Health and Safety Workplace
Individual Research Essay
“During 2013-14 NDTMS (National Drug Treatment Monitoring System) reported 114,920 clients aged 18 to 75 and in contact with structured treatment citing alcohol as their primary problematic substance. In addition, there were a further 34,237 clients aged 18 to 75 who cited alcohol misuse as an adjunctive problem to a range of other primary problematic substances. It is expected that these clients will have received treatment for their alcohol misuse alongside treatment for these other problematic substances.” (http://www(dot)nta(dot)nhs(dot)uk/ )
Please read the following scenario.
This is the story of Alexanda Johnson, a cook in an established primary school kitchen, known to friends simply as "Alex." Her employers once described her as an employee with great potential. Alex changed all that within a year.
Her managers began to notice that she would come in late for work smelling of alcohol; however her manager is not certain of how to handle the situation as there is no evidence on her to suggest she is drinking on the job.
Furthermore, Alex’s is a cook in the kitchen. The work has proven to be more stressful than normal as two members of the primary school’s kitchen staff are off on long term illness. This has created very stressful working environment for Alex.
Her managers would like to support Alex in whatever way they could, however there is no clear company policy on drinking/being under the influence at work.
They are concerned about Alex - her position as a cook in a primary school could potentially be hazardous with her drinking conditions, also herself as a person. She was once a highly valued team member, and most importantly, her working environment have become very stressful.
Her managers are also concerned about the school’s role in this situation. As an employer they have a legal and obligatorily responsibility for Alex’s wellbeing and also the wellbeing of other staff members and pupils alike within the school.
Task 1
Discuss the employers’ obligations and liabilities in respect to Alex’s ability to perform her job. You should make reference to health and safety legislation.
Task 2
As the School Business Manager (SBM – responsible for premises management, plays a role in recruitment and manages the non-teaching staff) for the school you have to deal with the immediate issue of Alex and also how best to avoid future issues.
Identify and evaluate HRM best practice strategies for managing alcohol and stress in the school. You should make reference to both formal and informal ways that employers might use to deal with this issue.
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Health and Safety Workplace
Introduction
Human resources are needed for the success of the organization as they execute the assigned duties and functions. It is therefore important for the employees to submit their entire health and safety requirements to the human resource management (HRM) department in order to check on their optimum productivity. Employees have the right to have a safe and healthy working environment for them to perform their responsibilities as expected because their rights are observed by the management. Workplace health and safety is achieved by the organization through the implementation of measures that are preventing injury and illness in the organization. According to Hasle, Bager and Granerud (2010), HRM has the role of coming up with the prevention measures that protect the employee from dangers that are exposed to in the work place. Safety and health care for employees is also provided through the adhering of state and civil laws that are set relating to the labor ministry of the state. A friendly work place provides benefits for both the employees and the employer as violence relating to safety and health is reduced in the organization. Health and safety guidelines to help tackle a potential danger in the organization during daily operation for proper behavior in the workplace. In the scenario of Alexanda Johnson, safety and health measures are not appropriately considered for a friendly work environment so as Alex can fulfill her potential concerning the job.
Employer on Health and Safety at Workplace
The employers have a responsibility of coming up with strategies that protect the employees in their daily functioning in the organization. The employee is obligated to know all the information about the employee so as to ensure that there is safety in the organization. In the scenario where Alex is working the employer does not have all the required information to ensure that is health and safety of the employee. The employer should be able to know that Alex is not safe at work due to stress and alcohol influence as most of the work in the institution is performed by her alone considering that the other employees are on leave. Insurance covers provide safety and health to the organization as the employees are protected from hazardous activities that happen in the organization. The employees’ records that are submitted to the HRM department provide information on the progress of the employees (Gilmore & Williams, 2009). The employee records provide the needed details to which are vital in coming up with a policy to manage the employee at work place.
Van De Voorde, Paauwe and Van Veldhoven (2011) state that human resource management department recruits the qualified employees and should ensure that there is a friendly working environment that helps the employees to achieve their potential. Alex is a great employee who has potential to improve the performance of the primary school. The primary schools do not have health and safety policy that ensures that an employee is not supposed to work under the influence of alcohol or other drug for a safe working environment. The workplace is unsafe for Alex as it is stressful from the much work that is expected of her at the time when other staffs are off on long term illness. The HRM department should have legislations on safety and health for the satisfactions of all the stakeholders of the organization by considering all the interests of the stakeholders.
The human resource management has a role to ensure that there is competitive advantage through the offering of the proper relationship between the employees. Through proper relations in the organization the disputes in the organization are managed through the industrial relations implemented in the company. The human resource manager should have leadership and management qualities that ensure that all the interests of the stakeholders are considered (Knudsen, Busck & Lind, 2011). The primary school manager did not consider all the interests of the stakeholders as Alex work while stressed and under the influence of alcohol making her in danger in the workplace. The other stakeholders in the school such as the teachers and the students are affected by the condition where the school cook is not performing effectively. The Human resource managers should be able to poses communication skills that are excellent to improve performance of the organization through satisfaction of the interests of the stakeholders. Employer through the human resource department communicates the health and safety measures implemented in the organization to improve working conditions for effective functioning of employees.
Employer Legal Responsibility
The employer is supposed to act in accordance with the Health and Safety Act that assures that employees perform without being exposed to dangerous conditions at work. The employer prevents illness and injury in the organization through the implementation of measures that are proper considering the mission of the organization. This is where the employer is legally responsible for ensuring that all rights of the employees are adhered to in the workplace (Einarsen, 2011). The services offered to the employee by the employer help to for an effective functioning of the staff. In the scenario of Alex the employer do not clearly communicate to the staff to ensure that they are healthy and secure in the workplace. By considering the health and safety measures in the institution Alex would be able to achieve her potential as the primary school cook as the conditions at work are suitable to support the employee. Employment contract provides information about the rights that an employee is considered the contract that is signed between the employer and employee. The contract is in the form of writing for where the terms and conditions that are set by the HRM are stated considering the employment legislation of that particular nation. ...