Alice Bathard (FCG WhiteAvon)
Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK. Yet, how many farms actually have the correct health and safety documents in place to protect their business?
Farmers are constantly told about the dangers on their farm, but don’t think about the financial consequences of these to the business should an accident happen. There are many costs involved when accidents occur on farm, including a fine should the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) deem it appropriate.
Farmers concentrate so much on reducing costs in their business, but why not concentrate on preventing spending money instead?
Case Study
A large farm in England was fined over £30k by HSE when a member of the public was knocked over by cattle on a public footpath and suffered an injury to their ankle. The farm had none of the required health and safety documents which resulted in the fine being so large.
Following this incident, the farm contacted us to become their Health & Safety (H&S) Consultants. This entailed producing H&S documents, including risk assessments (which should be reviewed at least annually) and action plans. These documents proved to be valuable to the farm almost immediately when another member of the public claimed to sustain the same injury in hope of the farm receiving a fine again. However, HSE were satisfied with the documents we provided, so no fine was issued.
Financial benefits of H&S documents to you and your business
As a farmer, you have duty of care for ANYONE on site, including members of the public, as well as trespassers. Not only is it your responsibility to make the farm physically safe, but documents are needed to prove what you are doing, and what you aim to do. As shown above, should an accident occur on farm, these documents hold great power in preventing HSE issuing a fine to your business, which could be an unlimited amount.
How can we help?
The Rural Compliance Service can provide relevant and practical advice, tailored to each individual business. As your H&S consultant, I can help to protect you and your business by providing these documents. If you wish to discuss your agricultural business’ health and safety, or would like a free no obligation visit, please contact Alice at alicebathard@fcgagric.com.