If you had been seriously injured at work due to a fault of your employer, would you expect an apology from them? Apparently, for the vast majority of injured employees, this is just too much to ask.
Recent research uncovered that most UK employers fail to say ‘sorry’ when one of their workers suffers a personal injury or accident on the job. The survey of employees who had been injured at work found that 97 per cent of them had never received an apology from their boss.
The figure suggests that too many employers do not feel personally responsible for their workers’ health and safety.
The new figures followed a previous survey that showed that around 62 per cent of workers believed that their employer was paying less attention to health and safety since the onset of the recession in the UK.
This is a mistake –employers who do not pay attention to health and safety leave themselves open to financial redress, firstly through losing valuable man hours if a worker is hurt – and secondly by leaving themselves open to a compensation claim.
Health and safety in the workplace must be more than just a box ticking exercise; if an employer is not truly invested in ensuring his employees are safe and well, not only will he have difficulties retaining staff, but he will leave himself open to financial redress, should an accident occur.
The survey also showed that there was no point in employers paying lip service to the idea of responsibility by making an apology in the hope of avoiding a compensation claim.
It revealed that 88 per cent of accident victims would not change their mind regardless of whether they received an apology.
If an employee is injured in an accident that was not their fault then they can lose income through having to take time off work, or through having to pay for expensive medical treatment.
In situations such as this, it is right and proper that they have access to a financial compensation package that can help them through such a difficult time. Similarly, a compensation claim is an effective deterrent to employers who might be tempted to cut corners when it comes to health and safety.
Someone who has been injured at work needs all the support they can get, including a suitable response from the party or parties responsible for the work accident.
Having a serious accident at work is usually a highly traumatic experience, and one which takes a good deal of psychological and physical recovery. For some, the injuries can devastate their lives.
This is why the importance of health and safety in the workplace cannot be underestimated, and every possible measure should be taken to ensure that when an employee is injured, they are made to feel as comfortable as possible.
Employees need to be aware that saying ‘sorry’ when they were responsible for an employee’s work injury is a courtesy which should be kept to, just as they would say ‘sorry’ if they were responsible for any other kind of accident.
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