
A serious injury to you or your staff, along with strict legislative requirements, harsh penalties, including jail terms and high workers’ compensation premiums represent significant costs to businesses. Most businesses understand that to avoid unnecessary down-time and unwanted costs, an effective set of occupational safety and health (OHS) practices and a comprehensive workers’ compensation program should be in place.
For many small to medium sized businesses, the time and resources required to incorporate good OHS and workers’ compensation practices within daily management processes can be prohibitive. The challenge presented to these businesses becomes – how do I manage these risks in a systematic, defined manner that will benefit my business?
The wide spectrum of possible workplace risks faced by businesses today makes it impossible to address all of these at the one time.
Recognising this, we have developed a systematic approach to identifying the key risks that need to be addressed over both the short and long term.
In the present market, it is no longer sufficient to rely on past claims experience (no matter how good it is) to obtain reasonable premium rates for workers’ compensation insurance. Only businesses able to demonstrate that they have the following processes and procedures in place will be able to reduce the cost of workers’ compensation on their business:
- Hazard reporting and workplace inspection procedures
- Safe work practices
- Induction and safety training programs
- Contractor and visitor management programs
- Incident management procedures
- Workers’ compensation claims management strategies
Businesses also need to demonstrate that these processes are properly implemented and actively monitored.