Employers urged to ensure health and safety compliance

Employers should do "everything in their power" to comply with health and safety laws to avoid both harm to their staff and potential law suits, it has been suggested.

According to Real Compensation, today’s "compensation culture" means businesses need to be extra vigilant when it comes to preventing workplace accidents and injuries.

"It’s basically just complying to the health and safety regulations and ensuring that they are doing everything they can to avoid negligence," said advisor Stephen Leigh.

His comments come after figures from the insurance group RSA revealed that 11.8 million people have suffered from a work-related illness or injury during the past 12 months.

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Meanwhile, the employment relations service Acas is urging employers to use mediation to resolve workplace disputes early in order to avoid litigation.

It claims mediation is not just beneficial for large employers but should be used by small businesses as well to settle disputes before they escalate.