The importance of health & safety to your business

Having a planned approach to health and safety helps you manage risks that could lead to illnesses, injuries or even death. It’s the right thing to do by your people, and you have obligations under the new Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).

Plus, a healthy and safe work environment is just good for business. When your business is healthy and safe, performance and productivity increases.

It also creates a culture of trust and respect, where workers’ needs are listened to, and goes one step further in increasing performance and productivity.

It’s important to remember that there are health and safety risks everywhere, not just in industries like construction and engineering. Managing health and safety is necessary for every business, whether you’re in an office or on a building site.

Did you know that compared with other similar countries, New Zealand’s workplace health and safety is not up to scratch? Every year 52 people die on the job, hundreds more are seriously injured and 600-900 die from work-related diseases.

Our partner the Institute of Directors (IoD), together with WorkSafe New Zealand, has created a health and safety guide for small to medium business owners and company directors to help you understand your obligations under the new legislation. You can use it to help implement a plan for your business, keeping your workers safe and giving you peace of mind.

If you’re a director, the IoD has also developed a checklist and a larger more in-depth guide that specifically covers your obligations.

More information can be found on the WorkSafe website and the IoD website.