What are workplace health and safety courses?
Health and safety courses aim to highlight specific workplace hazards and the risks they present to employees of all levels. Rolling out training also helps educate employees on their legislative responsibilities and the importance of adhering to control measures to safeguard their health and safety at work.
Why do employees need it?
Training plays a vital role in helping to reduce the risk of workplace accidents, incidences, and ill-health. Employees who partake in effective health and safety training will better understand workplace hazards and know how to work safely and without risk to themselves or others.
Is health and safety training a legal requirement in Northern Ireland?
Health and safety training is a legal responsibility under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. This legislation states that all employers are responsible for providing their employees with suitable and sufficient information, instruction, and training to enable them to carry out the remit of their role safely.
What workplace health and safety courses are available?
A wide variety of workplace health and safety courses are available in Northern Ireland. Training can range from short awareness level sessions addressing a single hazard, such as manual handling, to more in-depth and higher-level programmes for those with significant responsibilities, such as the NEBOSH General Certificate.
What are the benefits of accredited health and safety training courses?
Employee training can often be categorised into either externally certified or bespoke courses. A workplace may opt for an accredited training programme such as IOSH, NEBOSH or Qualsafe as they are considered regulated, meaning their content has been approved as meeting a certain quality standard. On the other hand, sometimes accredited training can be rigid in its content, leaving little scope to alter delivery to suit a workplace's specific health and safety need. The ability to tailor content is a significant benefit of bespoke training. However, a workplace must satisfy itself with the quality of the course in advance.
Why are these courses important?
Employers cannot underestimate the vital role health and safety courses play in safeguarding a workforce. Training is a legal requirement that aims to protect employees, contractors, customers, and the public who a business's operations may impact. Employers who have a disregard for their legislative responsibilities face the likelihood of fines and, in some instances, prison sentences. Companies also run the risk of having to pay out compensation claims through the Civil legal system following an employee's injury, illness, or death. Indirect consequences include damaged reputations, lower employee retention rates and overall profitability.
Workplace health and safety control measures, of which training is a crucial component, are essential because human injury, illness or death is morally unacceptable. Therefore, employers must inform employees of the hazards the workplace presents and instruct them on how to operate safely to ensure that the level of risk presented is as low as is reasonably practicable.