Health and safety training is a process that aims to provide personnel with knowledge and skills to perform their work in a way that is safe for them and their co-workers.
It is important towards improving an employee’s ability to work safely, It gives knowledge about health and safety and why it is necessary in the workplace.
The benefits of Health and Safety training in the workplace are many, providing benefits for the employer, but more importantly, benefits for the employee – the person most at risk.
Legal requirements for health and safety training
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires you to provide whatever information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of your employees.
This is expanded by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which identify situations where health and safety training is particularly important, e.g., when people start work, on exposure to new or increased risks and where existing skills may have become outdated or need updating.
Six key benefits of health and safety training
Below are some of the key benefits of health and safety training in the workplace.
1. Health and Safety training will reduce accidents and injuries
One of the key benefits of health and safety training for employees is that it will reduce the number of incidents and injuries in the workplace, and probably outside of the workplace as well. Workplace incidents can range from minor illnesses and injuries to life-threatening accidents and conditions and, in the extreme, death.
Training is not guaranteed to 100% eliminate all incidents, but it will put your personnel in the best position to avoid them, and reduce accidents and illness to a minimum level. Therefore it is in the best interest of your employees, as well as your business, to provide comprehensive and high-quality health and safety training.
2. Health and Safety training enhances productivity in the workplace
Health and safety training can help create a safer work environment where employees are better able to focus on their tasks without the worry of their personal safety. This enhanced focus will lead to a higher work output and better-quality products, ultimately increasing productivity and profits.
3. Health and Safety training can boost business reputation and profile
A company that recognises good health and safety training will often have an excellent safety record and a reputation to match.
It is important because it can often play a vital role in what projects an organisation can bid for and how they are awarded. As a result, a strong record of health and safety excellence can help an organisation to achieve high recognition and good standing in their industry.
4. Health and Safety training fulfils the requirements made by the law
It is a legal requirement for all companies to provide health and safety training to their employees. This is particularly important in companies that deal with heavy machinery and hazardous materials. However, even companies whose employees don’t deal with any dangerous equipment and materials are required to offer such health and safety training.
According to the Health and Safety Act, the employer has to provide any information, instructions, training, and supervision that ensures the health and safety at work for their employees. If you ignore this, you can be held personally responsible, fined, and imprisoned for any accidents that occur at work.
5. Health and Safety training strengthens workplace relations
When you invest in training resources to facilitate your team members’ training, you are investing in their professional development. Employees appreciate an employer who is proactive in facilitating their career development and repay such employers through increased engagement, as they now trust you more.
6. Health and Safety training will enable workers invested more in safety in the workplace
Health and safety training not only improves the awareness and understanding of team members in this area, but also their engagement in the process. It is well known that encouraging health and safety in the workplace leads to individual responsibility being taken by workers to ensure there is a safe workplace.
This means that the entire team will actively support a safe working environment, as well as recognize and resolve problems as they occur. This, in effect, leads to fewer injuries, absences and illnesses in the workplace.
Primelift Safety Resources Limited provides health and safety training courses to enhance competency of personnel in the workplace.
Visit our website at www.primeliftsafetyng.com. Call us on +2348037957878 or Email us at training@primeliftsafetyng.com.
