Do’s

1. Ensure your workplace has an up to date fire policy. Examples can be found here. Make sure all your staff know what the policy says and understand the role they all individually have to play in keeping your workplace safe.
2. Regularly complete and update a fire risk assessment of the premises. Guidance can be found here. We recommend you schedule this is once a year and don’t forget to include remote buildings/spaces.
3. Ensure the workplace is clear of waste and debris, things like shredding and discarded fabric can rapidly go up in flames! This is also good opportunity to go paperless and tackle the mountain of archived paper files you have.
4. Keep and maintain sufficient firefighting equipment for the office and the type of work you are carrying out… and get it serviced in line with recommendations.
5. If appropriate and relevant, hold regular drills in line with your fire policy, remembering to include all those who have physical challenges so they are familiar with what will happen in the event of lifts etc being shut down.

Don’ts

6. Block fire exits or allow anyone else to do this – not even for ten minutes! It is your legal responsibility to keep them clear as well as being a sensible way to reduce the risk to yourself, your staff and your visitors in the event of a fire. Fire exits should NEVER be padlocked or locked in such a way that they cannot easily be opened from the inside.
7. Store flammable materials anywhere near an ignition source or an oxidiser and clear up immediately any spilt fuel or other combustible. Keep sand buckets near any fuel storage areas to deal with such spillages.
8. Assume that the worst will never happen. Plan for disaster and create a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for yourself and your staff. PEEP documents can be found here.
9. Forget to regularly test fire alarms, you don’t need to have a whole fire drill to do so! Consider whether you need visual as well as audio alarms if you have hearing impaired employees.
10. Allow electrical equipment to go untested. Everything should be PAT tested in accordance with regulations.

And Finally…

10.5 Most of fire safety is common sense but what often goes wrong is people being lazy, not following the fire procedures, and generally being unprepared in the event that a fire does occur. One bit of research suggested that 70% of businesses experiencing a major fire do not reopen after the fire or subsequently fail within 3 years. Don’t let this be your business simply because you didn’t take fire risks seriously.

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Sitting at a desk/workstation for 6 hours a day is thought to be the cause of many health problems including diabetes and abnormal blood pressure. But if sitting is essential then there are a few things that employees can do to minimise the risk to health:

Do’s

1. Adjust your chair height so you can use the keyboard with your wrists and forearms straight and level to the floor, this will help to reduce repetitive strain injuries.
2. Rest your feet on the floor or on a stool if necessary, with your knees below your hips.
3. Place your screen at eye level and approximately an arm’s length away to reduce neck strain.
4. Keep your arms bent in an L shape with your elbows by your side when using a keyboard.
5. Reduce sources of glare to reduce eye strain. Either adjust the positioning of your monitor or close blinds to reduce glare.

Don’ts

6. Put up with sore wrists. If your wrists hurt whilst typing, try a wrist pad in front of your keyboard. If that doesn’t work don’t just grin and bear it but get proper support and advice.
7. Hunch over… keep your bottom to the back of your chair and keep your back straight as bad posture will usually lead to back aches.
8. Forget to take regular breaks to stretch your legs and take a break from the screen.
9. Use the wrong glasses. Make sure that you have a suitable pair of glasses for close up work at a computer and get your eyes regularly tested.
10. Forget to fill in the DSE Questionnaire.

And Finally…

10.5 If you are one of those who gets absorbed in your work, try setting diary reminders/alarms to get you up and moving on a regular basis. An alternative is to lead the way in your office by demanding that some of your meetings are ‘walking’ meetings – if it’s just you and one other who needs to talk then why not take a walk around the block instead of hunkering down in yet another chair?

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Do’s

1. Ensure that all homeworking employees complete and update the Home Working Safety Checklist annually.
2. Require homeworking employees to check that their home insurance policies cover company equipment such as IT equipment.
3. Make sure that all company supplied equipment is regularly PAT tested… employees tend to work better whilst not being electrocuted!
4. Provide all necessary PPE (and regularly review what is required) if the homeworking includes activities with increased risk, for example using adhesives or soldering.
5. Remember to get employees to complete a DSE (display screen equipment) Questionnaire.

Don’ts

6. Forget to include homeworkers in meetings, communications etc as inclusion (i.e. feeling included) is critical to employee wellbeing and managed stress levels.
7. Forget to carry out a risk assessment of the working space and equipment. Get staff to keep their workspace tidy and free of trip hazards. Risk assessment templates and guidance can be found here.
8. Forget to remind employees who are on their own at home or who regularly travel directly from home for meetings, that you have a Lone Working Policy requiring staff to regularly check in, to adhere to your Driving Policy (especially regarding rest breaks) and to ensure their own safety by locking doors etc.
9. Neglect fire safety, you should ask your employees to regularly check fire alarms and potentially have suitable fire extinguishers, depending on the type of work. For example, an electrical fire extinguisher if there is a significant amount of IT equipment.
10. Hesitate to remind staff who home work to look after their eyes… that means they need good lighting, ideally some natural light too and they should not work in dim conditions as that can cause eye strain as well as increase accidents!

And Finally…

10.5 Statistics on injuries in the home show that more injuries and deaths occur in the home than on the roads or in the workplace. Using ladders, reaching high cupboards, dealing with faulty sockets and plugs are all a major hazard. And we haven’t even mentioned trying to pour a cup of tea whilst juggling your mobile phone under your ear. Educate your staff about homeworking injuries and how they can often be avoided.

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Do’s

1. Create (update) a driving on company business policy and issue to all relevant staff.
2. Annually check the driving licenses of all those who drive on business and keep a relevant record of those.
3. Ask to see the insurance docs of those who drive their own vehicles on business to ensure the docs in are current and include driving on business.
4. Consider a protocol for drivers around phoning in travel plans and/or arrivals if appropriate for security/safety of your staff.
5. Check driving licenses are valid for driving in the UK.

Don’ts

6. Forget to include in the written reasons for gross misconduct in your disciplinary policy, ‘someone who regularly drives on business, loses the right to drive through points and/or criminal convictions.’
7. Forget to log road traffic and similar accidents in your accident Book for driving accidents that occur off site.
8. Neglect to ask staff annually to declare that they have not been given any medical or optical advice regarding not driving.
9. Ignore working time regulations requirements around rest breaks, especially when you are expecting staff to drive long distances.
10. Hesitate to set standards around what level of vehicle servicing and checks are sensible when driving own car on business e.g. water, tyres, screen wash etc.

And Finally…

10.5 Cars, vans, bikes etc can all be lethal weapons. So, treat them as such rather than something that is peripheral to what you do and how you operate. Make sure staff understand your legal responsibilities here so that they take seriously what you are asking them to do in respect of servicing, insurance, rest breaks etc.

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