Health and Safety in the Workplace: An Asda Case Study

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UNDERSTANDING HEALTH AND
SAFETY IN BUSINESS WORKPLACE
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Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.......................................................................................................................................... 4
P1 EXPLAIN LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATIONS FOR ENSURING HEALTH, SAFETY
AND SECURITY OF EMPLOYEES IN THE ORGANIZATION.......................................................4
LO2........................................................................................................................................... 6
P2 REQUIREMENTS FOR A HEALTHY AND SAFE WORKPLACE FOR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
AND EQUIPMENT USED IN ASDA..........................................................................................6
LO3........................................................................................................................................... 9
P3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY OF KEY PERSONNEL AT THE
WORKPLACE......................................................................................................................... 9
LO4......................................................................................................................................... 11
P4 PLAN A RISK ASSESSMENT FOR A SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT 11
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 17
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INTRODUCTION
Human resource plays a significant role in the functioning of the business and they are the
most important part of every organization. The health and safety of the employees at the
workplace are to be considered by each and every business in order to gain success. The
following report helps in understanding the legislation and regulations followed by a
business to ensure safety and security to the employees. The requirement for a healthy and
safe workplace applied in the business environment of Asda. The report will also focus on
the roles and responsibilities of key personnel for maintaining health and safety at the
workplace. Lastly, being a health and safety trainee consultant, the assessment would be
done to assess the risk in the work environment of Asda.
Asda Stores Ltd. Is a large retailer that was founded in 1949. The company offers its
products and services to the customers through grocery stores and supermarkets and has
633 retail outlets until March 2019. The number of employees working in the stores of Asda
counts up to 165,000. The company ensures the health and safety of the employees at the
workplace by following legislation and regulations formed by the government (Krypa, 2017).
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LO 1
P1 EXPLAIN LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATIONS FOR ENSURING
HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY OF EMPLOYEES IN THE ORGANIZATION
The legislation and regulations regarding the health and safety at the workplace can be
described as the laws and standards set the government and legislature for the protection
of rights and interest of all the employees at the workplace. These regulations are needed to
be followed by every organization to avoid penalties or any kind of intervention by the
government in the business (Boyle, 2015). The laws prevailing in the UK regarding the health
and safety of employees at workplace comprises of:
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: An assessment of risk at
the workplace has to be carried out by the management compulsorily in order to identify,
review and monitor various kinds of risk at workplace.
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992: The Company provides
clothes and equipment to employees for safeguarding them from health and safety risks
and also focus on the storage and maintenance of such clothes and equipment (Bianchini et
al. 2017).
The Provisions and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998: Under this regulation,
minimum standards regarding the suitability, maintenance and inspection of the equipment
and machinery are being focused.
Workplace Regulations 1992: this regulation deals with all kinds of alteration and
modification in the workplace which require a focus on control over the temperature,
ventilation, cleanliness, lightening and separate areas for smokers and non-smokers
(Bianchini et al. 2017).
FEATURES OF REGULATIONS AND LEGISLATIONS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY:
Every organization focuses on following strict rules and laws for the safety of their
workforce as it helps in motivating the employees and boosting their morale, thus,
increasing their productivity (Boyle, 2015). The rules and regulations:
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 Protect the employees from illness, injury or any kind of harm at the workplace.
 Focus on safeguarding the rights and interest of the employees.
 The legislation formed is strict guidelines for businesses on how the employees must
be treated at the workplace (Boyle, 2015).
 The rules and regulations of government on health and safety assist businesses for
steps to be taken regarding the security and wellbeing of the human resource.
Asda takes various measures in business to ensure the safety and security of employees at
the workplace.
The company has established its own manual named ‘The Asda Way of Working in which
the safety and security of workforce engaged in the supply chain is focused by the managers
(Bianchini et al. 2017).
A forum for health and safety in the retail sector that is in the supermarkets of Asda is
created to identify and discuss the best and safest methods according to
LogisticsMnager.com that can be used for workers at workplace to protect them from the
risk of accidents, etc. (Bachman et al. 2017)
The Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) is used by Asda to ensure
minimization of risks and accidents in the warehouse and storage department of the
workplace. SEMA ensures a safe installation, designs and utilization of storage equipment
for the protection of members of the organization (Bachman et al. 2017).
Health and safety programmes: ASDA conducts such programmes for eliminating accidents
at workplace and thus, protecting the employees. ASDA follows the directives of the
European Community that serves as a guideline for preventing employees from danger and
increasing their safety at the workplace (Bachman et al. 2017).
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LO2
P2 REQUIREMENTS FOR A HEALTHY AND SAFE WORKPLACE FOR PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT AND EQUIPMENT USED IN ASDA
The physical environment of ASDA must ensure the safety and protection of the employees
from various kinds of risks and dangers present in the surroundings. There are high chances
of accidents at the workplace due to moving or falling objects and hand tools (Eaves, 2016).
The management should take care of the following points to ensure safety and security in
the work environment:
 Heavier items must be placed closer to the ground level.
 Handling and movements of objects must be undertaken carefully to prevent them
from falling.
 Hand tools like scissors, knives, etc. must be kept and used safely to prevent workers
from getting injured (Eaves, 2016).
Evacuation assembly areas: the employees in every organization must be given training
regarding steps to be taken at the time of the fire or any other emergency at the workplace
to avoid chances of death or severe injury from incidents like an explosion.
Site building works: The building must have protective and safe equipment and the
construction area must have gates and signs on them to inform the people about the work
going on the site to prevent them from injuries from sharp objects, etc. (Eaves, 2016)
Hygiene facilities: ASDA also provides hygiene facilities to the workers to take care of the
health of the employees. The organization provides toilets, basins, protection from
pollution, etc.
Vermin infestation: ASDA facilitates protection to the employees from risk on their health
and safety due to the presence of rats, flies and mice at the workplace. Therefore, poison is
spread at corners and other specific areas to get rid of them (Eaves, 2016).
The equipment used by the workforce in the workplace at ASDA must consider the
protection and security of the employees by taking care of the following:
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Warning signs and sound signals: the employees and employers at the workplace are
provided with special guidance for operating on the equipment safely and protecting and
preventing them from risks. ASDA uses directions and guidelines framed under the
legislation of EU directives (Wooff, 2015). The company provides the facility of fire detectors
and alarms to make people aware of the situation occurring at the workplace.
Fire extinguishers and accessible fire exits: The health and safety managers of ASDA focus
on the safety of employees at workplace, therefore they use suitable and portable,
emergency exits on all the floors that are marked and can be easily visible to everyone every
time which can help the workforce at the time of emergency (Wooff, 2015).
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There are many safety and security legislation followed by ASDA to protect the data and
information provided by the employees. These laws are followed by the company strictly to
build trust among the employees and increase their motivation and loyalty in the business
that increasing employee retention (Hardy and Butler, 2016).
Data protection act 1998: All the businesses in the UK including ASDA follow the data
protection Act which states that the information of the employees at a workplace must be
used and handled legally in order to protect them against misuse or manipulation of the
information provided by them (Hardy and Butler, 2016).
Copyright, designs and Patent Act 1988: ASDA follows this action to safeguard the self-
created work of the employees which includes art, drawings; design of new idea, literary,
artistic work, etc. are protected under this act from getting copied. The work done by the
employees needs to get registered under this act for safety (Hardy and Butler, 2016).
Computer misuse act 1990: This law is followed in ASDA to protect the members of the
organization from the risks of online fraud and computer crimes (Hardy and Butler, 2016).
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LO3
P3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY OF KEY
PERSONNEL AT THE WORKPLACE
The members in ASDA having higher authorities than the employees in the organization are
responsible for taking measures to take care of the health and safety of the employees at
the workplace. These members include the director of human resource, facilities manager,
leaders of every department, fire warden, first aider, etc. (Lundgren and McMakin, 2018)
The roles and responsibilities of different personnel in the workplace of ASDA comprise of:
First aider: The personnel appointed as the first aider assess the problem quickly and
protect everyone from the risks and dangers by preventing infections with the help of first
aid, calling an ambulance in case of emergency, etc.
Fire marshal: the primary role of the fire marshal is to take action to prevent fires, react
calmly and actively when the fire occurs in order to fight the fire using fire extinguishers,
blowing alarms or calling the fire brigade, etc. (Lundgren and McMakin, 2018)
Maintenance agencies: the role of maintenance engineer appointed by ASDA supports the
repairs and maintenance of the equipment used by the workers on site, provide
maintenance facilities on a routine basis, provide suggestions to improve practices at the
workplace, etc.
Freelance consultant advisor: These consultants are hired by large organizations like ASDA
to handle and solve the problems faced by the company with their knowledge and
expertise. These consultants help the employees in the workplace in solving their problem
and achieving the objectives of the organization (Lundgren and McMakin, 2018).
Trade union representatives: The representative of the trade union offers advice,
information and guidance to the employees or the members of the union when they face
any kind of problem in the workplace. The major responsibility of the trade union
representative if to ensure the safety and protection of the interests of the members in
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ASDA and thus, focusing on the safety and welfare of the union members (Lundgren and
McMakin, 2018).
Contractors and sub-contractors: The contractors and sub-contractors play an important
part in the organization as they provide the required material, labour, equipment and
services that are needed in the completion of the manufacturing projects undertaken by the
business. The subcontractors get the opportunity to join ASDA after they join the
Construction Products Association (Friend and Kohn, 2018). These contractors are
responsible for employing workers in the organization and they have to take care of the
planning and management of the workers assigned by them. The major responsibility of the
contractor lies in monitoring the activities done by the workers in order to ensure their
health and safety and take control measures to avoid risks and damage to their lives at the
workplace (Friend and Kohn, 2018).
Thus, it can aid the roles, responsibility and accountability of the organization and its
members towards the employees and workers of ASDA focus on safeguarding the interest of
the workforce and taking care of their health and safety by considering the following areas:
Monitoring working conditions: The responsible person takes care of the safety to
employees from the equipment, machinery, risks of pollution, etc. by evaluating the
surroundings where the workers will be working by considering the proper lightening,
ventilation, elimination of power cuts, etc. to motivate them to work better and perform
their best for achieving the desired goals of the organization effectively and efficiently
(Friend and Kohn, 2018).
Budget allocation: The organization must prepare a budget to focus on allocation of funds,
estimating requirements of fund and proper utilization of funds in the workplace to follow
all the laws and legislations formed by the government in the UK and thus take care of the
health and safety of the workforce employed in ASDA (Friend and Kohn, 2018).
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LO4
P4 PLAN A RISK ASSESSMENT FOR A SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE WORK
ENVIRONMENT
This is the process of the identification of the hazards that could negatively impact an
organization's ability to conduct business. For these kinds of hazards, the director should
more attentive towards the risk which can take place in the organization and also plan for
how to reduce this risk from the organization. There is no specific format of the risk
assessment which has to be done in a workplace because there are so many organizations
which work for the different fields for different purposes. According to the organization, the
safety steps take place like as ASDA is a shop of the groceries, clothing, furniture etc. so the
safety majors should be there like as a fire extinguisher, water tank, gas tank should not be
in a form of leakage. If anyone of the organization doesn't know about the risk assessment
then the organization can put their employees in the danger zone. There should be the
safety measures present in the organization like as the first-aid-box so this is very helpful for
the employees if an employee is having any health problem, worker damaged by some
machines at that time the first-aid-box will very helpful in the organization. The safety
measures will reduce the uncertainties or the risk in the future. All the organization wants to
reduce the risk from their business because risk gives the loss to the organization may be in
the future the many machines will not work properly, there are so many things by which the
uncertainties of the risk can take place in the organization Greim, (2018).
In the organization there should be the health and safety measures should be monitored in
a proper manner so the safety measures can continuously change. In the organization of the
ASDA, there should be the proper monitor on the measures of the safety because this is the
company of the groceries, clothing, online food etc. gas tank should not be in the form of
the leakage. There are so many precautions which the organization should take care of.
There are various ways by which safety measures can reduce. There are so many
uncertainties in each and every organization which is also dangerous to the public, markets
near about the organization because a single spark of the fire can take place it creates the
chance for the big one. The organization should be more conscious about the precautions of
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the risk which can take place in the organization. Health and the safety measures of the
employees is playing a very crucial role for the organization because once an employee of
the organization get in touch with the harm at that time the organization can decrease the
inventory, or may in any other case the organization can lose the employees because no one
wants to do the work in danger zone without safety. Safety is a big major for the
organization by which is monitor by the department of the organization Mangiacapra,
(2012).
There are many factors by which the risk can be carried out, which are mention below with
the following diagram:-
IDENTIFY THE RISK FACTOR:-This is the first step to carry out the risk in the organization. In
this part, the organization should analyse the unwanted uncertainties of the organization.
The organization should observe the reports of the organization through the newspaper,
doing the survey in the markets, by the economic news which give the idea to the other
organizations can also take the precautions about the unhampered things in the
organization and get to know about the unwanted events.
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