Importance of health, safety & environment to your business

Avoid the costs of illness, accidents and incidents at work

Failing to put good health, safety and environmental policies and procedures in place could be an expensive mistake. The illnesses and accidents you risk as a result could bring a range of costs, including:

• the wages of the person who is ill or injured, plus the costs of covering their job
• lost productivity caused by disruption to your business and inexperienced replacements
• damage to products, equipment or your premises
• costs of investigating and correcting the problem
• fines and legal costs if you're prosecuted

In a small business, the costs can be particularly high. For example, if one key employee is off sick, you may be unable to complete an order in time. You could even lose a customer altogether.

Though you should have insurance in place, it's unlikely to cover all the costs that could result from an incident. And your insurance premium will probably rise if you have to make a claim. See the page in this guide on health, safety and environmental practices and your insurance costs.

You can calculate the annual cost of accidents to your business on the HSE website. You can also work out the costs of a particular incident on the HSE website.

Good environmental practices can also reduce your costs. It's well worth considering how you might increase profitability by reducing the amount of raw materials you waste and your business' use of energy, water and packaging. Remember, too, that company directors risk being held personally liable for environmental incidents.

Don't forget the intangible costs as well. If you get a bad reputation, you can lose customers and find it hard to attract employees. See the page in this guide on how to improve your reputation through health, safety and environmental practices.

Get information on health and safety issues for businesses in Northern Ireland at the HSENI website or call the HSENI Enquiry Line on Tel 0800 0320 121.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Compliance with health, safety and environmental rules
• Avoid the costs of illness, accidents and incidents at work
• Improve your reputation through health, safety and environmental practices
• Introduce environmental cost-reductions
• Health, safety and environmental practices and your insurance costs
• Plan ahead to get health, safety and the environment right

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