Part 3:
What is COSHH and Why You Should Care
It’s your duty to protect your employees from exposure to substances hazardous to health. One of the first steps you can take to protecting your people and the environment is understanding COSHH.
COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. This is a law that employers and employees must follow to control substances that are hazardous in the workplace. COSHH identifies chemicals that are hazardous to health, although most companies will also identify chemicals which have physical or environmental hazards associated with them. COSHH is applicable to the UK market and comes from the following Regulation: COSHH Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, 2002.
COSHH is important not only because it's a legal requirement, but also because it provides guidance on how you can protect your teams from hazardous substances at work. Organisations who breach the COSHH regulations face serious consequences which can range from hefty fines, lawsuits via civil action, or possible imprisonment.