Sounds like a shlep to most employers, we know. But it’s more complicated than you think.
There is an Act in South Africa, called the Occupational Health and Safety Act (governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993). Its main purpose is to protect the health, safety and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. If you’re an employer/business owner, abiding by what this Act says is important for moral, health and financial reasons. Morally, every employer has an obligation to protect the lives of their employees. Legally, every employer/business owner will be held liable for their negligence to implement Health and Safety measures in their businesses and will be held accountable to pay out compensation to the families of the injured or deceased worker. A business owner may bump into litigation charges or fines, should their lack of due diligence in implementing Health and Safety be identified. If an employee fatality occurs within the workplace, this could possibly be traced back to negligence, indifference or unsafe practices. At the end of the day, business owners are the ones who will be charged with various offenses. The business owner will furthermore be obligated to deal with bad publicity and its adverse effects on business. Welcoming a Health and Safety culture within your workplace protects the employees as well as the employer.
Accidents and work related illnesses cost companies money by means of lost time, lost production, damage to equipment and materials, compensative payments and increased insurance costs. Improving safety performance at your workplace brings immediate cost savings for everyone concerned. Whether it’s your workers involved in accidents or your property that gets damaged by a fire – you WILL be financially liable. Implementing Health and Safety measures helps businesses to prevent such incidents from happening.
With Health and Safety procedures in place at your workplace, wastage of people and materials are minimized. Receiving Health and Safety Training, and other things such as Risk Assessments is definitely a must for every business owner regardless of what industry you operate in.
The OHS Laws is not in place to create hassles for employers or just to charge people fines for violations. The law is in place to keep workers accident and injury free, and to protect businesses from damage to property. It’s not about what it costs, it is about what it saves.
