Worker Involvement - do you know of a good story?

More and more businesses are realising that involving workers in decisions about health and safety helps to make workplaces safer and healthier.  Workers are often the best people to understand the risks in their workplace, and their involvement in decision-making plays a big part in a high-performing business. One of the goals of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) newly launched strategy is to promote worker involvement, where employers and employees and their representatives work collaboratively to improve health and safety in workplaces.

To help HSE achieve this goal, we would like you to tell us of any good news stories on this topic from non-unionised small to medium sized companies, particularly those in the following workplaces:

• factories and workshops;
• transport (haulage and collection); and
• construction. 

HSE will contact the companies you suggest and their stories may be produced as best practice worker involvement case studies which will be of great value towards HSE’s campaign to promote and improve worker involvement across the UK.

We plan to help businesses by offering subsidised training for representatives of employee safety to equip them with the necessary skills to undertake this role. 

We are also developing a new course for workplaces of all sizes aimed at encouraging joint problem solving between line managers and health and safety representatives, creating a legacy of effective worker involvement in their organisations.

Success stories will help to promote the benefits of co-operative working to all, and If you would like to help us with this initiative please contact susan.robinson@hse.gsi.gov.uk or 0151 951 5812 by the end of October.