Respect in the Workplace
Respect in the Workplace LISA QUINN O'FLAHERTY Solicitor Fitzsimons Redmond It is tempting for employers to draft a Bullying and Harassment Policy for their workplace, and then sit back in the hope that everyone will play nicely and get along. Unfortunately, human relationships are complex, and conflict is likely to arise in every workplace. It is the job of the employer to create a working environment where conflict is well managed, and a culture of…
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument
Effective Safety Management: The Business Argument ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE Ireland has a good track record for accidents in the workplace. Data shows that Ireland has the lowest standardised incidence rates (per 100,000 employees) of fatal accidents at work for 2018 and averaged rates from 2015 – 2017 at 0.45 and 0.96 respectively. However, if you were related to any of the people who had been killed at work in these time frames here…
Manual Handling
Manual Handling GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE Back injuries and back pain are something that most people suffer during their lifetime. A lot of the time, back injuries happen in the workplace. In fact, according to the HSA manual handling accidents are the most common accidents (2019) and these accidents usually cause back injuries. So, it makes sense for any company to focus on reducing all manual handling risks as much as possible to ensure employees are…
Understanding Safety: What is smart PPE?
Understanding Safety: What is smart PPE? ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE PPE (personal protective equipment) has long been recognised as a useful tool in providing a barrier between a person and a hazard. We are all familiar with high visibility vests, hard hats and safety footwear which are probably the most common items of PPE used throughout the industry on a daily basis. Covid-19 has also raised our awareness of both PPE and RPE (respiratory protective equipment) in…
Hidden Anxiety, Knowing When to take Notice
Hidden Anxiety, Knowing When to Take Notice Alan White Wellness Consultant EazySAFE Amidst the many changes taking place in society at the moment, many of us are feeling relieved and excited to begin to get back to some form of normal living again. Heading back to the office meeting colleagues face to face again, socialising somewhat normally or even travelling abroad. Being able to do the simple things in life will make a big difference to all of our lives, so…
Returning to Work After Pregnancy
Returning to Work After Pregnancy LISA QUINN O'FLAHERTY Solicitor Fitzsimons Redmond There are a number of circumstances that may be in play when a worker returns to work after pregnancy. In some circumstances, the worker may have experienced miscarriage. There is no right to miscarriage leave in Irish law, but the worker may have taken sick leave to physically recover. Many employers offer miscarriage or bereavement leave to parents who experience this kind of loss. …
Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE We hear the term risk assessments bandied about all the time regarding health and safety. However, from my experience, many people are unaware of how important they are, what they are and how they really are the foundation of ensuring you are adhering to health and safety legislation and maintaining your health and safety management system. In simple terms, a risk assessment is a thorough examination of what, in a workplace, could cause harm,…
Learning for Wellbeing
Learning for Wellbeing Alan White Wellness Consultant EazySAFE The concept of lifelong learning is something that many of us have heard of but few have embraced. For a lot of people, the completion of formal education was a transition from a life phase of learning to one of career and work. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash Although employees engage with Continuous Professional Development, many see it as an obligation rather than an opportunity to…
Returning to the Workplace
Returning to the Workplace GEMMA COLLINS DOYLE EHS Consultant EazySAFE Did the title of this article fill you with fear or excitement? The answer will give you a good insight as to how the general working population is feeling about the eventual full return to the workplace. Almost 2 years later and so many employees are still working from home. For many other employees, not much changed, as their job cannot be done from home and they have…
Outline of Global Sustainability in OHS
Outline of Global Sustainability in OHS ANDY TILLEARD EHS Consultant EazySAFE What is sustainability? A common definition for sustainability, in general, is to ensure that we have "…ability to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." It fundamentally relates to the available resources that we have and how we optimise these for today and tomorrow. It is an issue that has a history; for example,…