What is Workplace Safety Compliance?

Workplace Safety and Its Importance

Workplace safety is essential for every business regardless of size. All companies, a startup or corporate giants must incorporate safety in their workplaces. Workplace safety refers to the steps taken to limit workplace accidents, hazards, and other kinds of harm.

Typically, workplace safety directly affects the productivity of your workers and employees as well as their well-being, thus translating into a better quality of output for your business. Employers, therefore, strive to create a safe environment for their employees. Workplace safety is considered a moral responsibility of the employer toward his employee.

Workplace safety helps in:

- Preventing workplace injury

- Reducing stress

- Improving overall productivity

- Making employees or workers more aware of the workplace and tools

- Helps in avoiding damage to machinery and tools

Workplace Safety Compliance in India

India has rigorous labour laws. One of the recent developments in this law is related to workplace safety in Indian business setups. To make the workplace safer, The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) came into force. The Act replaces 13 old labour laws and mandates a practice for employers to establish safety protocols in the organization.

Let us look in brief, at the duties of the employer and the employee under the OSH Code.

Duties of the Employer:

- Ensuring the workplace is free from hazards and complies with the government’s directives and the OSH Code

- Providing free annual health examinations or testing to a particular class of employees

- Maintaining a safe working environment without risk to the health of the employees

- Ensuring that employees are not charged for maintaining safety and health at the workplace

Duties of the Employee:

- Taking reasonable care for maintaining the health and safety of themselves and fellow workers at the workplace

- Complying with the safety and health requirements

- Co-operating with the employer in meeting the statutory obligations

- Reporting situations which are unsafe or unhealthy to the employer

- Ensuring that no activity is undertaken willfully that may endanger themselves or fellow workers.

Why Should You Buy Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

Regardless of the measures taken and duties diligently followed, there can still be some accidents at work which may lead to injury, disability or in some cases even the death of a worker. A workmen’s compensation policy provides the employer with legal liability coverage apart from financially assisting the employees in case of an unfortunate event. It typically is a compensation policy for employees who are injured at the workplace.

We share three main reasons why employers should buy Workman’s Comp Insurance

- The insurance company covers the costs and expenses of the employer

- This insurance helps to fulfil the legal liability of the employer under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, of 1923

- To make sure the employee gets proper medical care and compensation for lost income.

Conclusion

Workplace safety is a critical issue, both for the employer as well as the employee. Employees prefer healthy and safer work environments. Organizations following workplace safety compliance are considered trustworthy and create a positive brand image in the industry.