Health and Safety Issues
Employees and volunteers working for your organization could face a wide range of personal safety risks.
These include:
• Harm suffered while travelling to and from an activity
• Harm from environmental conditions or hazards present at your work site
• Harm suffered during and argument, fight or incident involving a service recipient, staff member, volunteer or a stranger
• Injuries resulting from incidents, such as slips and falls at the staff member’s regular work sites, the home or a service recipient or venue rented by your organization
While it is unrealistic to prevent every imaginable type of harm, you can take steps to reduce the chance of work place injuries. Here are some samples of what can be done.
-
First, talk to your employees and volunteers about their fears and concerns for their personal safety. What harm are they concerned about? What actions do they believe would address these concerns?
-
Next, identify some of the accidents that might occur given the nature of your operations, services, and environment, your location and the types of people you serve.
-
Continue by listing some of the low or no-cost steps your organization could take to reduce the chance of these accidents occurring. Determine a strategy and timetable for implementing these measures.
-
Next, consider what steps will be required if an accident/injury occurs despite your efforts to prevent it. What tools, equipment or information will be necessary to respond appropriately (for example, medical information forms giving permission to render aid, first aid kit, emergency contact phone numbers, etc.)? What steps will your organization take in the aftermath of an incident (for example, summon emergency help, contact your insurance provider, complete an accident/incident report)?
-
Remember to develop policies and provide training.
A well-developed policy addressing health and safety issues is an essential way to communicate your organization's commitment to employees, volunteers and participants. Keep in mind that each province and territory has its own legislation and regulation on health and safety in the workplace. Depending on your jurisdiction, it may be mandatory to have a policy. For example, in Ontario, where the applicable legislation is the Occupational Health and Safety Act, an employer must prepare and review, at least annually, a written occupational health and safety policy and must develop and maintain a program to implement that policy. In this regard, it may be prudent to retain an occupational health and safety consultant to advise on occupational health and compliance issues in your province or territory.
