How Amazon's NYCOSH Scrape Serves As Warning To Business Owners
For business owners, this should be enough of a shakeup to ensure they keep their health and safety standards high.
Amazon employs thousands of staff members and just recently and despite their size, they’re not immune to the effects of skimping and scraping through their occupational health and safety standards. The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) recently recommended that the staff of this megaretailer start thinking of unionising. If they are successful in their efforts, this could cost the retailer thousands in damages if standards are held up. For business owners, this should be enough of a shakeup to ensure they keep their health and safety standards high, as a single lawsuit or fine can cripple a small business. This means investing in areas that won’t draw the attention from the likes of a NYCOSH inspector.
Skimping And Cutting Corners
While it may seem prudent to find the best deal on safety gear and equipment, especially if you’re buying in bulk, the savings can easily get lost when it means putting someone in danger. If a company is found guilty of cutting corners and a lawsuit ensues, it can mean the end of a business. According to research, legal problems account for eight percent of business failures and when it comes to health and safety, these legal issues can easily be mitigated simply by following the regulations down to the last safety helmet. This would also apply to matters such as ensuring the environment is safe to work in.
Protected Your Business And Workers
Once you start viewing your staff as assets, you’ll understand their value in your business and the effect it would have on your business if they get hurt or can no longer work for you. Business continuation is important, and there are numerous insurances that can provide the cover needed to take care of all these areas. For instance, businesses that rely on key staff members to get the job done will find their loss crippling. Insurances are important to protect staff as well, especially in instances where the would need to be compensated for disability or injury sustained while at work and business insurance bridges that gap. While these insurances may seem expensive especially when finances come under pressure, their true value is only felt in moments where the unexpected happens and owners would need to make big financial decisions.
Don’t Expose Workers To Abnormal Risks Without The Right Gear And Documentation
Workers who are not informed of the full range of risks they may face when they sign up for a job, may have to seek legal assistance. Any changes to the working conditions that change the risk of the job will have to be acknowledged and approved by the worker. But that alone doesn’t absolve the owner of the business of the responsibility to maintain the set safety protocols for that particular scenario. For instance, businesses that don’t adhere to safety standards on building sites and expose their workers to more risk than is necessary could face crippling fines and trading restrictions that may force them into liquidation or closure.
Work protection is essential in terms of safety and these standards shouldn’t be ignored. It’s in the best interest of businesses to protect their staff, and in this process, they end up protecting themselves from potential liability too.