5 Ways You Can Help Your Employees Be Protected

Picture from Unsplash 

Protecting your employees should arguably be one of your topmost responsibilities if you’re an employer. Your employees have the right to earn decent wages, privacy, protection from discrimination, wellness, and a conducive working environment. Here are some ways to help your employees be protected:

Provide Insurance Coverage

Consider giving your workers comprehensive insurance coverage depending on your work environment and the risks involved. Most organizations opt for liability insurance that covers sickness and injuries to ensure that their employees are healthy at work. However, if you care for the general well-being of your employees, it’s crucial to give them comprehensive health insurance that covers even their close family members. Giving your workers insurance can go a long way toward helping you indirectly pay for any costs that come up when they get sick or hurt.

If you fail to provide coverage for your employees, they may sue you for compensation for workplace illnesses or injuries, which you may have to pay out of your pocket. However, there are situations where you don’t need to cover your employees’ health comprehensively, depending on their nature of work, working conditions, and working environment. For instance, if you’ve hired a full-time remote or online worker, consider giving them online workers’ compensation insurance, which is more relevant to the risks involved in their working conditions.

Give First Aid

First aid is a crucial part of employees’ protection. Ensure you implement a fully functioning first aid kit and services at your workplace. You can’t underestimate the probability of an accident in your company. Ensure that every employee is in a position to receive immediate medical attention during any accident or injury. Most people provide first aid kits in every department or office. This kit can potentially help you save lives because an accident can occur anywhere at any time.

Also, consider assessing to identify your first aid requirements depending on the risks involved in your workplace. For instance, if your workplace is prone to regular accidents, you must up your game by hiring a standby doctor or nurse. Once it’s implemented, create awareness and train your employees on how to use the kits.

Follow the Law!

Your employees have rights, and it’s your responsibility to protect them. You may be in trouble if you’re not conversant with the employee protection laws, rules, and regulations, especially those governed by the local government. Take your time to learn about laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Taxation and Labor Code, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, among others. For instance, the Department of Labor requires every employer to adhere to a specified minimum wage irrespective of the type of work they offer. If you’re not conversant with all the requirements, consider hiring a legal expert or an HR officer with legal expertise to help you execute and implement all the laws within your company.

Give Them Equal Opportunities

The critical part of employee protection involves giving them an equal opportunity to enjoy a safe and conducive working environment. How safe are your employees when enjoying their freedom of speech and expression? If not protected, an employee may face discrimination, especially from the top leaders, for speaking their minds. Ensure that each employee feels comfortable sharing their ideas, beliefs, and disappointments without discrimination. If you don’t appreciate employees’ feedback, you may instill fears and uncertainty in them, making them lose confidence, leading to underperformance in the long run. Create policies and regulations that protect all the rights of your employees.

Restructure Your Business

Sometimes all you need is to change your initial plan and restructure your business to create a safe working environment for your employees. Scaling your operations may not be easy if your business structure isn’t supporting employee protection. For instance, if your initial structure didn’t have a health and safety department, you can restructure it to include it. When hiring, the candidates will focus on your company culture, and if you’re not offering what they expect, they may be reluctant to join your company. If you started as a small business running as a sole proprietorship, you might need to restructure with time as you grow to accommodate more employees to ensure they’re safe.

Remember, giving your employees a safe working environment and protecting their well-being ensures they remain motivated. It means they will highly perform to boost your ROI in the long run. Putting the well-being of your employees first also helps you avoid costs like compensation claims in the long run.