Obligations Of The Employer To Comply With Legislation (SO2-AC3)

All employers, regardless of size, are required to comply with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety legislation. But in many industries, including construction, smaller companies tend to see compliance as a burden in terms of both time and money - and many slip under the radar because there are too many of them for the authorities to police effectively.

However, as health, safety and environmental legislation become more firmly established and, particularly, as employees become more aware of their right to a safe working environment, non-compliance will become more and more of a risk. Cases like the silicosis (chronic lung disease) and listeriosis (bacterial disease).

But a growing chance of getting caught out should not be motivating factor; compliance for its own sake never yields the best results. That’s particularly true when it comes to OHS because there are so many benefits to be had from taking a proactive approach.

At the most fundamental level, complying with health, safety and environmental legislation reduces the risk of employees being injured or killed — a real possibility in the construction industry.

Skilled and experienced workers should be seen as an asset in which the company has invested; replacing them is costly. At the same time, an employer who provides safe working conditions is also likely to benefit from better labour relations generally, not forgetting improved employee engagement and staff retention and less absenteeism.

Smaller contractors that take health, safety and environmental legislation seriously will find their reputation with the larger construction companies improved, thus bettering their chances of being included in big projects. Safety-conscious companies are more reliable on all sorts of levels.

An important driver in this regard is the focus on making workplaces safer and more welcoming for women. At present, unfortunately, many industries are hostile environments for women — sexual harassment (and worse) rates are high, ablution facilities are lacking and even equipment and clothing are often unsuited to females. And yet, women constitute half the potential workforce, and studies show that productive women benefit society as a whole because they tend to invest in their children’s education.

The short-term need to get the job done, means programmes like health, safety and environmental legislation are ignored, even if the long-term future of the company may be compromised.

The construction industry as a whole could be well on the way to repositioning itself as one that not only fulfils its contractual obligations, but also as a valuable, strategic partner in the bigger task of building an inclusive, growing economy.