If you’re running a business, and the large majority of your employees are white-collar workers, it can be very easy to think that they’re relatively safe from any kind of injuries or health hazards. However, health and safety regulations exist for a very good reason, and you need to make sure you’re following them down to a tee. Here, we’ve listed some of the most common mistakes made by business owners when it comes to health and safety…



From Wikimedia

Not Conducting Regular Risk Assessments

It’s usually the case that office workers sit down for a large portion of their day, generally typing. Risk assessments of your workstation are critical to assure the continuing health of your employees, and it’s essential to review the existing workstation risk assessments, as back problems from incorrect posture, RSI from typing, and other issues can be avoided, provided that they’re caught early enough. Aside from that, some employees will need additional risk assessments if they’re already suffering with an existing injury or condition. For example, if one of your employees has a heart condition, you may need to look into AED machines for sale, and include that in your next budget. Schedule regular risk assessments, and encourage your employees to report any kind of illness or injury as soon as it happens.

Not Ensuring Your Staff Take Breaks

When working in a busy office, chances are employees will be staring at the garish light of a computer screen for long periods of time, in a position that humans simply weren’t meant to sit in. Taking regular breaks from this kind of activity is a legal requirement, and you have to make sure your employees stick to it. This will not only protect you from any nasty lawsuits, but will also ensure that your staff keep refreshed, able to concentrate, and therefore more productive. As an entrepreneur, “break” may be a dirty word in your mindset, and when you’re running a fledgling business any wasted time can be a huge weight on your mind. However, you’ll invariably be better off by making space for employee breaks. You don’t have to implement set break times, although you should make sure that none of your staff are straining themselves too much.

Failing to Check the First Aid Box

Just like risk assessments, failing to check the first aid box regularly is another big health and safety mistake that you can’t afford to make. In far too many cases, when health and safety officers at a business carry out a spot check, they find that this little green box is at least slightly depleted. A large part of this is the terrible scourge of papercuts, and the resulting consumption of plasters. Make sure that you or someone trustworthy is made responsible for taking stock on a regular basis, and, if your business is rapidly expanding, make sure you’ll have enough supplies for the new staff you’ll recruit. This may sound like a negligible detail, but in some cases, an understocked first aid box can have dire consequences.