Who is Responsible for Workplace Health and Safety?

Who is responsible for workplace health and safety is one of the most commonly asked questions in workplace health and safety management discussions, either officially or unofficially. In this article, we will explore this and see on whose shoulders the responsibility of health and safety in the workplace falls.

But first, let’s start with a scenario example which I have adapted from a similar article from LoopHealth (www.loophealth.com).

Scenario Example: Health and Safety in the Workplace

You are a sales and marketing officer in an engineering firm. As you strut “salesmanly” to your office in the morning, you notice a puddle of water on the floor. What do you do as a sales and marketing officer in this situation?

Take a moment to think about your choices.

We can narrow the choices down to two:

1. Walk past the puddle since you are only a salesperson who has no obligation to safety
2. Take proactive action and report this to the concerned persons at the workplace immediately.

Depending on what you choose to do in that situation, you either prevent or allow a possible workplace hazard.

Now if you make the first choice, and a colleague slips, falls, and is injured, will that be your responsibility? Another important question you must ask yourself to evaluate your mindset about health and safety in the workplace.

If you take the second option, you call the attention of the concerned employee and they get rid of the puddle, your colleagues may not have noticed the puddle or fall to injury. But you have averted a potential workplace hazard.

Would you rather not do it if you would not be credited for preventing a possible workplace hazard? Another important question.

This scenario allows us to see how a little almost insignificant action can prevent or allow potential dangers at work. It is important to ask employees and for employees to ask themselves the question of who is responsible for health and safety in the workplace.

It is equally important for managers and employers to evaluate themselves in the light of the question as this can translate to a more comprehensive approach to safety and health in the workplace.

Scenarios like the one above may seem trivial, but they reflect a crucial workplace mindset that can improve consciousness and awareness about safety in the officer.

While it was only a puddle that we saw in the scenario, some workplaces hold bigger risks and can result in more damaging injuries to workers. Some can even spread to affect a whole community town or city. Consider hazards in a forgery, nuclear plant or laboratory. These hold higher risks.

Occupational safety is an important component of working in any workplace, but who is responsible for safety and health in the workplace is a question many have to answer to achieve a better attitude toward safety within the work environment.

Who is Responsible for Workplace Health and Safety?

In an organizational setting, employers and managers are responsible for workplace health and safety. Within the workplace, the responsibility of ensuring the health and safety of the staff rests largely on the employers and managers.  This is also a statutory law in workplace health safety, implying a legal requirement on the managers and owners to ensure the overall safety and well-being of the employees and visitors and even of the people within the community where the organization or factory is located. This includes general visitors, customers, partners, etc

Apart from being owners of the company, employers and managers are important stakeholders to make crucial decisions regarding the company, as such, they are also responsible for ensuring the safety of employees. Businesses are required to separate adequate resources for the health and safety management of workers as a legal requirement.

Collective Attitude to Workplace Health and Safety

Although employers and managers are responsible for ensuring workplace health and safety, the reality is that they themselves have little they can do if the workplace attitude does not reflect the right workplace health and safety mindset.

Remember the questions we asked in the scenario above.

Looking back at the question, workplace health and safety can effectively be achieved through team effort. That is, ensuring safety and well-being within the workplace requires a collective effort where each employee is responsible for safety within that work environment. The right attitude towards workplace health and safety is one which considers all personnel as responsible for safety.

As seen in the scenario painted above, one act of indifference to safety-ensuring action in the workplace can potentially harm people. Employees acting irresponsibly may hurt themselves and others while doing so.

This is why it is important for employers and managers to have clear workplace health and safety guidelines that ensure safety systems in the workplace. Health and safety is a crucial part of risk management in the workplace which will help identify, notify, and address potential dangers that could harm people.

This also goes beyond health and safety, quickly identifying and preventing dangers helps to ensure business operation continuity, avoiding interruption in company operations that could impact profitability and competitive advantage.

In an age where it is increasingly important to ensure safety within the workplace, it is important for businesses to have clear guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees within the workplace.