UK employers fail to apologise when staff suffer work-related accidents

In a National Accident Helpline survey of employees who had been injured at work a staggering 97 per cent said that their boss had not taken any personal responsibility for what had happened.
 
John Campbell, legal director of National Accident Helpline, said that the results showed that employers still did not take enough personal responsibility for the welfare of their staff.
 
He said: “Health and safety in the workplace must be more than just a box ticking exercise; if an employer is not truly invested in ensuring his employees are safe and well then, not only will he have difficulties retaining staff but he will leave himself open to financial redress should an accident occur.”
 
The survey follows previous National Accident Helpline figures that showed 62 per cent of employees believed that health and safety had become less of a priority for their company since the recession.
 
Employers who fail to take health and safety seriously, resulting in an accident to one of their employees not only face the cost of lost man hours – they also leave themselves open to a compensation claim, meaning that they will pay out twice.
 
However they should not think that an apology would act as a substitute for a proper health and safety policy.
 
The National Accident Helpline survey found that 88 per cent of respondents would not change their mind about making a compensation claim just because their employer apologised.