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The Dilemma for SME's
There is a plethora of legislation that is applicable to all
businesses, irrespective of size or nature, which is rapidly
increasing as more and more European Directives are translated
into health & safety regulations and amendments. A short
overview of this can be read
as an introduction to health & safety law.
Large businesses are usually well-equipped to deal with this,
as most have appointed a full-time, health & safety professional
onto their Board of Directors and formed a safety committee comprising
of a well-trained group of individuals representing all areas
of their day-to-day business. Those few remaining businesses
that have not are diminishing rapidly through falling foul of
the law and such serious breaches are sometimes highlighted on
the national news broadcasts.
SME's on the other hand are unlikely to have either the resources
or the infra-structure to support this approach, nor in most
instances do the Owner/MD's have the time to devote to understanding
and initiating the requirements of health & safety regulations,
yet the legislative demands upon them are no different to those
of large, resourceful organisations. The risks
to all businesses through non-compliance can be very significant
indeed, but where the training and skills required to
deal with even the basics of health & safety matters has
not been addressed, the risks are even greater.
The law is quite clear and unmittigating in its expectations
for SME's to employ, train or have access to a competent person
in matters of health & safety in order to fulfil their legal
and moral duty of care to those people they employ and
those who may be affected by their business activities, such
as neighbours and visitors. In the absence of any such resource,
this burden falls firmly on the Owner/MD by default, although
naturally, their responsibility under health & safety
legislation can never be delegated. So, this is the Dilemma for
SME's:
How do you continue the full-time job of managing your
business and at the same time understand, keep
abreast of and fulfil your obligations under health & safety
law?
Over the last decade or so, more and more SME's have been
tackling this dilemma by 'appointing' an external Health &
Safety Advisor to assist in the management and control of all
matters of health & safety, but without incurring the high
costs of full-time employment of a professional or the extensive
time and investment needed to acquire the essential knowledge
and resources. (This frequently applies to other areas such as
Quality Assurance and Personnel).
Care should always be exercised in selecting any individual,
or group of individuals, to assist you in any area of your business
and health & safety is no exception. Choosing one from the
SE Group has many advantages and benefits, not
least of all because each and every one of us has in-depth experience
at Senior Manager level, with many having been Managing Directors
or even Owners. Therefore, the understanding of business operations
and the many problems they face is inherent, as well as the expertise
each one has within their specialised field, which is in my case,
health & safety.
So what can we offer you?
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