Unit 1.
Session 2.
All about health, safety and security.

in this Session, you will learn about three key areas of health, safety and security. These are;

Employer and employee responsibilities the purpose of following procedures how to maintain a safe and secure environment

Health and safety.
Staying safe at work.

All employers and employees have a legal duty to ensure that working environments are safe and secure.
One of the most important pieces of legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. Most other health and safety regulations are based on this Act or are linked to it in some way.
The Health and Safety at Work Act states that everyone has a responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.
Under this Act, employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees (and any other people who may be affected by the work they do).
Legislation
more on legislation;
In addition to generic legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, there may also be specific legislation that covers your job role. some of the legislation that applies when you are working with Information Technology (IT) ; UK Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations - in IT these regulations apply to the use of computer monitors (visual display units). Working Time Directive and Working Time Regulations – This legislation covers the maximum weekly working hours permitted as well as rest breaks that you must have.

Security and confidentiality.
The legalities.
There are several Acts of Parliament relating to security and confidentiality, as well as many legal cases on the subject.
Two of the most important acts are; The Data Protection act 1998 – this act requires all organisations that process data on individuals, to be listed in the register of data controllers. In the act, data refers to information recorded or processed by computer and information that is part of a relevant filing system or forms part of an accessible record (like health records). Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) – this legislation limits what can be done with information originated elsewhere. This is to protect the rights of people who create original work. The law applies to books, computer programmes, artistic work and songs.
Why follow procedures?
Having a framework in place. By having health, safety and security procedures, an organisation has a framework, for making sure that the business environment is a healthy, safe and secure place for everyone.
These procedures should clarify who is responsible for what. Care should also be taken to ensure that people are informed and trained in a way that makes a safer environment more achievable.
Some key reasons for following health, safety and security procedures; legal – to comply with the law, an organisation must undertake specific actions and people must follow specific procedures. A failure to follow procedures may mean that the law is being broken. This can result in reprimands, fines, closures and even prison sentences. Organisational rules – each organisation will have procedures for staff to follow. Many of these will be determined by legal requirements. If staff or management fail to follow these procedures, they are likely to be subject to organisational grievance / disciplinary procedures. Ultimately, these can result in people being dismissed. These actions do not rule out further legal actions. Moral - an organisations health, safety and security procedures are created to ensure that people do not come to any harm. If procedures are not followed, people inside and outside the organisation may suffer in some way. For this reason employers and employees have a moral obligation to do the right thing and follow procedures. In this way, harm may be minimised.

Economic - Some of the main economic consequences for failing to follow appropriate health, safety and security procedures