Why Health and Safety Training Is Important

It’s easy to see health and safety training as just another box for businesses to tick. But there’s so much more to it than just meeting regulations. Health and safety training plays a key role in protecting people and keeping businesses running smoothly. It’s not something we often talk about, but it really does make a difference.

We’ll explore how health and safety training benefits businesses of all kinds and show you the most impactful ways it helps keep workplaces safe and productive— from boosting employee confidence to minimising risks and saving costs. 

Let’s break down why health and safety training is such an important investment for any business.

What is Health and Safety Training?

Health and safety training prepares workers for unexpected, potentially harmful, and dangerous situations that may occur in the workplace. This training is given to new employees, but it isn’t a one-time task; even veteran staff need to periodically complete / refresh training, particularly if new equipment / systems have been installed.

Health and safety training can take many forms, including lectures, practical demonstrations, and instructions on approaching daily work and responding to emergencies. When applied correctly, it becomes an integral part of the internal know-how passed to new employees and gradually improved as additional resources become available.

How Does Health and Safety Training Contribute to Success?

It’s a mistake to view health and safety training as an obligation that simply needs to be crossed off. Rather than treating it like a chore, companies should take these procedures seriously and consider them an investment in their operations. And the potential returns are excellent – evidence shows that for every ₤1 spent on improving workplace safety, businesses can recoup ₤2.20.

There are many ways health and safety training helps your business:

• Safer workplace – Proper training on the risk of workplace accidents, protecting the workforce and helping ensure operations run smoothly.
• More efficient work – Employees who understand how to perform their roles safely can work productively without being exposed to unnecessary risks.
• Lower maintenance costs – Well-trained employees reduce the risk of damage to equipment and other assets, thus limiting the need for frequent repairs or replacements.
• Higher attendance – Companies with strong health and safety cultures have fewer absentees. 
• Easier recruiting – Work environments that are demonstrably safe make it easier to recruit high-quality staff.
• Avoiding liabilities – Companies that flaunt regulations and don’t invest in training could find themselves mired in legal difficulties and forced to pay compensation should staff be injured.

If positive outcomes are not enough to motivate you, stop for a moment to consider what happens when workplace safety is neglected. UK businesses lose up to ₤15 billion due to injury or illness every year, at least part of which is preventable. The authorities also levy steep fines against companies that don’t meet their legal obligations in this area, sometimes exceeding ₤1 million.

Who Needs Health and Safety Training?

It’s a mistake to think that health and safety training is needed only in industries where employees deal with physical hazards, like construction. However, dangers are present in virtually every field of work and good preparation is the only way to avoid them. 

That’s why the UK government mandates health and safety training for all businesses and has introduced a number of legal acts detailing what needs to be taught to employees in every line of work. The most important are:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA): The foundational piece of health and safety legislation in the UK. It outlines the general duties employers have towards employees, the public, and anyone affected by their activities. The main aim is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees, achieved through adequate training and supervision.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR): These regulations build on the HSWA and provide more specific duties for employers. This includes carrying out risk assessments and appointing ‘competent persons’ to oversee health and safety.

Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: Sets out the minimum standards for the workplace environment. 

Since every employee in a place of business can be affected by safety failures, they all need to be trained in the relevant safety procedures. This includes part-time workers, remote workers, and lone workers especially if they are commonly asked to complete tasks without direct supervision by more experienced colleagues or managers.

Who Is Responsible for Conducting Health and Safety Training?

The size of your company, your industry, and whether you have access to specialised trainers all play a role in determining who’s responsible. Usually, it’s one of these:

• Company owners/directors
• Managers/supervisors 
• Experienced employees
• HR department
• In-house health and safety officer
• External agency

In smaller businesses, the owner / director often ends up shouldering this responsibility, adding even more to their already full plates. That’s why growing companies often bring in specialists as soon as they can, giving them practical roles like ensuring health and safety compliance.

Hiring dedicated professionals can boost the effectiveness and timeliness of training for larger businesses. With their deep, hands-on knowledge, these professionals can often deliver better results than a business owner or HR manager. However, they might still face challenges getting the internal support they need to make a real impact.

This is in part why more organisations are outsourcing this job to outside consultants—the percentage of companies trusting health and safety training to the private sector increased from 45% to 51% between 2013 and 2019.

When is Outsourcing Health and Safety Training a Good Idea?

You might be considering whether partnering with an external consultancy like Safety Hands could be right for your business. Bringing in experts who live and breathe workplace safety can help create effective training programs that fit your unique needs, your business and resource needs, and ensure they are rolled out smoothly.

By working with an outside team, you can protect your employees from potential risks without disrupting your everyday operations. A safe workplace means your staff can stay focused on what they do best. Contact us today for more information on how we can help your business.