by jbs061709 E3 — June 22, 2009—Workplace deaths and injuries in the U.K. have fallen over the past thirty years, but thousands still die every year as a result of work-related accidents and ill health, according to the U.K.’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE has launched a new strategy, Be Part of the Solution, which is designed to reduce the number of workplace accidents and take a commonsense approach to ensuring that risk management is an enabler for business, not a burden.
New research demonstrates that employers and workers alike both recognize overwhelmingly that providing a safe workplace makes sound commercial sense. Nearly 90 percent of business leaders say that people are their organization’s most important asset. In addition to preventing accidents, 65 percent of employees say that good health and safety practices make them feel valued.
The recession could make some U.K. workplaces more dangerous, notes HSE, as more than a quarter of business leaders say that that their organization will face pressure to cut spending on health and safety this year. This is not only potentially dangerous but could also be bad for business; nearly eight in ten business leaders acknowledge that good health and safety standards are beneficial. In part this is because the cost of preventing accidents is almost always less than the costs associated with an accident once it happens, notes HSE.
Almost half of Britain’s workers know someone who has been injured at work, yet the actual rate of deaths and serious injuries is greatly underestimated. On average, employees think that 3,000 people were killed or seriously injured at work last year, but the true number is 137,000—more than 45 times higher, says HSE.
Too often health and safety is seen as trivial rather than as a serious effort at preventing tragedy, notes HSE. HSE says it is focused on real risks and preventing the serious harm that dangerous workplaces can cause, and that the most effective way to improve health and safety practices is for senior management to show leadership on the issue. HSE is thus calling on leaders to sign the pledge to “Be Part of the Solution” and improve health and safety standards.
