Accidents at work

Accidents at work-By law, your employers have to protect your health, safety and welfare at work. They have to make sure the workplace is safe and without risk to health. As part of this duty, employers must:

• keep dust, fumes and noise under control
• make sure that plant and machinery are safe and regularly maintained, and that the systems used in the workplace are safe
• provide protective clothing where necessary
• report certain diseases and injuries to the relevant authority
• provide adequate first aid equipment and facilities
• take precautions against fire and provide adequate means of escape and means of fighting fire
• assess the risks that might be involved in work practices such as using a computer. The work practices must be changed to prevent injuries.

You must cooperate with your employers to make the workplace safe. You must also take reasonable care of your own health and safety at work and that of anyone you work with.
If you think that conditions at your workplace are unsafe, talk to your trade union if you have one.
If you believe that there is a serious and immediate danger for you at work, you have the right to protect yourself. This could mean leaving work until the immediate danger is fixed.
If you have an accident at work
If you have an accident at work, you need to report it to your employers as soon as possible. Make sure they record it in the Accident Book. If they don't do this or if there isn't an Accident Book, write down brief details of the accident and send it to your boss, keeping a copy. If you can't report the accident because you are too ill, try to get someone else to do this.
If you've had an accident, you should see a doctor even if your injury doesn't seem too serious. This is so the doctor can record the medical details of your accident. This will be useful later on if you want to claim compensation from your boss or if you need to claim benefits.