If your business has ever been the subject of an accident at work claim, you already know how costly the process is financially and in terms of working days lost. There are several reasons to ensure that you have well-developed workplace safety measures in place as they can save your business and employees in terms of money and health. 

Workplace safety benefits your business because it protects your most important asset, your employees. When it comes to investing in your organisation, you shouldn’t push safety initiatives low or to the side on your corporate priority agenda. If you ignore safety protocols, it’ll cost your business more in the long run than crafting an effective program. 

Prevention is more effective for workplace safety as it saves several resources. If your business lacks a safety program or has an outdated program, investing in a new one is a worthwhile expense. 

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Avoid lawsuits

The most obvious benefit you get by providing your employees with a safe work setting is avoiding a lawsuit. If a worker gets injured on the job as a result of safety procedures or equipment, they can sue your company for personal injury and claim compensation. Companies like Personal Injury Claims Care provide extensive information and guidance to personal injury victims and support them in claiming compensation. A high number of people hiring a solicitor win their lawsuits, so it’s best to prevent workplace accidents rather than facing a lawsuit’s effects. Even if you have insurance to protect you against workplace injury lawsuits, you still lose money as your insurance rates rise with every new covered instance. 

Low insurance rates

The greatest benefit of reducing the number of workplace accidents is that your insurance rates stay the same or even go down. When working to boost profit, you need to save money on expenses such as insurance and lost work time. However, the only way to reduce workplace injury insurance rates is to limit the number of accidents on-premises. 

Similarly to your other insurance policies, the more you use the workers’ compensation, the more expensive it gets. So, if your company has a high rate of workers’ compensation claims, your expenses increase. The insurance rate is directly proportional to your number of workers. That’s why the best business books suggest companies look at compliance as having morale and financial benefits. So, instead of wasting money on insurance, take the necessary precautions and develop safety processes to reduce the number of claims. 

Reduced lost work time

Besides high insurance rates and the risk of a lawsuit, illnesses and injuries can cause your staff to be out of work. And you can’t afford to hire someone else for the time they’re recovering because it’s more expensive to recruit and train a new employee than reassigning their tasks to another employee. But workplace injuries leave you with fewer employees and low productivity. Also, you pay sick leave during their recovery period, resulting in your business paying for a worker who doesn’t perform. 

If you deal with frequent workplace accidents, you most likely experience numerous lost hours annually. Also, suppose your operations require the use of toxic materials or chemicals known for triggering health issues. In that case, your staff may end up suffering from chronic health problems that lead to more sick days and higher expenses. 

No fines

OSHA requires companies to meet a series of workplace safety standards. If you fail to comply, you could pay pricey fines. You never know when inspectors visit your premises for a check-up or an employee reports hazardous work conditions that cause your company to get caught. If you neglect to fix the issues, the authorities could shut down your business. However, if you have a well-put-together safety program, you can reduce or eliminate the risk of getting a fine from OSHA that can impact your budget and profitability. 

Lower turnover rates

You already know how expensive training new staff is. It takes valuable hours and plenty of resources and impacts your company’s performance. But if your workers don’t feel safe, they’re more likely to search for a new job. You don’t want to lose your best and most productive employees to your competition, which will be more than happy to recruit experienced workers. All your team wants is to feel safe and secure at their workplace, so make sure to fulfil their needs. Constantly having to recruit and train new employees takes time and time to enhance your company’s profitability. Instead of having your HR department focused on finding new employees, ask them to create a well-developed safety program. They should evaluate your existing safety protocols, and if they discover any issues, they should fix them quickly. 

Retain valuable employees

Employee retention saves your business money. Now more than ever, you should strive to retain your quality employees, as it’s more and more challenging to recruit experienced talent. Nowadays, workers value employers who care about their health and safety, whether it is preventing contagious diseases from spreading (such as COVID-19) or preventing workplace accidents. A well-developed safety program can protect your employees and educate them on how to react when incidents happen. It also reduces the turnover rate and saves money on recruiting and training new workers. 

Besides retaining loyal employees, a well-developed safety program also attracts talent and offers you a competitive edge.

Prevent hazards and catastrophic events

Beyond saving money due to high insurance rates, downtime, loss of productivity, and other associated expenses, a safety program also protects your business from facing a catastrophic event. Fire, explosions, white workplace fatalities, and other similar issues are rare, but they’re definitely devastating for your business. If you have a safety program that prevents such catastrophic events from happening, your return on investment is enormous. 

Providing a safe and healthy work setting should be paramount for all companies, regardless of their specifics. It’s the smart thing to do and a smart investment for your company. Provide your staff with protective equipment, offer them access to safe and secure tools and devices, and train them to follow safety protocols and react in case of an accident.