A health and safety (H&S) policy is a written promise from business owners and senior management to provide a healthy and safe workplace. The starting point, the basis of Health and Safety at work.
Many occupational health and safety regulations require that a policy be developed, and that all workers are aware of and trained on the policy (document, document, document). The policy is posted in the workplace, reviewed at least once a year, and a program to implement the policy is developed and maintained. This statement provides the regulatory requirement for a Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) in the workplace. Check local regulatory requirements. We will review Health and Safety Management System (HSMS) requirements in more detail later in this article.
Policy Examples
A quick Google search can provide thousands of examples of workplace health and safety policies for some suggestions to get yours started. Please note that this exercise is to look at different policies and commitments: we should not just copy, cut and paste. With that said, google these three policies to see a variety of policies. (No links are allowed in this article – sorry)
Bruce Power (Nuclear Power Company) Occupational Health and Safety Policy
Shell (oil and gas company) Health, safety and environment
IHC Health and Safety Policy Statement (Advocates and Support Services)
You will notice that these policies are from companies all over the world and of very different sizes and sectors, but they have many similar sections.
Commitment: Provide a healthy and safe workplace for all its workers, contractors and visitors. Meet or exceed legal requirements.
The goal: eliminate all injuries and illnesses towards zero damage or no injuries.
Responsibility: Management has accepted its responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace. Define that safety is everyone’s responsibility – all employees
The reason for the similarities is partly because most of these sections are defined in the various international regulations and standards.
ISO 45001 standard
One of the international standards that will help improve health and safety in the workplace is the new ISO (International Organization for Standards) 45001. Here is a section taken from the draft standard on the subject of Health and Safety Policies .
Senior management must establish, implement and maintain an OH&S policy that includes a commitment to provide safe and healthy working conditions for the prevention of work-related injuries and/or illnesses and that is appropriate for the purpose, size and the context of the organization. and to the specific nature of your OH&S risks and opportunities.
The standard provides very similar direction contained in the various regulations and highlights the requirement to ensure that the policy is based on the organization-specific nature of its OH&S risks and opportunities. While similar in some sections, the workplace health and safety policy should be specific based on your identified risks, based on your risk assessment.
Health and Safety Management System (HSMS)
In addition to developing a workplace health and safety policy, the employer is required (in some jurisdictions) to have a program to implement the policy. An HSMS is a collection of policies and procedures based on the specific hazards of the workplace.
Common Sections: Worker Orientations, First Aid, Wellness, Fire Prevention, Worker Training, Workplace Inspections, Incident and Near Miss Investigations, Hazard Reporting, Indoor Air Quality, Ergonomics, Safe Lifting, Violence and bullying, safety meetings, etc.
The other sections would be specific to workplace hazards and could include sections on Confined Space Entry, Hot Work Permits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Arc Flash, etc.
The expectation would be that a commitment to providing a healthy and safe workplace is made with the policy and the HSMS is the way you will achieve this.
signing authority
The policy is signed by the person or persons responsible for ensuring the health and safety of employees, usually the most senior person, the president, the COO, etc. If your company is large and has many locations, have the president sign and the most senior person in the facility. You can also invite union representatives to sign the policy and all your employees.
The policy must be reviewed and signed each year. Review the policy with your employees at least once a year and post it in your workplace, where people are most likely to come into contact with it.
Fulfill your promise
Make your health and safety policy as unique as your business, involve your employees in developing the policy, and make it available in your workplace online. In a tight job market, people want to work for companies that care about them. Putting your commitment in writing and sticking to it will make you a safe employer that people will want to work with.