The importance of health, safety, and HR in the workplace

It’s vital to consider health, safety, and human resources (HR) in the workplace. How do they affect your employees, and how can you use them together to protect your business?

In this article, we’ll examine why these three elements are so important and how we can help with your health, safety, and HR needs.

Health in the workplace: why it’s so important

With people spending a third of their time at work, it’s essential that they feel healthy, happy, and fulfilled in the workplace.

It’s essential to focus on not just physical health but mental wellbeing too. With one in seven people experiencing mental health problems in the workplace, you need to ensure your organisation looks after its staff.

Here’s why your business needs to prioritise health and wellbeing:

• It improves job performance. Healthy employees are more productive, meaning higher quality work.
• It improves job retention and attracts talent. Businesses that prioritise employee health and offer relevant perks (for example, ‘duvet days’ or free gym memberships) are more likely to hire and keep talented staff.
• It boosts morale. Healthy staff are happy staff who are more productive at work and less likely to make mistakes. Engaged workplaces report 41% lower absenteeism than ones where employees are disengaged.
• It saves money. Good health support can mean fewer serious health issues. This means fewer sick days and reduced absenteeism, which can affect a business’s revenue.

Safety in the workplace: why it’s so important

When people go to work, they expect to go back home at the end of the day. Safety is essential for protecting your employees, visitors, and contractors against harm.
Safety is especially critical if your employees predominantly work in a physical environment like a warehouse or construction site. Heavy machinery, exposure to hazardous dust and fumes, working at heights, and repetitive movements can all increase the risk of illness and injury.

In 2023/2024, 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents, with over half of these being from the construction industry.

Here’s why your business needs to prioritise safety:

• It protects people. The primary reason safety legislation is in place is to protect people in the workplace against illness, injury, or even death. As an employer, you have the legal responsibility to provide a healthy and safe working environment
• It reduces costs. Workplace injuries cost the UK just over £21 billion in 2022/2023. If an employee hurts themselves, they will need to take time off work. You may also need to train new staff, as well as cover legal costs and compensation claims
• It boosts productivity. When staff feel safe and secure in the workplace, they can focus on their work without disruptions. This means they can do more in less time
• It prevents negative publicity. Accidents can lead to negative attention on social media and in the press, which can potentially cause issues like the loss of clients

HR in the workplace: why it’s so important

The human resources department often has a negative reputation. Some people think it’s the department that snoops on employees and tells them off and only acts in the company’s interests.

However nothing could be further from the truth. HR is there to ensure everyone is treated fairly and gets all the training and support they need to carry out their roles to the best of their ability.

HR also ensures your business adheres to employment law. For example, ensuring everyone receives the pay they’re entitled to and that your company follows the correct redundancy procedures.

Here’s why your business needs to prioritise HR and employment law:

• It ensures you’re legally compliant. HR are experts in employment law and will ensure your business and staff aren’t breaking the rules and regulations
• It fosters employee loyalty. HR plays a vital role in ensuring staff are paid according to their skills and experience and get the right benefits. Given that 62% of employees are motivated by pay, this means high levels of productivity, motivation, and loyalty
• It ensures you hire the right people. HR is integral to the hiring process, ensuring that you don’t just hire people with the right skill set but that they share the same values as your business
• It ensures a positive work culture. HR’s role is to develop and implement policies that promote diversity, equality, and inclusion. This means a positive work environment where everyone feels valued and heard

Can you integrate health, safety, and HR together?

Yes!

Health, safety, and HR have a lot in common. All three are concerned with the wellbeing of employees and developing a positive, safe, nurturing work environment. They also play a role in ensuring your business stays legally compliant and reducing risk in the workplace.

How can all three departments work together? Let’s say a staff member is returning to work after a year of maternity leave. Their return-to-work programme would incorporate elements of both health, safety, and HR.

• Health. It’s hard for new parents to leave their baby and return to work. One out of every ten mothers experience postnatal depression, with fathers and partners experiencing it too. Offering keep-in-touch days to ease employees back into work, as well as health and wellbeing support, can make a big difference
• Safety. As a year has passed, significant changes are likely to have occurred during the employee’s absence. For example, rooms may have a new purpose, you may have purchased new equipment, or the staff member may be working in a new part of the building. It’s vital to highlight any changes made and how the employee can keep safe
• HR. It’s essential to have a ‘welcome back’ meeting to discuss workload and what has happened in the member of staff’s absence. The member of staff may also want to discuss flexible working arrangements, job sharing, and the carrying over of annual leave

Often HR will be the ‘public front’ for initiatives on behalf of health and safety.

For example, let’s say the health & safety team wants to roll out an initiative to encourage construction workers to wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) on site. HR can develop a communication campaign, organise training sessions, or carry out surveys to see why employees aren’t wearing their helmets in the first place.

It’s vital to ensure your health, safety, and HR teams are aligned and work closely with each other. For example, your health and safety teams can advise HR of changes to health & safety laws, and HR can update and enforce the relevant policies.

Regular meetings, a shared platform where all teams can access and share information, as well as joint committees can help. We also recommend cross-training so your health and safety team can understand the HR team’s processes and vice versa.

Alternatively, a third-party company can help you manage your health, safety, and HR, ensuring a joined-up approach. This is ideal if you’re starting out or need extra help, for example, if a key member of staff is on extended leave.

At THSP, we provide a health and safety retained service, managing issues on your behalf and identifying solutions to help you protect your employees. We also provide HR and employment law support. This ensures you always have the correct procedures in place and that your health, safety, and HR policies are always in alignment.
THSP: Your health, safety, and HR partner

Whether you work in construction, logistics, or retail, it’s essential to consider your approach to health, safety, and HR. This ensures you keep your staff safe and reduce the risk of any issues that may cause problems in the future.