You know what the cost of your business’ wage bill is. You know what the cost of its taxes are. You know what the cost of marketing is. But do you know what the cost of an accident at work is?
Workplace injuries are perhaps not taken into account as often as they should be when looking at a company’s running costs. But it can soon be one of the costliest.
So what are some of the biggest costs to firms arising from workplace injuries?
Time away from work
When an employee is injured, they may have to take time off work to recover. This means that your workforce won’t be at full strength, causing a drop in productivity. This will have a particularly pronounced effect if the injured individual is a top performer.
A person missing from the team could also affect the other staff members’ productivity. When they have to take up the slack for the person who’s been off, they may start feeling negatively towards their work. It can therefore become important to keep everyone motivated. Think about potential rewards for those having to step in and do the extra work. Making sure your workforce feels valued is a hugely important factor in job satisfaction and retention rates.
In many cases, an injured employee will be unable to return to work. This will mean you have to replace them, which will result in significant costs. According to a recent study, the average cost of replacing a worker for SMEs is £12,000. Consider the additional cost of the time spent by hiring managers on finding a new person and the time spent on training them. Productivity will see a drop during these periods.
Fines from the authorities
Fines are one of the biggest motivating factors for businesses to take their health and safety responsibilities seriously. Since companies can be investigated, prosecuted and fined for even slight breaches in employee safety, there is a significant reason to adhere to policies and procedures.
In Northern Ireland in the financial year 2018/19, five companies were successfully prosecuted for health and safety failings. The fines imposed totalled £68,500. One firm was fined £50,000 for the death of a worker during a “poorly planned lifting operation”, according to the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland.
Few businesses can afford this level of expenditure. So it’s essential to make sure your company is doing all it can to keep everyone safe. This doesn’t have to cost money. A risk assessment to identify potential hazards in your workplace only costs time, as does the necessary actions to reduce the threat they pose. Your company and colleagues just need to remember that diligence is essential to keeping people safe.
Reputational damage
A workplace injury could mean a reputational hit. It could affect the relationships your business has with clients – prospective and existing – as well as employees and other stakeholders. If a potential client is set to choose between your firm and a competitor, an injury to an employee could be the deciding factor for them.
It could lead to clients severing their relationship with your business and potential clients not beginning one. Depending on the seriousness of what happened and the number of clients changing their minds about your business, you could see real impacts on your finances.
You could also have to deal with unwanted attention. This could place your firm under the microscope, drawing scrutiny on your company’s performance in various areas. You could also find that you have to answer to a media grilling. This could see your firm suffer even more damage.
With all of these costs associated with injuries to employees, it makes sense to prioritise health and safety among your workforce.
