Survey: One In Five ‘Don’t Follow’ H&S Protocol Following Incident

Posted on August 7, 2017

One in five managers admitted to not following health and safety protocol after every employee injury or incident, new research has shown.

The study, commissioned by law firm Hugh James and conducted by Atomik Research, polled 2,000 full time and part-time employees across the UK, and revealed gaps in fire safety procedures.

Some 46% of UK workers had also not received workplace training on what actions to take during a fire event or even general health and safety policies.

It also discovered 42% of workers did not know when fire doors were last inspected and more than a quarter – 28% – did not know when fire extinguishers were inspected. A third did not know where an accident log book was located or even if there was one.

One of the few positives from the study was that 89% of workers said they took health and safety seriously.

Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James, said: “Not only does there appear to be some confusion around existing legislation amongst managers and employees, but there is also a lack of understanding when it comes to the consequences of misconduct in the long-run.

“With over a third of all employees – 36% – admitting to not feeling competent enough to know all health and safety policies in the event of an emergency, it’s important that everyone in the workplace understands that they have a vital part to play when it comes to being responsible for one another to avoid mishaps in the future.

Harvey welcomed the Health and Safety Executive’s finding that recent data showed a continuation of the downward trend in non-fatal workplace injuries reporter, but said the sector ‘needed to ensure employers and managers truly report what is happening in the workplace.’

He said: “We urge companies to put real emphasis on providing the right health and safety training to employees to avoid future misconduct – whether it’s putting in place the correct procedures for regular fire drill tests or simply keeping accident log books up to date.”

The survey also revealed disparities between full and part-time workers in relation to health and safety training. Part-time staff were particularly at risk of missing out on adequate training with 47% stating they had not received a health and safety induction since joining their firm. This was compared to less than a third of full-time employees.

Part-time workers also felt less competent than full-time counterparts in the event of an emergency with 43% admitting they didn’t feel they would know enough should an incident occur.

It also showed part-time workers felt under ‘additional pressure’ in the workplace when it came to taking breaks. Nearly two thirds – 61% – of part-time workers said their employer didn’t actively encourage them to take a break compared to 47% of full-time workers.

The survey was conducted by Atomik Research in June 2017.