HOW SAFE IS IT TO WORK IN AN SME?GREAT TO FOCUS ON THE GOOD PRACTICES

NECESSARY TO FOCUS ON THE BAD PRACTICES

Most accidents happen in SME’s A responsible owner formulates a RA

A responsible employer will

• work together with his employees on health and safety

• Listen and implement good solutions employees have for solving risks

• Give instruction and information

• Take preventive measures

MAKE A GOOD PRACTICE RIGHT AWAY!

• Who’s “mantra’ is this anyway?

Even the Dutch Employers Federation notes

“that the OHS system will not function properly without strict monitoring and enforcement. One concern in this respect is the Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate, which is currently understaffed. Regular inspections are required in sectors, industries and companies that run major health and safety risks, leading to a certain amount of constant “inspection pressure”.

Inspectors need more than the general knowledge they have today; they require specialist sector- and industry-related expertise. For example, inspectors lack the knowledge of assessing risks concerning nanoparticles and risks emerging from psycho-social problems at the workplace

THE ‘MANTRA’ SEEMS TO BE : “SOCIAL PARTNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR H&S AT THE WORKPLACE ”

THE MYTH OF COMPLEXITY

Employers, stop saying that health and safety regulations are too complexThere is an enormous amount of tools and information available

Also, make use of the knowledge employees have

THE MYTH OF ‘THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN’S’

Having a small business means often ( not always) making a small RA

• Employers always want to think big….• Most accidents happens in SME’s• So let’s think big when talking about safety and health at work!

• EU-commission: why endlessly focussing on Smart and Fitness regulation, administrative burdens and dismantling the level of protection?? Why not focussing on better regulation for a better health protection?

• Better to come forward with a New Strategy on H&S: 160.000 workers in Europe die every year! This is a crisis that we cannot ignore!

THINK SMALL FIRST ?

• Is this a good slogan when we speak about H&S policy?

• Most jobs in the EU are provided for by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), companies of 250 employees or less….is this definition not a little too broad??

• Do we not have to care for everybody’s health in the same way??

FIRST THINK MICRO? SMALL?, MEDIUM?, BIG?