Do you fully understand your Health & Safety requirements as an employer?

• Employers are actually legally obliged to assess and control health and safety risks in the workplace.
• The Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 applies to ALL employers, self-employed and employees in ALL workplaces.
• According to the HSE, 220 people were killed and over 150,000 were injured in the workplace in 2004/05 due to a failure to manage risk.
• The HSA has also recently stated that workplace fatalities are up by a third in 2007 compared to 2006 - 67 people lost their lives in work related accidents in 2007.
• Directors and officers/mangers can be prosecuted under the 2005 Act for failing in their duty to implement and manage health and safety in the workplace.
• Statistics prove that companies who avail of Risk Management/Health and Safety Management cut their financial costs significantly.
• Risk management is the key to the long-term survival of any business. It essentially reduces risk.
• Approximately 96% of Irish Businesses currently do not have a safety statement*.
• The penalties for not complying with with Health and Safety legislation include (for District Court cases) a maximum penalty of €3,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment, and (for Circuit Court indictments) a maximum penalty of €3 million and/or up to 2 years imprisonment
• The Health and Safety Authority carried out 15,365 inspections in 2006 alone.

*Based on figures from 2006

SME Insurance provides a Health & Safety Management solution for your business.

Health and Safety working in partnership with your insurance provider can assist in lowering and stabilising your insurance costs.

We provide a complementary on-line helpdesk for all SME Insurance customers. This provides you with a facility where you can submit your Health and Safety queries and we guarantee a reply within one working day.

Your complementary Safety Audit or Voucher

As part of our Health and Safety service all SME Insurance customers receive a complementary safety audit or a voucher for €300 Health and Safety training and/or consultancy services from Risk Solutions - SME Insurance's dedicated Health and Safety provider.

This voucher can be offset against the cost of:

• Preparation or updating of your Safety Statement, in accordance with constantly changing legislation
• The provision of induction training of employees
• Manual Handling Training
• Risk Solutions can provide for all of your Health and Safety needs. All services are provided at discounted rates to SME Insurance customers.

For further information on Risk Solutions visit their website at: www.risk-solutions.ie