As an employee, you have certain rights in the workplace. It’s up to your boss to make sure that you’re being treated fairly at work and you’re getting paid properly. They also need to make sure that they provide a safe workplace for you, which is why health and safety regulations exist. Unfortunately, not all employers meet their responsibilities in the workplace and sometimes, you might find yourself in a dangerous work environment. This can cause a lot of problems for you as an employee because you’re risking injury or illness, and it can cause tensions with your boss if you bring it up. So, what should you do if your workplace is unsafe?
Refuse To Continue Working
The first thing that you should do if you feel that you’ve been asked to complete a task that is unsafe or you don’t believe that health and safety regulations are being met and it’s putting you and others at risk is to refuse to continue working. A lot of people worry about the repercussions of doing this but your first priority should be protecting yourself at work. In most places, it’s your legal right to refuse to work if the conditions are unsafe and your employer is not allowed to penalize you for this. You should explain to your superiors that you don’t feel comfortable working in unsafe conditions and you will not continue working until the issues are resolved. Hopefully, this will be enough to solve the problem, but that isn’t always the case.
Gather Evidence
If your employer isn’t willing to make changes, there is a chance that you will need to take legal action against them. If you’ve already been injured as a result of unsafe conditions, you’ll definitely have to contact an organization like the Hannon Legal Group to help you make a claim. As soon as your employer finds out that you’re taking legal action against them, they’re going to fix all of the health and safety violations and you won’t have a case. That’s why you need to gather evidence beforehand. Make sure that you photograph the dangerous areas and speak with other employees that feel the same as you so they can back you up.
Contact Labor Organizations
Unless your employer is willing to deal with any health and safety violations, you will have to report them to a labour organization. In most cases, you’ll need to get in touch with OSHA and report the problem to them. They will be able to conduct an assessment of the work environment and order the company to make the necessary changes.
Explore Other Job Options
While your employer can’t fire you for reporting a health and safety violation, it is going to cause some tension in the workplace and they may look for other ways to get rid of you in the future. If the violation is particularly bad, there is also the chance that the company will be shut down, at least until the work environment is deemed safe enough. That means you could end up out of work and you need to be prepared for that, so now is the time to look into other job options, just to be safe.
If you follow these steps, you can deal with an unsafe work environment in a professional way.
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