If you want to ensure the longevity of your business, then one of the best things you can do right now is focus on health and safety. Remember that the approach you take should reflect the size of your business and that some changes will take longer to implement than others.
Appoint Someone to Help
One of the first things you need to do is appoint someone who can help you manage your health and safety duties. You will need someone who has the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience required to manage everything. If you run a low-risk business then it’s likely you or your employees will take on responsibilities like this, but if you run a big business then you may need someone who has a little more experience. Expert advice is always worth the money, so try and keep this in mind if you can.
Write a Policy
Another thing you need to do is try and write a policy. Your policy is good for a number of reasons. First, it helps to show that you are fully committed to health and safety. It also shows that you are able to monitor things and stick with it. If you have fewer than 5 employees then you don’t need to write down a health and safety policy, but if you have more then you will have to make it a priority.
Assess Risk
You also need to make sure that you assess risk. If you know that you tend to serve a lot of food then little things, like making sure that your fridges are at the right temperature, are always a good idea. If you make your own milkshakes, bottle your own milk or something similar, then having a bottle fridge could be a good investment so you can make sure that you meet the right health and safety standards. It may also be worth investing in a commercial fridge, as this is often a good way for you to make sure that you’re not missing out and putting your customers at risk.
Get Insurance
If you haven’t done so yet, you have to make sure that you take out business insurance. If you don’t then this could end up putting you and your company in danger. Having insurance should not be a question of affordability either, as if something happens, then you may be putting your whole company at risk by simply not having the right policy. Be sure to work around this by looking at the potential policies you could adopt and what would happen if something did go wrong. Things like this can make a major difference, and it could also mean that your business has some level of protection if things go wrong, too. If you’re not careful however and take out a policy that is too small or not enough, then you will end up paying for it down the line, so try to keep things like this in mind.
