Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

4.9.3 Communication
Communications are covered in depth earlier in the 
chapter but clearly will have signifi cant infl uence on 
health and safety issues. This will include:
➤
poorly communicated procedures that will not be 
understood or followed
➤
poor verbal communications which will be misun-
derstood and will demonstrate a lack of interest by 
senior managers
➤
missing or incorrect signs may cause accidents 
rather than prevent them
➤
managers who are nervous about face-to-face dis-
cussions with the workforce on health and safety 
issues will have a negative effect.
Managers and supervisors should plan to have regu-
lar discussions to learn about the problems faced by 
employees and discuss possible solutions. Some meet-
ings, like the safety committee, are specifi cally planned 
for safety matters, but this should be reinforced by dis-
cussing health and safety issues at all routine manage-
ment meetings. Regular one-to-one talks should also 
take place in the workplace, preferably to a planned 
theme or safety topic, to get specifi c messages across 
and get feedback from employees.
4.9.4 Competence
Competent people, who know what they are doing and 
have the necessary skills to do the task correctly and 
safely, will make the organization effective. Competence 
can be bought in through recruitment or consultancy but 
is often much more effective if developed from among 
employees. It demonstrates commitment to health 
and safety and a sense of security for the workforce. 
The loyalty that it develops in the workforce, can be a sign-
ifi cant benefi t to safety standards. Earlier in this chapter 
there is more detail on how to achieve competence.
4.9.5 Employee 
representation
Enthusiastic, competent employee safety representatives 
given the resources and freedom to fulfi l their function 
effectively can make a major contribution to good health 
and safety standards. They can provide the essential 
bridge between managers and employees. People are 
more willing to accept the restrictions that some precau-
tions bring if they are consulted and feel involved, either 
directly in small workforces or through their safety repre-
sentatives. See earlier in chapter 3 for the details.