ELEMENT 1

FOUNDATIONS
IN HEALTH
AND SAFETY
1) Identify the barriers to good standards of health and safety of an organization – 8 marks

The barriers to good standards of health and safety organization are complex issue, conflicting
demands and behavioral issues

Complexity: Lack of co-ordination in between the organization and communication gap will
lead to complex issues. The management is not willing to accept health and safety standards
cause complex issues in between employee and management. Suggestions provided by the
health and safety professional will not be taken in a serious way and cause complex issues.

Conflicting Demand: Management is giving more important to production than health and
safety. Also the management is not willing to fulfill employee’s health and safety requirement.
Demands of different employee are also lead to conflicting demands. Legal issues also may
cause conflicting demands.

Behavioral Issues: Some employee’s of the organization are interested in health and safety and
others are not. Unsafe behavioral issues of employee’s affect the organization’s health and
safety culture. Unsafe behavior can lead to accidents in the work place.

2) Outline reasons for maintaining and promoting good standards of health and safety in the
workplace? – 8marks

The three reasons for maintaining and promoting good standards of health and safety in the
workplace are Moral, Legal, and Economic.

Moral: It is the management responsibility to provide reasonable care to the employee’s to

improve the morality. Organization having commitment towards health and safety and
considering as a human being organization needs to provide welfare facilities, good premises,
equipment, etc.

Legal: In order to avoid legal prosecution, it is the management’s responsibility to implement

rules of health and safety, (as per applicable national and International) otherwise it may lead
to civil and criminal claims. Organization has to provide Safe place, Safe systems of work and
safe person as per the legal requirements.

Economic: Accidents cause financial losses to the organization. Losses may affect both directly
and indirectly. In order to avoid financial losses, implement health and safety standards as per
legal requirement. Cost due to accidents leads to cumulative business loss, product and process
liability claims.
3) Identify possible costs to an organization following an accident in the workplace? – 8marks
Accidents lead to financial losses to the organization it can be calculated directly and indirectly.

Direct cost: Costs that are developed directly from accident and may be insured or uninsured.
Direct costs are quiet easy to calculate. Direct costs also known as insurable costs.

Insured direct costs normally include claims one employers and public liability insurance,
damage to plant, buildings and equipment, compensation to workers, medical costs, and legal
costs and any attributable production and general business loss.

Uninsured direct costs includes fines resulting from prosecution by the enforcement
authority, sick pay, some damage to product, equipment, vehicles, and increases in
insurance premiums resulting from the accident, any compensation not covered by the
insurance policy, legal representation following any compensation claim.

Indirect cost: The cost from an accident will be hidden and unable to calculate. Indirect costs
are 18 to 36 times greater than direct cost; indirect costs are also known as uninsurable cost.

Insured indirect cost: Accumulative business loss, process liability claims and recruitment of
replacement of staff.

Uninsured indirect costs: Production delays or down time, loss of raw materials due to
accident, accident investigation time, criminal fines and legal costs, sick pay for injured
workers, over time to make up for lost production, hiring and training new employee, loss of
business reputation.

4) Identify the costs which are likely to be insured – 5 marks

Personal insurance: life of a person can be insured. In case of any injury, the insurance
body pays the compensation.

Medical claims: Medical expenses due to an accident will be covered by medical insurance.

Equipment: Damage to equipment likely insured by a third party.

Building: Damages to building can be insured by insurance enterprises.

Compensation claims: employer responsibility to take liability insurance premium to the

employee to cover the accidental insurance
5) Identify the costs which are likely to be uninsured – 4 marks

Fines and imprisonment: Paid fines to the government will not be insured.

Reputation loss: Business reputation loss cannot be recovered by insurance.

Accident investigation time: Time loss due to accident investigation cannot be

insured.

Over time: To making the production loss over time working cannot be insured.

6) Outline reason why it is important an organization to maintain employers’ liability insurance

– 4 marks

Liability insurance is legal requirement

Employer liability insurance gives financial comfort to the employer as well as employee in case
of any accident
Compensation claims will be covered by third party insurance
Employer duty/responsibility to take liability insurance to the injured employees

7) Outline the consequences of non compliance to an organization? 2marks

Informal: -Verbal and/or written

Formal: -Prosecution with the intent of punishment
Formal enforcement action like of shut down notice
Prosecution to the organization in terms of fines
Prosecution of individuals such as managing director/senior manager of the organization
Contract loss and reputation loss due to noncompliance
Loss of competitive edges in the market

8) Define the following terms – 2 marks each

Health: The protection of the bodies and minds of people from illness resulting from the
materials, process or procedure used in the work place
Safety: The protection of people from physical injury
Welfare: Looking after basic needs of people. The provision of facilities including lighting,
adequate heating, drinking water, washing facilities, rest rooms, eating, sanitary facilities and
first aid facilities
Environmental protection: The prevention of damage to the air, water, land and living creature
in wider environment
Environment: The surrounding in which organization operates including land, air, water natural
resources fauna, flora
 Hazard: Something/anything has potential to cause harm
Risk: A combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event and the severity of
injury or damage to the health of people caused by this event
Near Miss: An unwanted, unforeseen unplanned event that had the potential to result in a loss
Dangerous Occurrence: A near miss with serious injury potential.
Acute: Resulting from a single short term exposure, producing an immediate effect which is
reversible, E.g. alcohol affecting nervous system
Chronic: Resulting from prolonged or repeated exposures. Producing a gradual effect that may
be unrecognized for a number of years and the results may irreversible, E.g. consumption of
alcohol causes lever cirrhosis.

9) Explain the differences between the objectives of criminal law system and a civil law system.

Civil law: The objectives of civil law are to compensate an injured party for loss suffered as a
consequence of an accident, ill health or death.

Criminal law: The objectives of criminal law are to punish and discourage the Organizations
from behaving in an unacceptable way.

Sl.
Civil Law Criminal Law
No

1 The law relating to the rights, duties Is concerned with the actions or
and obligations of persons as they defaults of persons working to the
affect each other. order, peace and well-being of
society.

2 The wrongdoer may be required to An offence renders such persons

pay compensation (damages) or be liable to fines, imprisonment or court
subject to an injunction imposed by orders.
courts.

3 Between the Claimant and the Between the state and accused
Defendant

4 The level of proof is the balance of The level of proof is beyond all
probability reasonable doubt
10) The party making the claim for compensation has to show:

They owed a duty of care: The employer should have considered the effects that his actions
might have injured the party who has suffered the loss
The duty was breached: Not carried out acceptably, failed to act in a reasonable way
The breach led to injury or loss: The injury or loss has to be linked with the alleged cause of it

11) Explain why health and safety legislation might be enforced to different standards in
different countries – 8 marks

The reasons for enforcing health and safety legislations to different standards in different
countries may be because of:
Different legal systems, e.g. prescriptive or goal setting
Different standards of legislation and enforcement
Different penalties for breaches
Religious beliefs and cultural issues, how societies view offences
The ability and knowledge of the enforcing authorities and their staff
Funding, number and workload of enforcement staff
Degree of monitoring by enforcing authorities
Degree of reporting to enforcing authorities i) Political pressure, e.g. enforcement initiatives

12) Identify the sources of information employers should provide to employees related to health
and safety – 8 marks

 INTERNAL
Risk assessments
Policies
Inspection reports Medical records Accident records
Health and safety committee minutes;
Plant registers
Health and safety practitioners (Advisors/officers, etc) Health and safety representative and
The company’s safety library

 EXTERNAL
Government organizations
National safety organizations
Suppliers & manufacturer
International standards
Consultants & specialists
Internet &Insurance companies
13) Identify possible consequences of an accident for worker and employer in the workplace:

To the worker: injury or disease / ill-health may result in loss of employment and loss of
income. This can, in turn result in a loss of quality of life for both the worker and the worker’s
dependants (i.e. usually the worker’s family).

To the employer: legal consequences and or business/economic problems. There may also be
visits from a government enforcement agency if the employer’s actions have been negligent.
Direct and indirect costs also will be applicable.

14) Identify possible consequences of an accident in workplace

An enforcement agency will act on behalf of the government and will enforce health and safety
law. This may be done in conjunction with the police. They may take a number of possible
actions, which may include:
Giving advice
Issuing a warning letter
Giving a formal notice concerning future work and remedial action to be taken
Making a criminal prosecution for negligent acts