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The Key Health and Safety Requirements of a Commercial Cleaning Franchisee

Health and Safety law applies to any business. As a franchisee, health and safety in your business is your responsibility. This means that it’s your responsibility to take any precautions to reduce the risks of workplace dangers and ensure there is a safe working environment for your staff. Whilst health and safety may sound complicated, it doesn’t have to be; for most businesses, all that’s required is a number of basic practical tasks that protect people from harm and protect the future growth and success of your commercial cleaning business.

As a cleaning company, the key health and safety responsibilities of an MCS franchisee include:

Work-related contact dermatitis

To ensure the health and safety of your employees, you are responsible for taking measures against occupational dermatitis. This is a skin complaint that is the result of the skin being damaged at work and the most at risk parts of the body are the hands. As a cleaning company, your employees will regularly work with their hands and will be exposed to cleaning substances that can be hazardous to the skin. Once you have assessed the risks of work-related contact dermatitis, you should introduce adequate control measures, such as introducing gloves to prevent contact of hazardous substances and the skin.

Control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)

A number of risks can be linked to the use of hazardous cleaning substances so it’s essential to assess these fully and make the right arrangements to avoid accidents. Whilst it is likely to be unpractical to prevent exposure to some substances that are needed for performing cleaning tasks, practices must be put into place to help control exposure, for example:

·Introduce gloves to prevent hazardous substances from coming into contact with the skin

·Introduce protective eyewear when necessary, especially when dust, mists or vapours are involved

Back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders

As an employer of cleaners, you have a legal duty to manage the risk of any musculoskeletal disorders that your staff may be subject to and implement adequate risk control measures. As well as providing appropriate safety training to employees to teach the correct practices for heavy lifting and other tasks that put strain on the body, you should also look out for any indicators of musculoskeletal problems in the workplace so that you can ensure the safety of staff.

Working at height and window cleaning

Wherever possible, working at height should be avoided. For example, if windows can be cleaned using water fed poles, this action should be taken before considering working at height. Where water fed poles are not practical, it’s essential to always first look for a safe place to work from, for example, a balcony, or cleaning windows from inside. Where this is not possible, suitable access equipment must be provided and only staff that are fully trained in working at height should undertake such tasks.

If you are unsure about the key health and safety requirements of a commercial cleaning franchisee, you can call today on 0800 612 0437 or request a call back via our online form.