A great Personal Assistant can benefit you. A safe work environment can benefit everybody! Take care of your help. Click To TweetHealth and safety in the work place has changed. It was not so long ago (1974 to be precise) that the Health and Safety Act was first introduced in the United Kingdom. Before then, there were sadly much damage and loss of life in the work place. Now governments around the world recognise the need to put legislation in place to protect the workers.
A company’s, or private individual’s staff and employees are the most important aspect of the business or home. Without them the jobs at hand wouldn’t be completed. So it is vital to keep them safe.
So what is the best way to create a safe work environment for your PA?
1. Follow the law. – It might sound silly, but the law is there to protect you and your staff. So speak to a health specialist and safety advisor, or google to find out what your duties are as an employer. This remains the same, be it in a private home or corporate environment.
2. Don’t kill the messenger. Encourage your PA and staff to report any areas of concern. Unless you reward staff who recognise areas of concern, then these areas might slip by without your notice.
3. Sickness. It can be tempting to ask your PA to work when they are ill, but by asking them to come to work you risk infecting yourself, your family or other staff. Why not consider asking your PA to work remotely (if they are well enough to do so).
4. Housekeeping. Ensure that they are up to scratch and that the cleaners or housekeepers are keeping your PA’s areas clean and tidy. Yes your PA should manage this themselves, but it doesn’t hurt to have a quick spray down of anti-bacterial on the work surfaces when they are gone for the day to help reduce the spread of infectious bacteria.
5. Understand Escape. It might be easy to forget this in a private home environment. But it is key your PA understands the fire protocol wherever they are working. This can literally save their life.
6. Provide a suitable kit. Your PA may need to accompany you on work or business trips, and depending on the line of work you are in, this could mean that they are put into situations they aren’t normally in. For example perhaps your PA will have to access a building site, or attend a car garage. You should always ensure that your PA has the right safety equipment (hard hat, goggles) depending on the environment they were to accompany you into.
Your safety and responsibility to ensure the safety of others falls on you, the employer. Your PA is there to support you, and to provide you with round the clock assistance, but you must take the ultimate responsibility. If you or your team are in need of finding a new PA, we’d love to help. Why not drop us a line today and see how Polo & Tweed can help with your new PA search?