With the average fine for SMEs being over £60,000, they are facing rising costs associated with non-compliance. Yet despite the potential consequences, businesses are still taking chances when it comes to workplace health and safety.
In a recent study, it was found that budgets for health and safety were limited, and since the Coronavirus pandemic, more money and focus was spent on making the workplace COVID-safe with social distancing and PPE taking up the majority of the Health & Safety budget.
In 2020, it is reported that there were 224 breaches of Health and Safety regulations in the UK alone, with 80% of those breaches coming from the service sector, meaning that lots of businesses in that area will need to ensure they are fully compliant with the spotlight firmly on the hospitality and service industry.
In addition to that, the utilities sector saw the amount of breaches more than double in 2020, yet because fines for this specific sector were decreased by 49%, there is an assumption that overall these breaches are not being taken as seriously as they should be.
Repercussions of ignoring health & safety compliance
- Workforce at risk of serious accidents
- Increase in time off for sickness
- Increase in serious or fatal cases relating to health & safety
- Low staff retention
- Increase in cost of H&S fines
How we can help
Safety First Group can help with any referrals, health checks or health promotions that you need to run as part of your health & safety at work as well as conduct risk assessments and ensure full compliance in many areas. For more information visit our service pages here.
