The business benefits of PPE

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a legal requirement under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992.

Within these regulations, as a business owner, it’s your duty to ensure all employees are provided with PPE where relevant, and that it’s well maintained, appropriately stored and correctly used.

So, let’s take a look at seven business benefits of providing proper PPE.

1. Fewer injuries

If employees are equipped with appropriate safety measures, inevitably, there’ll be fewer injuries. First and foremost, this benefits the welfare of your workforce, but it’ll also have a positive impact on your business’ Health & Safety culture, reputation and bank balance – because you won’t be subject to fines and claims.

2. Less sickness

In many cases, workplace injuries can result in employees needing time off work. This can cost you in two ways:

• You’ll have less manpower to maintain productivity and meet deadlines; and
• You may have to pay the employee sick pay.

3. Stay on the right side of the law

PPE is covered by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. In addition, under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you have a legal obligation to assess and manage any risks that derive from work-related activities.

Failure to comply could land you in hot water with enforcing authorities, and leave you open to:

Court cases: if an employee sustains a serious injury as a result of your negligence, they could put in a claim. Equally, if the enforcing authorities – like the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Environmental Health Officer (EHO) – catch wind that you’re not meeting your legal obligations, you could be taken to court and prosecuted.

Unlimited fines: for the worst Health & Safety offences, you run the risk of potentially unlimited fines – could your business cope?

Disqualification: albeit relatively rare, Health & Safety breaches can amount to you being disqualified. What would happen to your business if you weren’t around?

4. Retention struggles

Positive Health & Safety cultures can boost overall morale and prove to employees that you genuinely care about them. Negative Health & Safety cultures do the opposite. After all, who wants to work for an employer who disregards their general safety and wellbeing?

Your employees are your most expensive asset – invest in them.

5. Recruitment

If your retention rate’s at risk, your recruitment drive will likely suffer too. Put yourself in the position of a job seeker: if one business has a bad reputation for looking after its staff and the other has a clean sheet, which one would you opt for?

This could prolong your recruitment process, make it more expensive, and compromise the calibre of candidates that apply – all obviously unideal.

6. Reputation

For starters, a disgruntled employee might spread the word themselves. Or, if you’ve faced a fine or enforcement, enforcing authorities may publish your case online.

The latter in particular could be seen by any and everyone – including current customers, prospective customers, partners and investors. And the saying ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ certainly wouldn’t be the case.

7. Lost business

If your reputation suffers a blow, it could have a snowball affect on your business’ bottom line. For example, you might lose your competitive edge in tenders, business’ might be less willing to partner with you, and your PR efforts could be compromised.

The end result? Less revenue.

We’re here to protect you

You have a legal obligation to protect your employees, but who’s protecting you? Here at Citation, our Health & Safety consultants know exactly what it takes to keep you compliant.

Whether it’s help running risk assessments, putting appropriate PPE in place or reporting accidents, or helping you to keep up to date with Health & Safety Policies, we’re with you every step of the way. Get in touch with the team on 0345 844 1111 or hello@citation.co.uk to see how we can support you.