Alaska employers know that they can face legal liability if they are found to have committed a health or safety violation that injures one of their workers. This is why it is important to have a written health and safety policy.
A health and safety policy covers many topics, including safety risks present in the workplace, how to work safely in the face of these risks and what steps to take if a health or safety violation occurs.
Why you need a health and safety policy
The purpose of a health and safety policy is to confirm commitment to safe working practices as an employer to ensure the health and safety of your workers. It is also a piece of evidence you can use if an employee is injured while working for you, if you can show that they knew about the health and safety policy and knowingly violated it.
Additionally, a written health and safety policy reduces the chance for accidents and injuries. With a good policy and proper training, your employees should feel a sense of safety and security at work. This improves workplace morale and cultivates a positive workplace culture.
Your health and safety policy should start with a statement outlining your commitment to creating a safe and healthy work environment.
Crisis management
Next, your policy should include information on how to respond to immediate emergencies in the workplace that require the use of first aid or emergency services. Include detailed information about where first aid kits are located, who to contact in case of an emergency and what steps to take.
This is sometimes referred to as a crisis management plan. In addition to including information on emergencies affecting individual employees, a crisis management plan should outline steps and actions to take when there is an emergency impacting the entire workplace, addressing topics such as evacuation plans and handling the media.
Safe job performance
If your employees perform physically demanding jobs or work around hazardous chemicals or substances, your health and safety policy should include detailed instructions on how employees can perform their jobs safely and effectively.
Employees typically learn safety guidelines during training but including the information in your health and safety policy provides employees with a written document to refer to if they have questions or need a refresher on safety policies.
Investigation procedures
A health and safety policy does not guarantee your employees will never sustain an injury or be involved in a workplace accident. Therefore, incident investigation processes need to be included in the policy.
Employees should know how to report incidents and what will happen next. Implementing an investigation process also allows you to continuously improve your workplace safety plans.
Writing your health and safety policy
When you write your health and safety policy, use clear but detailed language. Employees should be able to understand what they are reading.
Use documentation to aid with learning. For example, a map of certain workplace areas with arrows pointing to dangerous areas could help employees learn what areas to avoid, rather than simply listing the areas in the policy.
Include contact details for everyone mentioned in the policy. If an employee is supposed to contact human resources after an accident, include the name and contact information of the human resources manager.
Your business needs a written health and safety policy. A policy has many benefits, including keeping your employees safe, improving workplace culture and reducing the risk of accidents.