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As you may well already know, health and safety in the work place is no laughing matter in the UK. In fact, there are laws in place to ensure all employers implement certain policies in order to provide a safe working environment for employees, and also for members of the general public who may enter the premises. Even if there were no laws in place, providing safe working conditions is essential, at least from a moral point of view. After all, without employees, no business could succeed, so if a business is so dependent on its employees, then sure the owner or owners of that business should take whatever step are possible in order to guarantee the safety of the workforce. Of course to some extent, this is easier said than done, but it is however still possible. In the case of a small business, eliminating potential risks can be a relatively easy and straightforward task. Make sure walkways are free of obstructions, make sure stairs are in good condition, make sure there are no trip hazards, and with that, you're just about done. With large businesses however, things can get phenomenally complex in terms of evaluating potential health and safety risks, and implementing procedures to make sure risks are kept to a minimum. Fortunately there are several companies specializing in this field, and many of them now make use of state-of-the-art software so as to be sure that no aspect gets overlooked. Just imagine being responsible for risk management within a fifteen story hotel complex, or perhaps a large offshore oil and gas installation where risks are around every corner. Even so, the law requires all businesses to conduct a regular health & safety risk assessment, no matter how big or how small a business is. The only difference is that if you run a small business, you could possibly do your own assessments, of if your business is a little too big for that, you could send one or more of your employees for training, and then let them take on the job. If you're responsible for the running of a large enterprise, then you would either need to employ a duly qualified person, or else you would need to consider using an outside company. In fact, practically all large businesses nowadays choose the latter option, simply because of the complexities involved. Also, companies who specialize in risk assessments will have all the necessary resources available to them, which in turn mean your own business won't be required to invest money in various bits of equipment, software, and etc. Nowadays, when an employee gets injured in the workplace, it almost always ends up in a lawsuit, and if the courts even begin to suspect that your business failed to have a solid health & safety risk assessment in place, you won't have a leg to stand on. Also, as already mentioned, insurance companies are not exactly well known for their willingness to hand over money, so if they can home in on discrepancies regarding the health and safety standards within your business, you can be sure they will use even the smallest failing against you.
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