Meeting health and safety regulations will be a core part of business management, and although an office might seem like a relatively low-risk environment there’s more to it than you might think. Accidents can happen, particularly if you’re not aware of the risks and don’t identify ways to reduce them, and unless you want to suffer the financial (and perhaps even legal) consequences you’d be wise to put health and safety at the top of the agenda.
Know the law
Essentially, an employer is responsible for the health and safety of everyone in the workplace. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that an employer must do everything that’s reasonably practicable to protect the health, safety and overall welfare of workers, with undertaking regular risk assessments being a core part of complying with legislation. A risk assessment will identify and address any risks present, and leading on from that you’ll be expected to implement any necessary precautions to reduce those risks whilst offering suitable training to employees.
There aren’t any hard and fast rules when it comes to how to maintain health and safety standards and reduce risk in the workplace, but it’s worth bearing in mind that if you fail to implement the necessary policies you could be held liable should an accident or injury occur. You have a duty of care to your employees which means you need to do everything you can to ensure the workplace is as free from hazards as possible, and one key are you need to address is in relation to the furniture.
The role of furniture in health and safety
Think about it. Your employees are sitting at their desks all day, and if they don’t have suitable or comfortable furniture to accommodate they could soon develop health issues. The figures speak for themselves—last year alone almost half a million employees took time off work as a result of musculoskeletal or back injuries, and it’s thought that a large proportion of those injuries were caused by poor posture. That means the chairs and desks had a lot to answer for.
But, there is a solution—better, ergonomically-designed furniture will mean employees sit in a better position and therefore will suffer fewer health complaints as a result, keeping them on their feet and on the job. In this sense it’s important to consider the financial benefits too. Sick days cost the business money, not only in terms of sick pay but in terms of reduced productivity and (therefore) profit as well, so fewer sick days will mean more money for the business. It’s win-win for everyone concerned.
So, now you’ve realised the importance of health and safety in the workplace, you’re going to want the right contemporary office furniture to accommodate. That’s where we come in. Here at Calibre we’re leading suppliers of contemporary and executive office furniture in the UK, and with everything in our range being top-quality you can be confident in providing a comfortable and pain-free experience for your workers. So, get in touch and you can tick one health and safety concern off your list.