Essential guide to well-being in the workplace

The Occupational Safety & Health Management Guide, just published by IBEC, is an impressive Republic-specific, easy-to-read guide for employers and managers. Written in lay person's language and without presuming any specialised knowledge on the part of the reader, it should become an indispensable guide for busy employers, managers and workers alike.

Mr Tom Kitt TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, described the guide as "an excellent, well structured and informative document" at a reception to mark its publication last week. "The well-being of any business is intrinsically linked to the well-being of its employees. A responsible employer and manager who seeks out the information contained in this guide is, in the long term, seeking to improve the success and competitiveness of his or her business," he said.

Thanking IBEC and, in particular, the assistant director of social policy at IBEC, Mr Tony Briscoe, for producing the guide, he hailed it as "a user friendly document which will serve as an effective one-stopshop for occupational health and safety management". The guide would be complementary to the literature and publications of the Health and Safety Authority, he said, and he urged all business practitioners to obtain a copy.

The guide has a comprehensive section on the law. It includes an explanation of what is meant by common law, vicarious liability, and the duties of employers and employees. It also gives an explanation of the key phrase that employers must do all that is "reasonably practicable" to ensure the health and safety of employees.

Like all good writing, the guide presumes nothing on the part of the reader. For instance, a panel presents the key differences between civil and criminal law in health and safety law. Case histories of relevant Irish court cases are offered, which clarify what the law requires of employers. Ever practical, it describes the nuts and bolts of the requirement to report absences of more than three days due to an accident or work-related illness. The principles of Irish health and safety legislation are documented right from the Barrington Commission's identification of safety as a management responsibility. The statistics presented, for instance, for the causes of accidents for the years 1997 to 1999, are Irish. This guide also removes much of the mystique about preparing a safety statement.

The publication looks at health, chemical, biological and human factor hazards, and presents a handy checklist for auditing them. Examples of sample risk assessments are presented. For instance, the sample risk assessment for a guillotine machine shows detailed risk control measures (e.g. waste cut-offs are removed on a regular basis) and safety instructions (e.g. only trained and authorised people may operate, adjust or set up this machine).

The management section also looks at control measures, management systems, and the roles of management, employees, safety representatives and safety committees. There is an interesting section on media relations and information about insurance, including a glossary on insurance terminology. A chapter on physical hazards examines working in confined spaces, driving, electrical hazards, ergonomics, falls from height, falling objects, fire, manual handling and lifting equipment, slips/trips/falls, and work equipment.

Health is explored in a chapter dealing with topics such as asbestos, bullying, dust and fumes, occupational hygiene, toxicology, mobile phones, noise, vibration, dermatitis, stress, and violence.

The guide deals with sectoral issues in manufacturing; wholesale and retail; hotels and restaurants; transport, storage and communications; office based work; education; and healthcare and social work.

The publication is an essential guide for any employer.

The guide costs £135 (€171.45) including postage and packing to IBEC members, or £295 to nonIBEC members. A CD-Rom version is also available. There will be an annual update of the guide available to subscribers for an additional £60 (€76.20).

For details, contact IBEC, Confederation House, 84/86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. Telephone: 01-6381632

jmarms@irish-times.ie