Report reveals majority of businesses break health and safety laws

Categories: General Health and Safety |

A recent survey by St John Ambulance found that 79 per cent of businesses admit to having periods of time where there are no trained first aiders in the workplace.

In addition, the survey revealed that 15 per cent of businesses have never carried out an assessment to determine risks within the working environment.

There were 1,100 cases of businesses being taken to court because of health and safety breaches in 2009, of which 87 per cent were found guilty of malpractice, the charity claimed.

Richard Evens, training and marketing director at St John Ambulance, said: "Health and safety is certainly not something that should be skimped on.

"But we realise that smaller businesses can find it daunting when faced with the prospect of dealing with risk assessments, protocols and legal obligations."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently launched a new campaign designed to reduce the number of injuries caused by slips, trips and falls in the workplace.

As a consequence, the HSE encourages employees working across a range of different sectors to use the correct workwear to help ensure their personal safety.

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