Regulation of Health and Safety at Work in the UK - Assignment Example

 Table of contents Contents Contents 2 1.Aim of the study 3 2.Introduction 3 3.Importance of Health and Safety regulation 4 4.Key strategic drivers to Health and Safety regulation 4 4.1 Reduction of regulatory burden 4 4.2 Proactive Risk based approach  5 4.3 Encouraging behavior change 5 4.4 Influencing larger employers 5 4.5 Fear of losing credibility 5 4.6 Need to comply with legal laws and policies 6 4.7 Creation of business reputation 6 4.8 Social responsibility of business entities 7 4.9 Perception of employees as people and not production units 7 4.10 Belief on controlling the occurrence of risks 8 4.11 Public campaigns 8 5.Conclusion 9 Reference list 9 1. Aim of the study The study is aimed at identifying and discussing major strategic drivers of Regulation of Health and Safety at work in the UK. The study will focus on HSE regulation and major strategic drivers that encourage them to develop and implement health and safety regulations. 2. Introduction Good working conditions and policies are highly considered in the United Kingdom. The UK government has established and implemented a number of laws that ensure that workers enjoy good working conditions. Health and safety are among the most considered working conditions in the United Kingdom. In Great Britain, the law covering health and safety at the workplace is monitored and regulated by the local authorities (LAs) in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive. These authorities concentrate on controlling and regulating a wide range of activities in different workplaces having various levels of risk in health and safety. According to the HSE (2014, p. 1), the core responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive is to manage health and safety risks in businesses or persons who create risk in the workplace. As a regulatory body, HSE ensures that business entities in the United Kingdom manage their safety and health risks to workers and other partners proportionately and effectively. To perform its tasks and objectives effectively, the health and safety regulation body (HSE), utilizes different forms of interventions that aim at encouraging, influencing and advising various business entities. It also holds to account for businesses that fail to cooperate with the regulatory body and fail to achieve their obligations. The regulatory activities of health and safety regulators are based on the principles of good relation. These principles include transparency, consistency, and accountability, proportionate and targeted. In addition, the act in accordance with the Regulator’s Code highlight in the constitution of UK (Health and Safety Executive, 2014, p. 1). 3. Importance of Health and Safety regulation Health and safety regulation has significant benefits to the workforce and to the organizations. These include; i. Improves productivity and performance in an organization. ii. Reducing absenteeism and ill health related costs. iii. Reduction in cost and expenditure on ill health among workers. iv. Reduction in cases of injuries while at the workplace, insurance and compensation claims and accident occurrences. v. Improvement of employees’ morale while at the workplace and enhances staff retention in the organization. vi. Enhancing staff retention due to the existence of favorable working conditions at the workplace. vii. The health and safety approach enhances corporate responsibility and business reputation. 4. Key strategic drivers to Health and Safety regulation According to Wright (1998, p. 4), there are a number of strategic drivers to health and safety regulation at work place in the United Kingdom. These strategic drivers encourage and stimulate organizations and business entities to adopt health and safety policies in their activities and operations. Strategic drivers of health and safety regulation can be categorized into two major categories. These include; being willing to comply with the law, being aware of the rule and understanding the law. Motivation is an important tool that creates the willingness to comply with laws and regulation as explained by the social learning theory and social judgment theory (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 2014, p. 1). 4.1 Reduction of regulatory burden According to Lofstedt (2011), health and safety regulation has been a burden to many business entities due to its heavy and costly demands. In his report, Lofstedt (2011) stated that a third of all small businesses in UK believe that health and safety legislation is an obstacle and a hindrance to their growth and development. The regulation demands businesses to sacrifice few working days in order to comply with regulations on health and safety at work place. Therefore, the health and safety regulation is focusing on reducing the reducing the regulation burdens on businesses. 4.2 Proactive Risk based approach  Lofstedt (2011) stated that health and safety regulation should be reviewed and should operate on a proactive risk-based approach. The approach focuses on reducing the risks involved at the workplace especially health and safety based risks. Adoption of proactive risk-based approach will improve the working conditions of employees and ensure that risks are minimal. 4.3 Encouraging behavior change The Health and Safety Executive is active in encouraging businesses to change their behaviors especially those regarding employees’ safety and health. According to Lofstedt (2011), the regulation bodies are responsible for behavior change in business entities. For instance, the HSE develops policies on health and safety that encourage businesses and organizations to change their organizational beliefs and behaviors. 4.4 Influencing larger employers Employers are the main target of the health and safety regulation bodies. For instance, the HSE is responsible for influencing and convincing employers to comply with laws and regulations regarding health and safety of employees and employers at the workplace. According to HSE (2004), employers are trained and informed on benefits of complying with health and safety regulations. Large employers are more preferred since they employ large number of workers in their enterprises.             4.5 Fear of losing credibility According to Wright (1998, p. 11), there are two major factors of key drivers in the UK with significant impact on businesses and large organizations to implement health and safety policies and approaches. The first key driver of health and safety regulation is the organization’s fear of losing credibility. Studies show that this fear is dominant in high-risk sectors that perform activities that may cause health and safety risks. Businesses and organization in various production sector fear that the public and potential partners may lose confidence and trust with the organization in the absence of health and safety regulation. Consequently, organizations and business entities without appropriate health and safety regulation may experience lower sales of goods, loss of customers, unfavorable market competition and lower profits. In additions, businesses may lose customer loyalty towards the organization. Organizations that comply with health and safety regulations at the workplace are preferred by customers, workers and other partners over those that do not comply (Wright, 1998, p, 13). 4.6 Need to comply with legal laws and policies Secondly, responsibility of organizations to comply with legal, health and safety regulations is a key driver to health and safety regulation in the workplace. Studies carried out in the United Kingdom show that businesses and organizations tend to comply with the law of the country. All organizations and business are sensitive to law, and they ensure that they comply with each and every law and policy made in the country. In this effect, the establishment of a law on health and safety caused many organizations and business entities in the UK to comply effectively with the law. This is as a result of the perception that when an entity complies with the law, the likelihood of prosecution and detection is low. Therefore, the need to comply with the law has a significant effect on the adoption and implementation of health and safety regulation approach (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 2014, p. 1). 4.7 Creation of business reputation Thirdly, creation of business reputation is a key strategic driver to compliance of health and safety regulation. Each organization of enterprise aims at creating a good and an attracting reputation to the public, workers, shareholders, and partners and to its customers. For instance, organizations tend to create a reputation of the society by being ethical and socially responsible. They believe that the creation of a good reputation will enable them to capture a wider market share and market exposure for their products. Therefore, ambition to the creation of business reputation facilitates and encourages organizations and enterprises to comply and apply health and safety regulation in their workplaces and other activities. 4.8 Social responsibility of business entities The social responsibility of business entities is a key strategic driver of health and safety regulation in the workplace. Employee' safety and health form major concerns of many businesses and organizations. Enterprises and organizations always aim at ensuring their employees and workers are safe and healthy while they go to work and back to their homes. They are cautious of being morally responsible for safety and health issues such as loss of life, severe injuries and ill health of people working in their enterprises. Safety and health risks have a negative impact on the quality of life and income status of the affected person. Therefore, organizations and businesses tend to comply with safety and health regulations in order to make a positive social contribution to the entire community and be corporate citizens (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 2014, p. 1). 4.9 Perception of employees as people and not production units The perception that staff and employees are people and not production units is a motivational aspect that enhances and encourages compliance and implementation of regulation on health and safety in enterprises and organization. Unlike in the ancient times, employees are currently viewed as human beings with feelings, obligations, challenges and responsibilities as opposed to production units. Development of human resource in institutions provides efficient and easy path for compliance of health and safety regulation since the human resource department in each organization aims at enhancing good working conditions of the organization’s staff. Therefore, organizations and business entities tend to comply with safety and health regulation in order to enhance the welfare and good working condition of employees with the perception that they are people and not production units (Wright, 1998, p. 14). 4.10 Belief on controlling the occurrence of risks Some organizations and enterprises believe in controlling the occurrence of risks among employees. This belief is a strategic driver of health and safety regulation that encourages enterprises to comply with the regulation. According to beliefs and perception of these enterprises, staff incorporates people who can be controlled and risks that occur to them can be controlled. They also believe that risks such as injuries do not occur from employee’s negligence, bad luck or lack of attention but due to lack of effective control. These forms of risks can be influenced by training, equipment, management and effective communication among and to employees. Therefore, organizations and enterprises find it necessary to comply and implement safety measures and health facilities and policies that enhance safety and health of their staff. 4.11 Public campaigns Public campaigns are also significant and influential to enterprises and organization to adopt and comply with regulations on safety and health of employees at workplaces. Regulatory authorities can conduct persuasive public campaigns that target organizations and business entities of all structures and sizes. Public campaigns are important and key aspects in enhancing and developing compliance of laws on safety and health since they create public awareness and understanding of safety measures and health policies. For instance, in Britain, a public campaign “Good Health is Good Business” was conducted to enhance improved occupational health risk management in business entities and organizations. The campaign involved conducting surveys and public seminars, provision of guiding materials for employers and employees, education video on the management of health and safety risks, and radio and television advertisements. The campaign facilitated compliance of health and safety policies and influenced attitudes of employers on safety and health conditions of employees. Therefore, pubic campaigns are viewed as effective facilitators and strategic drivers to regulation of safety and health in the workplace (Wright, 1998, p. 13). 5. Conclusion In conclusion, key strategic drivers of safety and health regulation at workplace encourage organizations and enterprises to comply with laws and regulations of safety and health. In addition, these factors create awareness and understanding of public laws and regulations concerning health and safety. Effective use of these key factors ensures that organizations and business entities comply easily with laws and regulation on occupational safety and health since they are aware of their importance and benefits. Reference list Browne R.1973. Safety and health at work: The Robens Report. Nuffield Department of Industrial Health, University of Newcastle. Accessed from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1009483/pdf/brjindmed00093-0091.pdf (27 November 2014) Department for Work and Pension. 2011. The Government response to the Lofstedt Report. London, UK. Gribbin, J. & Parkin C. 2006. Creating a healthy workplace. Faculty of Public Health and Faculty of Occupational Medicine. Accessed from http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/r%20_healthy_workplaces.pdf (27 November 2014). Health and Safety Executive 2004. Thirty years on and looking forward: The development and future of the health and safety system in Great Britain. London., UK. Health and Safety Executive 2014. Regulation of health and safety at work. HSE. London, UK. Lofstedt R. 2011. Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation. London Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2014. Workplace Health and Safety Segmentation and Key Drivers. Accessed from http://www.dol.govt.nz/whss/resources/market-segmentation-24-02-04.asp (27 November 2014). Wright M.1998. The factors motivating proactive health and safety management. Health and Safety Executive. London. Read More