How to avoid common health and safety issues in the workplace?
How to avoid common health and safety issues in the workplace? Work-related injuries and illnesses can have serious effects on the lives of workers and their families, as well as on their employers. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 370 million people are injured or become ill in work-related accidents every year. The institution estimates that the cost of working days lost due to health and safety issues amounts to almost 4 per…
Winter Wellness for Employees
Winter Wellness for Employees GEMMA COLLINS EHS Consultant EazySAFE Well, it’s that time of the year again, where you may hear a chorus of sniffles and coughs as you walk through any workplace (and if you are like me, hold your breath and hope you don’t catch what they have!) As an employer, you want a happy, healthy workforce and I am pretty sure you don’t like getting those 9 am phone calls when one…
VDU Assessment – Are you sitting comfortably?
VDU Assessment - Are You Sitting Comfortably? GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE One of my favourite parts of my job, as a health and safety consultant, is carrying out VDU assessments for people. Why? Because a difference can be made almost immediately! Such simple changes can help people sit more comfortably, ease any pain they are experiencing and create a better working environment. What are the legal requirements? Many employees or even employers…
Understanding Safety: How to Approach Worker Consultation
Understanding Safety: How to Approach Worker Consultation ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE Worker consultation is a legal requirement within Irish health and safety legislation so that employers can carry out their duties in law to communicate workplace hazards and to promote occupational health and safety. Communications is a key component of any safety management system (both from the top-down and from the bottom-up) for employers, employees and third parties to be involved with the exchange…
Respect in the Workplace
Respect in the Workplace LISA QUINN O'FLAHERTY Solicitor Fitzsimons Redmond It is tempting for employers to draft a Bullying and Harassment Policy for their workplace, and then sit back in the hope that everyone will play nicely and get along. Unfortunately, human relationships are complex, and conflict is likely to arise in every workplace. It is the job of the employer to create a working environment where conflict is well managed, and a culture of…
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE Ireland has a good track record for accidents in the workplace. Data shows that Ireland has the lowest standardised incidence rates (per 100,000 employees) of fatal accidents at work for 2018 and averaged rates from 2015 – 2017 at 0.45 and 0.96 respectively. However, if you were related to any of the people who had been killed at work in these time frames here…
Manual Handling
Manual Handling GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE Back injuries and back pain are something that most people suffer during their lifetime. A lot of the time, back injuries happen in the workplace. In fact, according to the HSA manual handling accidents are the most common accidents (2019) and these accidents usually cause back injuries. So, it makes sense for any company to focus on reducing all manual handling risks as much as possible to ensure employees are…
Understanding Safety: What is smart PPE?
Understanding Safety: What is smart PPE? ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE PPE (personal protective equipment) has long been recognised as a useful tool in providing a barrier between a person and a hazard. We are all familiar with high visibility vests, hard hats and safety footwear which are probably the most common items of PPE used throughout the industry on a daily basis. Covid-19 has also raised our awareness of both PPE and RPE (respiratory protective equipment) in…
Returning to Work After Pregnancy
Returning to Work After Pregnancy LISA QUINN O'FLAHERTY Solicitor Fitzsimons Redmond There are a number of circumstances that may be in play when a worker returns to work after pregnancy. In some circumstances, the worker may have experienced miscarriage. There is no right to miscarriage leave in Irish law, but the worker may have taken sick leave to physically recover. Many employers offer miscarriage or bereavement leave to parents who experience this kind of loss. …
Planning Your Return to Work
Planning Your Return to work JENNY COLLINS EHS Consultant EazySAFE The Irish Government have issued an easing of COVID-19 restrictions with a phased return to the office, emphasising flexibility from 20 September 2021. This brings a lot of consideration and yet more change for Organisations. COVID-19 forced a mandatory ‘work from home’ arrangement from March 2020. Overnight, employers and employees had to create new ways of working and engaging from a distance, to regain autonomy…