When you run a business, you absolutely need to take safety seriously. A failure to do so could completely ruin your business in more ways than you might imagine. 

Below you will find some of the most common, and often devastating consequences of not being safety conscious enough when you run a company:

People could get hurt

The most serious consequence of a lack of safety in business is, of course, that someone could get very seriously hurt. As a business owner, I’m sure that you do not want anyone to come to harm when they are working for you or patronizing your business, but if you don’t take your health and safety responsibilities seriously. Then it is a real possibility that could happen. That is something you do not want on your conscience, so you should act accordingly.

Poor PR

If you do not run your business as safely as you could, skimping on the bunded pallet that will prevent chemical leaks or cheaping out on staff training, for example, then accidents can and will happen. And when they do, it will end up being a PR might mare for you, especially if it comes out that you were not taking your health and safety responsibilities seriously.

Litigation

When you do not run your company safely and in accordance with the rules and regulations set out in your industry, you run the risk of litigation. If someone is to be hurt because of your negligence or lack of care, then they may well instruct their lawyers to come after you for damages, and that could put your business at serious risk of bankruptcy if you are not careful.

Lower productivity levels

On a less serious note, if you do not invest time and money in making your company as safe as it could possibly be, you might inadvertently reduce your company’s productivity levels at the same time. 

How can this be? Because when your employees are working in an unsafe environment, they will be all too aware of that, and they will suffer from poor morale. When employees are unhappy, they are not as productive as they would usually be, and so pinching pennies on safety measures can actually cost you more money in the long-term, in more ways than one.

Higher insurance costs

If you do not take safety seriously, then as mentioned above, accidents can and will happen and when they do happen, not only will your company suffer from poor PR and potentially litigation, but your insurance premiums will also go through the roof too. In fact, if an investigation finds that you were knowingly negligent, then you could struggle to get business insurance at all, which could leave your company in a very vulnerable state.

As you see, a lack of safety can spell disaster for your company, so whatever you do, take health and safety extremely seriously and ensure that you adhere to all of the rules and regulations in your industry.