around 50% lower accident rates than companies without any recognised safety committees.
The benefits of consultation are clear from the results of the research. However although consulting employees on matters relating to health and safety is clearly laid down in legislation, many employers fail in this duty. The HSE estimate that only 40% of workplaces in the UK involve employees in developing health and safety within their organisations.
Due to the findings made by the HSE, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has targeted improving worker involvement in health and safety in their strategy for the UK.
Over the next few years the HSC aims to change the attitudes of employers and employees towards the benefits of safety consultation and involvement in the management of risks associated with their work. The main aim is to try and educate organisations to go further than simply holding safety meetings and get employers and employees to work as a team to build positive safety cultures.
The Law
Employers first must take stock of the law on health and safety consultation to ensure they are complying. By law employers must consult all employees on matters pertaining to health and safety. The regulations that cover this requirement are:
| • | The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (SRSCR) 1977 |
| • | The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations (HSCER) 1996 |
The SRSCR requires an employer who recognises trade unions and has appointed safety representatives to consult those representatives on health and safety issues relating to employees they represent. However, many employers do not recognise trade unions - this is where the HSCER comes into play. These Regulations require employers who do not recognise trade unions to consult over health and safety matters directly through employee representatives. In essence all full or part-time employees should be consulted on matters of health and safety, whether members of trade unions or not.
Raise Concerns – Lower Risks
Safety representatives, whether trade union-based or elected by employees, are entitled to raise any concerns of the employees they represent in consultations with Safety Inspectors, on matters relating to their safety. The employer has the right to decide whether they would prefer to consult directly with employees or to use elected representatives.
For example, smaller organisations may talk to their employees on a regular basis. If these talks encapsulate safety issues and a form of discussion between employer and employee this would be considered adequate. If an employer decides to go down the route of appointing an elected representative, then an election by the employees would have to take place to appoint one or more representatives (employers must organise this).
Adequate provisions
Employers must also ensure that the necessary provision of training, facilities and time off (with pay) is enforced. They must also have adequate access to documentation and any other facilities to undertake their roles.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) requires employers to provide adequate information, instruction and training on health and safety issues. There is also a requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) to provide adequate information to employees in relation to health and safety.
The most pertinent issues with regards to consultation in the Regulations are the requirements to provide employees with “comprehensible and relevant information” regarding the following:
| • | the risks identified in risk assessments to the employees’ health and safety; |
| • | information on the control measures implemented; |
| • | any emergency procedures and the procedures for serious or imminent danger; |
| • | the relevant persons who will take charge if such an event were to occur; and |
| • | also any other risks brought to light by other organisations who may share the premises. |
There are also other regulations under the umbrella of the HSWA, i.e. the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, as amended, where specific information needs to be provided on such things as the weight and the distribution of the weight of the load. In the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, as amended, there is a requirement to provide information on the precautions needed to be taken to avoid exposure to substances that may be hazardous to health.
Consultation with employees involves much more than giving information on health and safety. Employers are required to listen to and discuss each matter with employees, as the employees are on the “front line” in the work environment and may be more adept in the work activities carried out on the premises.
The HSC describe consultation as a two way process and if decisions have to be made on issues that would affect the health and safety of employees, employers must allow employees or their representatives to express views on any proposed changes before reaching decisions, ensuring that they are afforded enough time and adequate information.
Improving your consultation
In order to get the best out of your consultation, concentrate on issues at the forefront of your organisation. Look at things like accident trends, absence or sickness rates to help develop action plans to improve your company’s health and safety.
Hold regular meetings or “tool box talks”. These are vital to most organisations in delivering health and safety information to the employees and receiving feedback in order to develop a better health and safety culture. These meetings would need to be organised by the employer and would show a management commitment toward the health and safety of employees.
Carry out a survey - this can establish the adequacy of any consultations and training the employees have received and whether they believe the current standards meet with their expectations.
Other organisations such as L’Oreal and Peninsula use the suggestion box method or “Bright Ideas Scheme” to encourage employees to give their ideas on how they can improve their work environment. As well as improving the culture of the workforce by involving them in these schemes; it can also lead to important safety improvements. In Peninsula any “Bright Idea” that comes to fruition is rewarded with a prize.
News travels fast in most organisations, but it is always the bad news that travels fastest. Try as an organisation to promote the safety success stories and any other pertinent news around the company by way of notice boards or newsletters.
Health and safety information can often be technical and quite intimidating to employees; in these cases face-to-face meetings would bring about the best improvements as employees could raise questions. Try not to use too much jargon which may confuse employees and cause them to lose interest in the message you are trying to deliver.
Some organisations use different methods to pass on these messages such as e-mails, computer notice boards (intranet) and newsletters. These however can sometimes cause problems as this does not give the employee the chance to raise any questions regarding the messages or notices. Another issue is that the employer would have to take into consideration that some employees may not speak English as their first language. There may even be persons employed with learning difficulties or other disabilities – these would also have to be taken into consideration.
Peninsula comment
Involving employees in work related matters of health and safety has clear benefit. Improvements in worker morale, productivity and reduced sickness absence have been recognised by organisations that positively encourage employees in the decision making process.
Statute also requires employee involvement (the risk assessment process) but organisations with low accident rates, positive safety culture and improved risk awareness often identify consultation and involvement as part of the reasons for improvements.
We would always recommend that employees be consulted on matters affecting their health, safety and welfare.