Teams perform better in a safe and healthy work environment. It will be easier for the team leader to motivate his or her team to achieve the desired results and business objectives if they know they are working in a safe environment.
Health, safety and welfare provisions are basic requirements in the workplace and have been outlined by the introduction of a legislation called – The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), this is the UK’s version, other countries will have their own version of this legislation. This legislation ensures that organisations comply with basic regulations to ensure staff wellbeing and safety whilst in the workplace.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) stipulates that employers and those in control of workplaces have a duty to ensure that they provide adequate provision of the health, safety and welfare of all their employees and anyone who uses their premises.
A team leader must ensure that the welfare arrangement provisions put in place by the company are suitable for the needs of the team and enable the tasks to be performed efficiently and effectively.
A team leader will be responsible for the reporting of accidents and injuries in accordance with The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), with all injuries being recorded in the accident book.
Team leaders also need to be aware of regulations that will impact on their work area:
- Display Screen Regulations (DSE) – employers must protect their workers from health risks associated with using display screens (applicable for those who use them over one hour every day)
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) – employers must control hazardous substances and prevent exposure to harmful materials
- Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (PPE) – relevant equipment must be given to employees to protect against health and safety risks
The purpose for having good health and safety practices is to prevent accidents occurring, with the team leader ensuring that policies and procedures are followed. Why do we need to prevent accidents? There are three major factors:
Moral: unacceptable to put health and safety of anyone within the workplace at risk
Legal: failure to comply can carry the threat of prosecution or civil action because standard of care was not provided
Economic: can cause loss of time for the employer, increase in insurance premiums, injury claims, and low productivity