The Health and Safety at Work - Essay Example

HEALTH AND SAFETY al Affiliation) Introduction Issues ascribed to occupational health and safety has increasingly become imperative in the contemporary competitive business environment. One of the major industries that have also experienced a rapid improvement and modification of rules and regulations geared towards promoting safety among the workers as well as customers and clients. This discussion will be based on an imaginary hotel operating within United Kingdom; the managerial organization of the hotel is based on vertical approach ranging from: The top management team to the sub-ordinate staff. The duties of each management level in relation to the provision of safety issues shall be arranged in accordance to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Moreover, since the hotel industry deals with a wide range of customers and other stakeholders, the roles of the hotel managers is provision of safe environment for their customers and other stakeholders i.e. customers, shall be discussed in this discussion. The discussion shall also focus on various aspects of safety at the hotel i.e. occupational fire management et cetera. The roles of external stakeholders i.e. the UK Government shall also be discussed in this document. The United Kingdom government undertakes a crucial role in formulating and implementing various occupational safety and health rules. The hotel being one of the industries that adhere to the rules and regulations that govern businesses shall observe the Health and Safety at Work Act as stipulated by the United Kingdom government. Organization of the Establishment The arrangement of the establishment will be arranged in manner that the roles of each stakeholder and individual meet the pre-requisites of the Health and Safety at Work act, 1974. To begin with, the hotel has a manager that undertakes various managerial responsibilities. The manager is responsible for the formulation and implementation of various internal rules and regulation in consultation with other pertinent stakeholders. Moreover, with assistance of a monitoring and evaluation officer, the manager will identify whether the modus operandi of the hotel are in compliance with the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974. Consequently, according to the Health and Safety at work Act 1974, the manager and other supervisors shall ensure that the safety of the workers and the customers is given a greater consideration. In order to ensure that safety and health issues of both the workers is not jeopardized; this will be undertaken through reviewing of all the documents and any other material provided by an external stakeholder i.e. suppliers and manufacturers. Such materials shall be reviewed with the assistance of the assistant managers and other pertinent stakeholders to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Apart from the manager who is also the employer in this hotel, there are also employees who perform different duties according to the requirements and the instruction of the managers. In relation to the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974, the employees shall also ensure that they take care of their safety as well as other persons such as the customers who may be affected by their actions within the hotel. The employees shall also make sure that they observe safety operational rules i.e. occupational fire management rules as set by the managers. The employees at the hotel shall also ensure that they do not destroy the safety management tools as well as other safety equipment such as fire extinguishers within the hotel premises. They shall also promote corporation with the managerial team in relation to safety management in the hotel. This shall be conducted through reporting of accidents or even perceived threats. The United Kingdom government also plays a key role in promoting the safety of workers in the hotel and the customers. In this case, the UK government is the enforcer of the Health and Safety at Work Act in the hotel. However, this role will also be played by the employer in the hotel (Managerial Team of the Hotel). Arrangements within the Organization in relation to the HSWA, 1974 Description of the Duties and Responsibilities employers within the Hotel: The duties of the employers shall be described in relation to the appropriate section of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Specifically, the duties of the employers shall be arranged in regard to section 2 and 3 of the act which depict that: The employer shall implement practicable safety rules and regulations to his employees in regard to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and to ensure that persons who are not under his employment system i.e. customers and suppliers, are not exposed to any health risk or any scenarios that may harm their health. It is imperative to note that these duties are described under the act on a basis of their practicability. This entails that, before their implementations, an assessment and their evaluation is conducted with an intension of determining their associated costs of implementation. If the results of the assessment indicate that the costs are quite higher than then the risks, then the managers or the employers will be compelled to ignore their implementation. Description of the duties of employees and other individuals: In regard to section seven of the Health and Safety at Work Act, there are various duties related to safety and health that shall be undertaken by the employees themselves as well as other associated stakeholders. All employees within the hotel shall perform their duties in relation to the provisions of this section which states that: It is the responsibility of any employee to undertake reasonable measures, geared towards promoting safe modus operandi within the hotel premises. The employees shall also work in corporation with the administration in order to promote safety; this includes reporting of any health threats and risks that may occur within their hotel as they perform their duties as well as a strict observation of the laid down procedures in order to facilitate provision of safe and quality services. Duties and responsibilities of Law enforcers: Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act stipulates that; in the case of lack of compliance with the above safety rules and regulations arising from neglect, the employers specifically shall be charged with the offense of negligence in this respect. The local authorities shall charge the managers as well as the employees according to the provisions of this section. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, provides powers to the appropriate local authorities to enforce this law. In this respect, they may be compelled to provide legal notices to the hotel manager in case of non-compliance or when mangers are identified to be engaging in activities that are risky to the health of the workers. The enforcement organ may provide two types of notices to the hotel managers; one of these is the improvement notice, which may compel the managers to improve their safety issues in order to meet the required standards. Moreover, the enforcers may provide the management with a prohibitory notice majorly prevents managers from undertaking some activities due to their associated health risks. Difficulties in the Implementation of the Arrangements To begin with, there are certain loopholes in the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that may hinder its effective implementation. The first loop hole that is evident in this regulation occurs in the sense that employers are advised to assess the costs of implementing the stipulations of this act. After, assessing the costs, employers are directed to weight the costs against the risks; in the case that the risks are negligible, the employers may opt not to implement these laws. The above scenario is a great challenge to the successful implementation of the regulation due to the fact that the act does not specify the level of measurements to determine the types of risks that may are negligible, in this case, some employers may intentionally opt to neglect some aspects of the law by claiming that their implementation costs are higher than the associated risks. The other challenge that may be faced in the implementation of the arrangements discussed in the document occurs in the sense that: Some managers may lack the appropriate skills to successfully implement the requirements of any safety rule, the Health and Safety at Work Act being inclusive. This may also be a great challenge owing to the fact that the efforts of an external expert will be needed in order to successfully implement this regulation hence increasing the operational costs. Issues arising from negligence in respect to the application of the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act may also pose a great threat to the efficient operation of the hotel. In some cases, the workers as well as the managers may ignore the application of the requirement of this act due to lack of awareness. This may expose the hotel to charges for negligence as well as fines related to non-compliance. Probable Solutions There should be a review of the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act with an intension of modifying some of its aspects. Specifically, this should entail giving the specifications of the situations whereby the costs of implementing the rules are higher than the associated risks or specifically indicating the level of risks that may be considered negligible. Furthermore, employers should focus on providing thorough training to the employees with an intention of promoting efficacy in regard to the application of the safety rules. Such kind of training may also be provided to the employers themselves by external or internal experts. Despite the fact that this approach may increase the operational costs, it is important to note that the overall long term benefits supersede the short term costs. In order to improve the level at which the employees observe such rules, motivational approaches shall be employed in a manner that; employees who observe the safety rules strictly are provided with some incentives i.e. rewards, promotion, vacations et cetera in order to boost the morale of other employees towards observation of the safety rules and regulations. The manager may also undertake certain improvements especially after undertaking monitoring of the various safety rules and regulations. The monitoring activity may involve the identification of challenges and aspects of non-compliance among the employees in order to facilitate the formulation of effective improvement plans. Legal Consequences on non-compliance There are various ways in which the United Kingdom government through the Health and Safety at Work Act may. The enforcement authorities of this law are charged with the responsibility to undertake supervisions at any work place in order to determine the level of compliance. This supervision may be conducted without prior notice to any industry or institution. In the case where certain aspects of non-compliance are detected, the enforcement authority may be compelled to provide the hotel administration with legal notice of improvement or even prohibition. The improvement notice is provided in the case that the hotel activities are undertaken in a manner that indicates that some aspects of safety laws have been breached. In this case, the enforcement officer in regard to the stipulations of the HSWA provides a reason for issuance of the improvement notice and the hotel manager may be given 21 day to correct the situation. On the other hand, the enforcement officer up on the visit may also give a prohibition notice; this notice is specifically provided when the officer notices the existence of any serious health risk as well as any situation that may lead to serious injuries. It is imperative to note that the such notices usually take effect immediately to prevent further operations that may cause injuries. Consequently, a breach of the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 may also lead to imposition of fines to the management. In some serious situations, the enforcement officer may also take the management to court where they may be charged and imprisoned or even fines heavily. Agencies that promote Industrial Safety in the United Kingdom One of the private companies that focus on industrial safety in the United Kingdom is the Quantum Risk Management Health and Safety Consultant Firm. The Company offers consultation in issues ascribed to Occupational Health and Safety in the United Kingdom; it also guides firms and organizations on the ways in which they can apply the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Another Private Company that offers Consultation in issues of occupational health and safety is the Health and Safety Click Limited. It guides Companies on issues of occupational health and safety rules in regard to the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Moreover, as a consultant firm, it provides advice to various companies on how to implement such safety rules on various aspects of their operations. The third private Company the offer guidance to companies on issues of occupational health and safety is the BHA Health and Safety Solutions. This company provides consultative services to company on how to implement the occupational health and safety rules; it also provides companies with information regarding the stipulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Consequently, the United Kingdom Government, through the various departments such as the Health and Safety Commission as well as the Health and Safety Executive, which are currently merged also, provides Companies with relevant guidelines in relation to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 regarding the provisions of safety at work places. Bibliography Swallow, K.n.d. Commercialmotor.com - Welcome to Commercial Motor. Commercialmotor.com - Welcome to Commercial Motor. Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://www.commercialmotor.com Read More