Question
How does the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 apply to the care you provide? Choose 1 Gives employers a duty to ensure employees mental health is as bad as it can be All staff have a duty of care to ensure residents needs are met and their mental health managed Gives all care staff the duty to keep all residents securely in their rooms to ensure they don't experience any mental health triggers Gives employers the ability to ask excessively personal questions to ensure employees aren't experiencing stress outside of work
Answer
4.7
(141 Votes)
Rhian
Elite · Tutor for 8 years
Answer
B
Explanation
The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 is a piece of UK legislation that sets out the legal responsibilities of both employers and employees in terms of health and safety in the workplace. According to the Act, employers have a duty towards their own employees' health and safety and the employees have reciprocal responsibilities too. Care providers are required to conduct risk assessments and implement measures to safeguard those who may be vulnerable. Lets discuss each of the options in the question:1. "Gives employers a duty to ensure employees mental health is as bad as it can be": This contradicts the very essence of the Act. The purpose is to ensure safety and a healthy environment ensuring well-being of everyone involved.2. "All staff have a duty of care to ensure residents needs are met and their mental health managed": This is a congruent statement to the requirements of the Act. The Act seeks to ensure that organizational processes should aim at ensuring safety and improved health conditions.3. "Gives all care staff the duty to keep all residents securely in their rooms to ensure they don't experience any mental health triggers": This is inappropriate. Whilst safety is an objective of the Act, it doesn't suggest such extreme measures. Working communion involves assessments, addressing needs and ameliorating stressful triggers but not via containment.4. "Gives employers the ability to ask excessively personal questions to ensure employees aren't experiencing stress outside of work": Whilst the Act promotes a healthy work environment that includes considering stress as work hazard, it doesn't give an employer an unrestricted right to invade employees' privacy. Therefore this also does not relate correctly with the question posed.