Tag Archives: benefits of H&S

How Spending on H&S Saves you Money

A new report by the British Safety Council has provided important evidence regarding how much money businesses can save by investing in Health and Safety.

The literature review looked at research from the UK and Europe conducted over the past 20 years, and considered elements including costs, benefits, and return on investment in occupational safety and health.

The cost of workplace health and safety failures is extraordinary. It has been calculated that the cost of accidents, injuries and ill health to the UK economy in 2016/17 was £15 billion. This report considered whether money spent on health and safety strategies had a demonstrable effect on business savings.

The study confirmed that investing in occupational health and safety can reduce sickness absence and injury rates, increase productivity and improve staff morale -for example almost two thirds of workers said they would work harder for an employer who invested in their health.

Studies included in the review proved that businesses can obtain a significant return on investment in H&S, with some showing returns many times their original investment. One study showed that a £16,000 investment to tackle back injuries resulted in £192,000 of savings due to reduced sickness absence, better productivity and lower insurance premiums.

The Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, Alex Botha, commented:

“At a time when the latest GDP figures show the country slowly returning to economic health, we know that making workers ill and injured hurts all of us.

What this literature review tells us loud and clear is that getting health and safety right makes good business sense and can save organisations money.”

Amalgamate Safety