During recent years, I have continued to look closely at the impact of changes to health, safety, and fire legislation on very small businesses. The original research carried out for my PhD highlighted the need for a more practical approach to guidance that starts with the business itself, the visible features that can be seen and noted down, discussed, and considered by everyone who works there, rather than what the law requires. You do not need to be an “expert” to get the process started, just a willingness to stand back a little and see what is actually happening rather than what you think should be happening. It might indeed need a professional input at some stage, depending on the nature of the business, but for the most part, this will help you get to grips with setting up your own system for managing health and safety risks.
The first publication in 2000 “Practical Health and Safety Management for Small Businesses” was the first guide of its kind to take a straightforward, practical approach to identifying, organizing, and managing the health, safety, and fire risks in the business. While it has continued to be a valuable tool for smaller firms, the current COVID-19 crisis has hit small businesses particularly hard, and the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) emphasis has shifted dramatically to the health and well-being of all workers. Since then, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in UK has produced several Risk Assessment guides for specific sectors, so these are an added source of information.
This new guide Managing Health and Safety in a Small Business takes on board the basic principles of controlling and managing risks, but with a broader remit for identifying health risks and a shift toward distant working away from the business site. It still includes these elements, of course, as many sectors cannot accommodate staff working from home, but there are more up-to-date references to potential hazards and controls.
The crucial point is that while it does not guarantee that you have covered every aspect of the legislation that applies to your business, wherever it is based globally, it does establish a system that you can maintain, add to, and keep up to date as your needs and the regulations change. If nothing else, it helps you to look closely at how the business is organized, and you now have a file of evidence to show anyone who wants to see it!