Are your clients still playing with fire?

In South Africa, occupational health and safety is an industry experiencing accelerated growth due to changing legislation and growing awareness. Health and safety affects every business sector.

"Whether you are an employee or an employer, occupational health and safety applies to you to some degree,” Kilian says. "With this in mind, and with World Day for Safety and Health at Work approaching, we believe it’s time for companies in South Africa to take a more proactive approach to health and safety to meet international standards.”

By working hand-in-hand with brokers and the insurance industry, a reputable occupational health and safety consultancy can add significant value to all parties to help mitigate risks.

"The first step is to conduct a full risk assessment in partnership with the brokers and insurers,” says Kilian. "Identify all possible risks associated with occupational health and safety, including fire, accidents, or possible injury to employees, the public and so on. Once these have been identified, suggest effective ways in which to mitigate these risks, prior to insurance cover being provided. If these measures are taken it will go a long way towards avoiding these incidents, but in the unfortunate event of an incident, the client is also fully protected.”

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations (UN), 6,300 people die daily as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases. This results in more than 2.3 million deaths a year. Fatalities and injuries are particularly high in developing countries because a significant portion of the population is engaged in hazardous activities, such as agriculture, fishing and mining.

 

On 28 April 2013, the ILO will observe World Day for Safety and Health at Work in order to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. This is an awareness campaign intended to focus international attention on emerging trends in the field of occupational safety and health and on the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities that occur worldwide.

 

Not only does the inadequate prevention of occupational accidents and diseases have negative effects on employees and their families but also on organisations and society at large due to the tremendous costs this generates. Injuries and ill health caused by poor working conditions can impose significant, often unrecognised, financial and legal costs on business.

Kilian says that while it is required by law in South Africa that all businesses comply with health and safety legislation, there is no legislation that compels business owners to be health and safety compliant for insurance purposes. Unfortunately, the consequences of this only become clear to your clients following a claim that is not paid out by the insurance company.

Despite the fact that the occupational health and safety industry is one of the fastest growing in South Africa today, there are still a large number of employers who believe that stringent health and safety rules are only applicable to certain sectors.

 

"Health and Safety services are not only affordable, they offer clients protection from of loss of assets, prevention of accidents and help to keep them compliant with the law,” says Kilian. "The calculated cost of taking a risk is not worth the penalties that are incurred through the negligence of not being compliant. Compliance should not be seen as an expense, but rather as an investment that becomes part and parcel of your client’s daily business,” he concludes.