Health and safety influences business performance

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has told businesses that high levels of health and safety are essential to a business' success.

Speaking at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents' (RoSPA) Developing Leadership Action conference, Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSE, told bosses that they must instil a culture of health and safety within their organisations.

It must be implemented from the top, with leaders having a responsibility to ensure workplace safety is valued and understood, which will reflect in a company's performance, she said.

"The motivation for building a health and safety culture needs to be driven by the belief that not only is it the right thing to do morally, but also that it is fundamental to the business success of your organisation," Ms Hackitt told the conference.

RoSPA will this week honour 1,500 businesses for the steps they have taken to improve their health and safety performance.