Think about song lyrics for a second. Everyone wants to be at home for Christmas – from Jona Lewie trying to ‘Stop the Cavalry’ to Chris Rea ‘Driving home for Christmas’. We all want the comfort of familiar surroundings, enjoying the simple pleasures of chocolate before 9am, prosecco before midday, and being back in our jammies by six. Christmas isn’t the time to be suffering from work-related injury or ill-health, or to watch a family member endure it. So, whoever you are, from an employer to employee and everyone in between, now is the time to ensure all Health and Safety procedures are carried out by the book. To the letter. And that you look out for your colleagues, too. Because everyone hopes to clock off at 3 on Christmas Eve, hale and hearty, heading for home. Ready for chipolatas.
But taking that bit of extra care at this time of year isn’t just the responsibility of our manager, or the Health and Safety bloke on the third floor – its everyone’s responsibility, starting with me and you. And this idea of collective responsibility is a key theme of the HSE’s 2016 Strategy Document 'Helping Great Britain Work Well', something we’re all going to see a lot more of over the next five years.
So what does the strategy say? Basically, the document comprises six simple and compelling themes. And here they are:
Acting together: Promoting broader ownership of health and safety in Great Britain
Health and Safety is not the responsibility of a person or an organisation, but a responsibility shared by every one of us. By acting with personal responsibility, we lead by example and thereby collaborate to reach those who previously haven’t engaged with the issues.
Tackling ill health: Highlighting and tackling the costs of work-related ill health
The critical theme is prevention and early intervention in work-related ill-health, rather than costlier interventions later. So, there’s focus on pre-emptively identifying health issues at work, while maintaining safety standards too.
Managing risk well: Simplifying risk management and helping business to grow
This points out that proportionate (or appropriate) risk management is central to protecting people, and therefore business growth, innovation, prosperity and good reputation.
Supporting small employers: Giving SMEs simple advice so they know what they have to do
This theme is about making it easy and affordable for small businesses to fulfil their health and safety responsibilities. There’s a commitment to identify the key influencers for SMEs, so that they can spread the word and get small businesses in touch with the straightforward support they need.
Keeping pace with change: Anticipating and tackling new health and safety challenges
This is about our ability to ‘horizon scan’ – to see the future of Health and Safety from our current context of sound knowledge. It’s about ‘tackling the problems of tomorrow today’ in order to protect people and prosperity.
Sharing our success: Promoting the benefits of Great Britain's world-class health and safety system
Got a great Health and Safety record? Shout about it! This theme encourages us to share best practice and innovation around the world. Not only does this raise the bar overseas, but could make expansion into other markets more feasible too.
So, while it’s the perfect time to take some extra care of yourself and your colleagues at work, the HSE’s new strategy makes one thing abundantly clear. Health and safety’s for life, not just for Christmas.