Why choose us

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and more recently the Management of Health & Safety Regulations 1999, businesses, and organisations have a responsibility to put in place policies and procedures to promote the health, safety and welfare of all employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public. There must be a commitment to the development of a positive health and safety culture within all premises and services operated under the management and responsibility of business owners and responsible persons.

 

There is a bewildering level of legislation and guidance that all businesses must navigate to ensure they and their workers are safe. From fire safety, hazardous substances, manual handling and working at height to plant and machinery, vibration, confined space, and even new and expectant mothers there are many things that business owners and responsible persons must consider and manage.

 

Farming accounts for 1.5% of the economy but an alarming 24% of all workplace deaths – based on the HSE’s annual Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Report in GB 2020/2021. Our primary aim is to work with farms and agriculture industries to support them and improve practices to raise safety standards minimise workplace injuries.

 

Many organisations do not know what accidents and ill-health really cost them in time and money. Few bother to examine costs if and when they investigate accidents and incidents.

 

It is often assumed that most accident and incident costs are recoverable through insurance. This is a dangerous misconception. The HSE estimates that the ratio between insured and uninsured costs lies in the range of £1:£8 to £1:£36.

 

In other words, for every £1 recovered from insurers at least £8 is being lost entirely.

 

Uninsured costs can include:

• Lost time

• Sick pay

• Damage or loss of product and raw materials

• Repairs to plant and equipment

• Extra wages, overtime working and temporary labour

• Production delays

• Investigation time

• Fines

• Loss of contracts

• Legal costs

• Accident and ill-health costs can be likened to an iceberg: costs that are recoverable are visible but those that are unrecoverable are hidden below the waterline and are many times greater

 

Other key points to consider which are irrecoverable or likely to have a long-term impact on revenue and reputation include: 

• Losing key personnel due to injury or ill-health can be critical to meeting contract deadlines

• In smaller organisations which have little reserve capacity, a serious accident or an incident such as fire can spell the end of the business altogether

• Loss of business reputation due to accidents and enforcement action can lead to loss of new or repeat business or loss of new investment

• Accidents can damage workforce morale and affect productivity

• Serious accidents leading to injury may be quite rare but minor incidents leading to costly damage are happening most of the time

• Accident claims invariably mean higher insurance premiums or insurance cover actually being refused.

 

As many agricultural and land-based businesses are family owned and operated, working to tight schedules and small margins many of the above human, financial and reputational risks are very real. At Farm Safe Consulting we work with farmers and argi-businesses to understand, mitigate, manage and most importantly embrace their specific risks.