I’ve noticed that learners often struggle to come up with moral arguments for health and safety, so here are a few ideas to get you thinking…
- Employers owe a duty of care to those who could be affected by their business, including employees, contractors, visitors etc.
- Prevention of injuries, illnesses (inc. mental illness) caused by work
- Prevention of pain and suffering to others who could be affected, such as fellow employees, family and friends
- We should strive not to be one of the businesses contributing to the accident and ill health statistics (ref. HSE)
- The morale of the entire workforce can be negatively impacted by poor health and safety
- Our people come to work to provide for their family, not to be harmed by the work that they do
- Our people have shown loyalty to us through their hard work and deserve to have that loyalty returned by their employer looking after them
- Some of the hazards are so high risk as to potentially cause death, so a family will lose a father, husband, child etc.
- How would they (the management) feel if it was their loved ones who were being put at risk
- An accident at work could end someone’s career
- Could cause people to turn to drugs or alcohol as a result of absence from work
- We should be striving to contribute to a better society/community. H&S is a key part of that.
- We say that “H&S is our no. 1 priority” and that “our people are our greatest asset”, now let’s live by those promises
- Some of our activities affect members of the public, including children, who could be harmed through no fault of their own
- They (management) are in trusted positions of power and authority and should strive to live up to the expectations placed on them and lead by example
- Some of our people are going through difficult times, we should be trying to support them, not make their situation worse by risking an accident at work
- Better H&S = better business = better job security = happier employees = better communities
- While not intending to hurt people, we can be judged for what we DON’T do as well as what we do. Failure to act responsibly can and does hurt people.
- Prevention of harm is the right thing to do.
