Health and safety laws 'a good thing' for SMEs
Nov 16 2007
Adhering to health and safety laws can be beneficial for small businesses, despite complaints over the quantity of government legislation in the area, an expert claims.
SMEs are particularly susceptible to the effects of staff sickness and injury, according to a spokesman from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and legislation can help prevent incidents leading to staff absence.
As such it is in small business owners' interests to maintain high levels of health and safety for both staff and clients, the spokesman argues.
He warns: 'If someone is going to get sick or get hurt it can really have a very detrimental effect on a small business; they have got less in the way of resources.
'Health and safety law is there to protect people at work and people that aren't at work, whose health and safety could be compromised if things aren't done properly by people who are at work,' he adds.
Figures provided by the HSE indicate that 36 million working days are lost every year due to ill health and injuries sustained in the workplace.