Reasons to Train Staff in Health and Safety

There is certainly no shortage of health and safety training courses on offer now for workers. From manual handling to safe driving, display screen equipment awareness and fire safety, a plethora of courses are available to employees. But just how important is safety training to your organisation and what does your firm gain from providing your personnel with development programmes like these? This brief guide explains the business case for health and safety training.

Fulfilling your legal obligations

Firstly, there are your legal obligations to consider. As training specialists Phoenix spell out on their website, companies are now required by law to provide their workers with adequate information and training on safety issues. If you don’t live up to your responsibilities under the law, you risk potentially costly and damaging legal action.

Preventing tragedy

Then there is the human dimension of this issue to consider. Although safety standards in many parts of the world have improved considerably over recent decades, accidents do still happen and too many workers are injured, made ill and even killed performing their roles. As well as the tragic consequences for the individuals who are directly affected, this has a knock-on impact on their family members, friends and colleagues. By offering your employees suitable training, you can reduce the risk that your employees will suffer illness and injury.

Protecting your reputation

It’s important to think about your firm’s reputation too. While it can take many years of hard work and skill to create a positive image for your business, it may take just one safety lapse for your reputation to be destroyed. People want to know they are dealing with companies that they can trust and if you appear to have jeopardised the wellbeing of your workers, they may simply spend their money elsewhere.

Raising staff morale

Last but not least, think about the impact that effective safety training can have on the morale of your employees. When people benefit from thorough training, they can be happier and more confident in their roles. Your personnel will also know that, as an employer, you are taking their safety seriously and this can make them feel valued and appreciated. In turn, this can help with the recruitment and retention of staff members.

As these points demonstrate, there is a strong business case for training workers in health and safety and those firms that fail to take this issue seriously could be putting their ongoing success in peril.