Health and safety in the workplace should be your number one priority, even if it’s just you and your PA working hard together. You need to ensure that your office or grounds are a safe and nice place to be, and that you’re always on top of the risks that could end up hampering your business success.
A lot of threats are internal, after all, and as a small business, you need to be sure you can see them coming a mile off. So with that in mind, here are a few things to ask about your company premises, to make sure they’re as safe as you need them to be.
How Often Are They Inspected?
When it comes to maintaining a good health and safety standard, it’s a good idea to conduct an inspection at least 4 times a year, or once a quarter. Indeed, health and safety reps have the right to inspect premises once every 3 months, and that should be encouraged by you as well.
But your inspection needs don’t stop there. It’s also a good idea to get specialists in every now and then; for example, you should arrange an Electrical Installation Condition Report every five years or so. This helps to cover all bases within your company’s office, and ensures that you have a clean and clear safety record on your side.
What Are Your Cleaning Protocols?
With the pandemic reminding us of just how important it is to stay clean, you should also think about your cleaning protocols and whether they’re up to date or not. Of course, official government guidelines should always be followed if you suspect contamination has occured, but otherwise, you simply need to be thorough in all cleaning activities.
Most of all, make sure any surfaces and objects that are touched on a daily basis are cleaned on a regular cycle, rather than just at the end of the working day. Hand sanitizer should always be available at multiple points around your premises, to ensure you and your employees can also stay clean in between cleaning cycles.
Have You Assessed Potential Risks?
There are multiple categories of risks that a business can run up against, and you should think about how every single one applies to your company premises. They could be both major and minor infractions, and a lot of company owners can forget about the day to day risks even just an office space can present.
For example, one of the biggest potential risks on your company premises is the entrance way. If there is no carpet near the door to ensure people can wipe their feet, your premises could suffer from regular slip and fall accidents, and even just more regularly dirty floors. Either can be a huge hazard!
Your company premises need to be regularly reviewed to provide good physical and mental wellbeing on the job. Are you sure you’ve taken the necessary steps to keep you and your employees safe?
