The Government’s determination to reduce the regulatory “burden” on small and low-risk businesses has paved the way for the launch of two online resources of essential but straightforward health and safety advice.
The Health and Safety Toolbox is the latest in a package of online guidance developed by the HSE, with the support of businesses. Building on Health and Safety Made Simple, which provides basic information for low-risk businesses, the new Toolbox is said to accumulate everything an SME could need to manage health and safety effectively.
The Government hopes that the resource will not only help such businesses avoid wasting time reading health and safety information irrelevant to their activities but also stop them from spending money on unnecessary bureaucracy, or resorting to seeking advice from external consultants.
Employment minister Mark Hoban said: “Small and low-risk businesses should be focusing their time on growing and becoming a success, not having to waste precious time and money on unnecessary bureaucracy. This Toolbox will make it quick and simple for businesses to discover everything they need to know about health and safety.”
HSE chair Judith Hackitt said the package would help businesses focus on real and relevant risks. She added: “By going online and working through it for themselves, for free, we hope low-risk SMEs will realise that they don’t need expensive consultancy, or reams of paperwork to manage their responsibilities. It is of no benefit to businesses, or workers if over-the-top precautions are introduced.”
According to the Executive, quick, simple guides and interactive tools on how to identify, assess and control common workplace hazards have been pulled together for the first time. Core health and safety issues relating to the type of business, its workforce and workplace are also said to be set out more simply than before. €
There has been a considerable amount of rhetoric on this subject.
Complaints from SME’srange from not enough info to enable compliance to over regulation hamstringing them.
We, have had a fair old go with our comments too.
Now then, the information and the tool kit to comply has been produced and the excuses about difficulty in finding info and when they do it’s expensive.
So now, the prosecutions and penaltiesshould be more realistic because there’s no more excuses are there?