PROFIT VS SAFETY

According to new research by Premierline Direct, only 37% of the leaders surveyed said that the safety of their workforce was a concern compared with 86% of leaders who were worried about profit growth.

These finding were echoed by another study undertaken by St John Ambulance who found that small firms were flouting health and safety laws – 79% of firms admitted to having periods where there were no first aiders in place.  Additionally, 15% of SMEs have never carried out an assessment to determine risk within the workplace.

Mark Woods of Statius commented “This is very worrying: there is a moral as well as legal imperative for leaders to ensure that staff go home safely at night.  With recent changes in the law (the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act and the Health and Safety Offences Act), these leaders are also running a substantial risk to both themselves and their businesses”.