The Occupational Health and Safety Act of the UK or OSHA is a legal framework that governs how health and safety are regulated in the workplace. The Act is actually the result of years of struggles by employees and their unions. Although employers are required to have a proper health and safety plan in place, many do not and as a result there are many accidents occurring on the job. These accidents can result in long term illness and even death and are a direct result of not having the proper safety protocol in place.
As well as this, the Act also covers employers who employ workers to do certain jobs. Part of the Health and Safety Act deals with conditions that exist when workers perform certain jobs and such an act as working in an unsafe environment. For example, if you were told that your clothes could not be washed in the washing machine because they might cause a reaction or that certain disinfectants could cause serious illness then you would likely be able to sue your employer for having behaved in an unprofessional manner.
Similarly, if you were told that certain paints caused blindness or other problems when workers painted without adequate training then you might be able to claim compensation for suffering as a result of the paint. This means that regardless of whether you were making a point of work or whether you were just passing the time between shifts you should always take the Health and Safety Executive into consideration before undertaking any task or assignments. An Occupational Health Wales company like Insight Occupational Health can help you to identify keep areas where you need to support the health and wellbeing of your employees.