The term Health and Safety, also known as Occupational Health and Safety, relates to the prevention of accidents and incidents that could happen in the workplace. It is also about promoting positive well-being for staff in terms of comfort, contentment, happiness and welfare to ensure that they remain in good physical, emotional and mental health at work.

Occupational Health and Safety is about:

• Promoting and maintaining the highest level of health for every employee, both temporary and permanent, across all occupations.
• Preventing poor employee health and absences from work caused by workplace conditions, both physical, social and cultural.
• Creating open health and safety communication channels to build a better culture of health and safety
• Protecting workers from workplace factors that affect their health
• Reducing stress and improving morale through safer and healthier working conditions
• Assessing workplace environments and adapting them to support an employee’s physical and mental capabilities

Upholding health and safety in the workplace is a shared responsibility by employers and employees, who must work together to remove any and every potential risk.

A Healthy and Safety officer is an employee who has undergone official training in this capacity. This person is responsible for developing and implementation of health and safety plans and programmes; making sure that the company and its employees follow the relevant health and safety laws. At times, they also identify health and safety training needs in the workplace. In a nutshell, a Health and Safety Officer is a safety superhero.

To learn more about starting your career as a Health and Safety Officer, click here.