Although getting hurt at work is not a pleasant subject to think about, the reality is that 300 people a year lose their lives at work in Britain.
Around 158,000 non-fatal injuries are reported each year, and over two million suffer from ill health caused or made worse by work.
It is a mistake to think that these incidents only happen in unusual circumstances that never occur in your workplace.
Some simple actions can prevent these things from happening.
Preventing accidents
We work with many local businesses to improve health and safety.
This is especially important if you are in charge of work activities because you will have legal responsibilities.
Follow the links below for more information about common health and safety risks:
- Air conditioning units and cooling towers
- Asbestos
- Computers
- Electricity
- Hazardous substances
- Managing shift work
- Manual handling
- Noise in the workplace
- Pressure systems
- Slips and trips
- Work equipment
- Work transport
- Young employees (download a diagram describing the law and young people [PDF, 17.5 KB] [PDF, 21Kb])
Remember that health and safety laws apply to all firms, however small - and also to the self-employed and to employees.
Enforcing health and safety
The enforcement of health and safety in Cambridge workplaces is split between two authorities - Cambridge City Council and the Health and Safety Executive.
We cover many small and medium sized service and retail businesses.
The Health and Safety Executive covers more specialist areas - normally those not accessible to the general public.
Cambridge City Council
- shops
- offices
- cinemas
- theatres
- warehousing
- tyre and exhaust fitting
- hotels
- leisure activities
Health and Safety Executive
- factories/workshops
- laboratories
- schools/colleges
- printers
- vehicle repair
- universities
- farms
- construction work
Inspection
Inspectors visit workplaces to check that people are sticking to the rules and help you to understand what you need to do.
Enforcement action is only taken when something is seriously wrong - the main aim is to help employers get things right.
Employers liability compulsory insurance
It is the law to get employers liability compulsory insurance if you employ anyone - and you should display the certificate.
Health and safety law poster
The law says that you must display the health and safety law poster if you employ anyone.
Reporting injuries
You must report injuries at work. For information on which ones and who should report them please refer to the Health and Safety Executive's Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) web page.
