There are a large number of people who believe that the health and safety act is filled with ways to make it harder on the average business owner to conduct business. The health and safety act has a lot of guidelines and regulations that business owners must comply with, and with those regulations come a lot of documentation that has to be completed.

Many people feel that the health and safety act is a waste of time, and that it caters to people who like to cause trouble in the work place. Those people who feel like that are wrong on every level. The health and safety act was not developed to protect employees, and it was not developed to protect business owners. The health and safety act was put in place so that everyone could have the equal opportunity to do their jobs in a relatively safe environment. The act protects every citizen of the United Kingdom, and it even protects people who are not working, because by keeping business practices safer it keeps the population safer.

How Do Businesses benefit from following the Health and Safety Act?

1. If a business owner or shop keeper does not comply with the health and safety act they can face fines, penalties, and criminal charges of negligent behaviour. Following the rules as they are established will keep shopkeepers from erroneous charges.

2. By following these guidelines the owner can know that their place of business is safe for their employees to work in. Following these rules helps to give business owners some peace of mind.

3. By following the guidelines the business owner is protecting themselves from future accidents on the job claims. If an employee is injured while they are working they may file claims against the employer saying that their accident was caused by unsafe working conditions, or unsafe equipment, or because the employer did not inform them of the dangers associated with their job.

If an employer is compliant with all of the health and safety act guidelines then they should not have to worry about an employee filing any type of claim. If the employee files a claim the business owner will be able to prove that they were doing everything in their power to provide a safe working environment for all of their employees.

4. Insurance protection for the company and the employees of the company will be more affordable if you are maintaining your business according to the guidelines and regulations established by the health and safety act. In many cases your property insurance and fire coverage will be less when you are following the guidelines established for safety protections.

How Do Employees Benefit from these Regulations?

Business owners are instructed by these regulations in what things they must do to provide their employees with a safe working environment. If you are injured while you are at work, and your employer was not complying with the regulations then you will be able to file a workplace injury claim, and you will be almost guaranteed to win that claim.

If the employer is following the regulations as they are set up by the health and safety act then there is less of a chance that you could sustain injuries at work. You are safer because the equipment will be better maintained, the work environment will be less hostile, and the training that the shopkeepers provide will be more thorough.

Even if the business owner and the employee are doing everything by the book there are still going to be times when accidents happen. When an accident happens and the business owner is in compliance with the regulations of health and safety the employee will be properly cared for both medically, and financially, until they recover from the injuries they sustain.

These regulations keep every person who works in the United Kingdom safer, and they allow you to enjoy your job more and worry about your health less. It is your duty to report any violation, or health hazard you see at your work place to the proper supervisor so they can correct any condition that might make the work environment unsafe. It is also your duty to make sure that you do not act in any way that could put you or anyone that works with you in any sort of danger. Safety should be the concern of every person on the job.