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This article explores the regulatory challenges surrounding health and safety risks in various industries. It discusses the concept of harm, surface perceptions, cause and effect, and distinguishing between minor and serious harm. The article also identifies the greatest exposures and provides intervention strategies for addressing these risks. Topics include a sound methodology, good targeting, and wider acknowledgment of risk control strategies.
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Clive Bonny health and safety • risks
Regulatory challenges • Define harm • Surface perceptions • Establish cause and effect • Distinguish between minor/serious harm • Identify greatest exposures • Intervene with impact and effect
‘Must-haves’ • A sound methodology • Robust and evidence based • Straightforward to understand • Straightforward to adopt • Good targeting • Wider acknowledgement • Wide take-up
Sound methodology? • Stressor - element of work design • Standard – the measure • What should be happening – descriptors of what good organisations might be doing
Employers at Risk • Private company Directors • Health service providers • Education bodies • Local authorities • Financial services
Legal • The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974) • General duty: protect the health of their employees • The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) • Specific duties: assess risk, including risks to mental health
Conventional risk control hierarchy • Eliminate • Substitute • Minimise • Control at source • Personal protection
Enforcement process steps • Assess initial risk of ill health • Determine risk gap • Initial enforcement expectation • Dutyholder factors • Strategic factors • Enforcement conclusion
Work related Stress intervention options • Primary: tackle at source • Secondary: individuals trained to cope • Tertiary: eg counselling services
Primary Interventions • Eliminate or modify stressors to reduce their negative effect on individuals
Examples • Follow Management Standards • Redesign jobs • Clarify personal workplans • Prevent work overload • Flexible working arrangements • Commitment from senior managers • Improve communications • Increase participation
Secondary Interventions • Focus on raising awareness and equipping employees to cope with sources of stress / pressure
Examples • Promote healthy lifestyles • Help managers to recognise the impact of managerial styles on staff • Increase support from managers and co-workers • Help develop other skills to deal with stress eg assertiveness, problem solving skills
Tertiary Interventions • Treat the individual who is suffering from the effects of stress
Examples • Counselling services • Employee assistance programmes • Managing the return to work
Stress Priority ProgrammeDevelopment AWARE ENFORCE Training for enforcers Joint initiatives/case studies Links to providers SELF REGULATE Continuous improvement Sharing Best practice DOING NOT DOING INFORM Develop tools/approaches Management standards Web site Joint initiatives EDUCATE Common agreements to: Risk assessment approach Terminology Evidence NOT AWARE
Enforcement outcomes • Define what compliance looks like • Select indicators for change • Monitor and measure improvement • Spread message • Reinforce • Review and repeat • Contact Clive Bonny 01273 308865 • Clive@consult-smp.com