Health and safety obligations in SMEs

Health and safety is the responsibility of every employer - including small businesses. However, many SMEs find themselves in a situation where they know that "something should be done", but are not sure what, when and how. This is perfectly understandable: legal requirements are not always clear and not everyone has their own HR or health and safety organisation to support them.

The good news is that health and safety can be managed sensibly, even if time and resources are limited. In this article, we'll tell you where to start for SMEs - and how to make sure things are in order without the entrepreneur being swamped by the responsibility alone.

The Health and Safety at Work Act applies to every employer - regardless of the size of the company. The responsibility for the safety and health of workers always lies with the employer.

In practice, this means that certain things need to be organised in a documented way and clearly assigned roles.

One key requirement is the appointment of a health and safety manager. Every workplace must have a health and safety manager who represents the employer in joint health and safety activities. In practice, in SMEs, this often means that the health and safety manager is the entrepreneur or the managing director himself - unless the task has been specifically delegated.

These are the main obligations of the employer:

Occupational safety and health action programme
The company must have a written plan on how to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. This is not just paperwork - the programme is a practical tool for managing risks.

Risk assessment
The employer must identify and assess workplace hazards and take the necessary measures to prevent them.
👉 Download free of charge Guide to risk assessment and systematically manage your most important health and safety obligations.

Appointment of the head of occupational safety and health
Every workplace must have a health and safety manager - and especially where there are 10 or more employees, this obligation is highlighted. Even in smaller companies, the appointment of an occupational safety officer often brings clarity, especially where the work involves safety risks.

Induction and guidance
Employees must be familiarised with their work and given the necessary instructions for safety at work.

When a company regularly employs 20 or more workers, the legal obligations are extended to include cooperation. In such cases, an occupational safety and health committee or other similar cooperative body must be set up in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The committee must include representatives of the employer and the employees and agents. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that the committee is formed and that it meets to deal with matters relating to health and safety at work.

Fulfilling health and safety obligations does not require a dedicated health and safety department - but it does require systematic and documented action. Often, the entrepreneur or managing director acts in practice as the health and safety manager. In this case, it is important to know what needs to be done, in what order and what documents are required.

You can do the basics like this:

• Draw up and update an occupational health and safety action plan
• Make a risk assessment and keep it up to date
• Appoint an occupational health and safety manager and document the division of responsibilities
• Take care of training, instructions and protective equipment
• Be prepared for a possible health and safety inspection

Want to know more about the role of the health and safety manager in practice? Watch the free webinar: the role of the health and safety manager

If you do not have the skills or time, it is worth outsourcing your health and safety responsibilities. An outsourced health and safety manager brings clarity and consistency, saves time and reduces risks.

In addition, an external expert will help to improve operations by bringing in best practices, up-to-date tools and perspectives from different industries.

For example, these situations are familiar to our customers:

• The company has grown, but there has been no time to update health and safety issues
• More workers have been recruited and the division of responsibilities is no longer clear
• An occupational health and safety inspection is approaching and you don't know what you should have ready
• Want to make sure that things are done correctly and in accordance with the requirements of the law
• Finding ways to develop more systematic health and safety practices and documentation

Few companies can go it alone in the field of health and safety - read our expert blog:
Few companies can go it alone in the challenging field of health and safety

Protect's outsourced health and safety manager service is designed specifically for the needs of SMEs. We act as a support and accountability partner for our clients, who:

• Draws up the necessary programmes and documents
• Assess and monitor workplace risks
• Ensures that the company meets the requirements of the law
• Supports you in your daily life and answers questions when they arise

We are not bringing unnecessary bureaucracy - but a practical way to get health and safety right. In a clear, smart and mutually agreed way.

👉 Also read: A wake-up call on the profitability of occupational safety and health will come at the latest with the savings made

If you have been left behind or feel unclear about occupational health and safety, please contact us. We will take stock of the situation and tell you clearly what is needed in your company.

👉 Contact us - let's get your health and safety in order in a controlled and easy way.