As an employer, you have a duty to protect your employees from harm and to provide them with a comfortable and safe workplace. 

To ensure employers are abiding to this duty, Parliament regulates working conditions through laws and legislations such as the Health and Safety at Work Act, supervised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Under these legislations, you must provide a safe and healthy workplace for all your workers and this applies to a wide range of workplaces, including not only factories, and offices but also schools, hospitals, hotels and places of entertainment. 

Failure to meet these legislations can result in fines or even prosecution for businesses and organisations. 

 

Creating a safe workplace: 

The HSE have a wide range of resources that provide businesses with the advice needed to meet both general legislations and those specific to their industry. 

One resource available, titled ‘Creating a safe workplace’, lists a number of factors vital for creating a safe workplace, some specifically focused around the topic of cleanliness and hygiene and welfare. These include the following:

 

You must – 

 

• provide clean floors and stairs, with effective drainage where necessary

• provide clean premises, furniture and fittings

• remove dirt, refuse and trade waste regularly

• clear up spillages promptly

• keep internal walls or ceilings clean

• provide clean toilets and hand basins, with running hot and cold or warm water, soap and towels or another suitable means of drying

• provide somewhere to rest and eat meals, including facilities for eating food which would otherwise become contaminated

 

With this list in mind, is your business currently creating a safe workplace for your employees and meeting all of the above? 

If you are struggling to do so, this is where Fidelis Group can help you. 

Through a variety of services including washroom services, commercial housekeeping, industrial/deep cleans and much more, we can work with you to maintain the highest level of health and safety across your site and keep your workplace in the best condition possible, ensuring you are not only meeting legislation, but also creating a comfortable and safe environment for your employees.  

However, it is not just the interior of your site that we can help you with. 

When referring to your ‘workplace’, this means any premises or part of a premises made available to any person as a place of work, which also includes your grounds and outdoor facilities. 

Therefore, in order to create a safe workplace and meet legislation, you also need to be maintaining your grounds. 

Under our Grounds Maintenance division, we also offer services including grass cutting, litter collection, hedge trimming, drainage clearance, car park markings and more. 

 

COSHH Regulations

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, also known as COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health.

The HSE also provides great resources to outline what to do to control exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace and meeting COSHH Regulations is vital to ensure the highest levels of safety across your workplace. 

At Fidelis, COSHH is a key part of our staff training programme and therefore, we are able to provide you with advice and services to ensure you are in line with COSHH Regulations. 

If you would like help meeting Health and Safety legislations and creating a safe environment for all employees, get in touch with us.

 

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