Keeping employees safe from harm must be an organization’s top duty. With work-related illnesses and injuries accounting for around 30 million lost working days annually, health and safety are far more than a compliance issue. It is a vital prerequisite for the wellness of the employees and operational activities within the whole organization or the workplace.
Therefore, safety and health training play an integral role to help both employers and their staff work safely, meet legal compliance, and minimize the financial costs that businesses may face.
What is Training?
Training means helping individuals learn to do something new effectively and efficiently. It also means telling them what they must do and what they must not do, or simply providing the information. Training could be both online and onsite, depending on the nature of the workplace, organization, or training needs.
Who is Responsible for Health & Safety at Work?
Employees are entitled to work in environments where there is a lower risk to their health and safety and where workplace hazards are controlled properly. Numerous workplace safety laws put a legal duty on employers to ensure the well-being of their staff.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, require employers to ensure that their staff receives whatever training is necessary to work safely within the work premises.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, ensures that what education is most important and those employees in need. For example, when a new employee starts work, he/she must be trained adequately on the posed dangers at work.
The Health and Safety Regulations (Training for Employment) of 1990, ensures that anyone completing the work must follow the practices as covered by the law.
Health & Safety Courses
There are numerous safety training courses that employers can opt for their employees, both offline and online. Some of the major yet important online health and safety courses are:
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First Aid for Mental Health Training
This mental health first aid training course provides trainees with the adequate knowledge they need to be proficient mental health first aider within their workplace or the organization. Mental health first aiders are specifically designated to provide support to anyone who is suffering from mental health issues.
This course helps them understand better what they can do to ensure workplace safety.
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First Aid at Work Training
First aid at a work training course is mandatory for all the operational staff, owners, and managers. The course complies with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance and covers the basic induction about first aid that can be followed by individuals until professional assistance arrives at work
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Fire Awareness Training
The fire awareness training helps trainees examine the fire hazards in the workplace or the organization and what control measures can help employers to ensure a safe and secure workplace for all. It helps trainees identify the root causes of fire in the workplace and effective ways to minimize and prevent them.
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Manual Handling Training
Manual handling training is vital for those whose work is associated with the lifting and loading of objects. It helps employers and their employees understand the basic principles of manual handling to mitigate the risk of injuries or ill-health related to it. The course is ideal to assess the manual handling tasks and to carry out them safely.
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Asbestos Awareness Training
When talking about construction and building work, employers must also be very well aware of the dangers of asbestos that can result in severe health risks to their employees. Anyone who may come into contact with asbestos during their normal work activities must receive sufficient training on this deadly fiber.
As an employer, you must make sure that the people employed under you are familiar with the Control of Asbestos Regulations and are following practices that help them conduct the task safely.
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Slips, Trips & Falls Training
Slips, trips, and falls are also significant causes of all the major workplace injuries. If not taken seriously can lead to severe to fatal injuries and accidents. Therefore, employers must take into account practical steps to minimize the chances of slips and fall accidents at work.
Slips, trips, and falls training teach trainees how such incidents occur, why they occur and what are the effective ways to prevent them to ensure workplace safety for all.
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Working at Height Training
Working at height is the single largest cause of a lot of major workplace accidents that can lead to the severity or even death. Employers and managers have a legal duty under the work safety legislation to take whatever steps possible to mitigate the chances of such accidents.
This working at height training course will help both employers and their staff get vital knowledge to work competently and safely while working above ground.
It also helps them comply with the current safety legislation to create a safe workplace for all.
Conclusion
Adequate training in health and safety is the need of the hour for every business to be successful. Without it, businesses, organizations, and workplaces are unable to comply with the legislation as well as they may face serious moral, legal, and financial implications.
This blog post explains what are some of the important yet effective safety training courses that employers can provide to their personnel to create a safe workplace for all.
Video – What is Health and Safety?
This interesting video presentation, from our sister channel in YouTube – Marketing Business Network, explains what ‘Health and Safety’ is using simple and easy-to-understand language and examples.
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