Reasonably Practicable: What Does It Mean?

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Reasonably Practicable—What Does it Mean?

We are all familiar with the term “so far as reasonably practicable” but what does it actually mean? Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states: “It shall be the duty of all employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health safety and welfare of all their employees whilst they are at work”.

Edwards vs National Coal Board (1949) is a famous case in law which first established the Cost v Risk analogy which, as employers, managers, supervisors and health & safety professionals we should be adhering to determine what is “reasonably practicable.” Mr Edwards was killed when an unsupported section of a road in a mine collapsed. The company argued that it was not feasible to shore up every road in every single mine, and only shored up those that “needed it”.

The judge stated. “Reasonably practicable” is a narrower term than physically possible and implies that a computation must be made in which the quantum of risk is placed on one side of the scale and the sacrifice involved in carrying out the measures necessary for averting the risk is placed on the other side. If it can be shown that there is gross disproportion between the above factors, i.e the risk is insignificant in relation to the sacrifice, then a defendant discharges the onus on themselves”. Carrying out a Cost v Risk exercise allows employers to identify and put into place suitable protective measures to ensure the safety of his/her employees at all times. It should not be seen as an exercise to identify what bear minimum measures you can get away with. At the end of the day our workers are our responsibility, it is not just a legal obligation we have to them, but a moral one too.

Taking pride in keeping our work force safe creates a more productive team and a better safety culture, which ultimately reduces the risk of accidents and lost time.

I suppose, with that said, it begs the question, are you doing enough to keep your work force safe?

Why Bother With Mental Health In Your Workplace?

It’s a really simple question isn’t it? I mean why should we really bother about how our staff are feeling? They’re paid to do a job so why not just do it. How are you as a busy employer meant to care, let alone see, how your staff are feeling during a pandemic….

If you’re reading those questions above and agree with them then unfortunately my friend you may be part of the problem and not the solution. The days of seeing your staff as just performers and employees are now gone.

Evidence suggests that 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions

There are many statistics out there that show that £b’s are lost every year due to both Presenteeism and sickness as a result of poor mental health of employees. So in relation to that, how much does your business lose either through lost productivity or sickness and absence due to the poor mental health of your staff?

Michael Byrne: Founder of LET’s

Better mental health support in the workplace can save UK businesses up to £8 billion per year.

Before establishing my business, Lived Experience Trauma Support, LETs for short I had a 33 year career in the Corporate World culminating in the final 10 years as a Director for a large housing organisation in Glasgow. During that 33 year career I had to deal with many ‘Real Life’ traumas including the murder of my father, the loss of twins to miscarriage, The Clutha Disaster, a potentially cancerous throat tumour, a suspected stroke and finally a Mental Health Breakdown in 2017.

Despite all of the above traumatic events I never took a day off work! I couldn’t, I had built up this persona of a confident, successful man who turned up for work every day and looked the part in a suit, shirt, tie, clean shaven and with a smile…and no-one looked beyond what the saw. Not even when I turned up for work the day after The Clutha Disaster.

Nur ture

However, the reality was that I was broken, I needed help but I just couldn’t ask for it and none of my employers offered it. You may ask at this point why? The lems in the workplace

why is simple, they seem a man turn up for work and perform day after day despite the worst tragedies imaginable with the view that if he needs help he’ll ask. When my breakdown began in 2017 my performance suffered, my personality changed and I needed help. At this point in time a simple offer of help from my employer would’ve made the world of a difference to both me

1 in 6.8 people experience mental health proband ultimately to my employer but it never came.

There are many reasons why employers (14.7%).

**Not taking COVID-19 Pandemic into account

Resources for implementing a support structure in your workplace can also be found:

how to begin the conversation and/or what help to provide. This is the very reason why I established my busi-

www.matesinmind.org

www.thecamzone.net www.samh.org.uk don’t offer help or approach the subject of Mental Health in the Workplace, most employers don’t know

www.lighthouseclub.org ness Lived Experience Trauma Support. We have the knowledge of what it’s like to run a business but we also have the lived experience of being an employee struggling with their mental health. This ideally places us at the forefront to provide our Mental Health Training & Support Services to businesses all over the U.K.

So why bother about Mental Health in your Workplace….the answer is simple…it’s because it makes a difference to someone’s life. You can be the change

needed in your workplace to save someone.