As a Small or Medium sized business (SME) you may find it challenging to adhere to the many Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations that impact your business.
If you are a small business, you are may have fewer resources to dedicate to this area. A study by Eurofound showed you are not alone, SME’s across the EU faced similar struggles with OHS.
If you are in the process of expanding your SME overseas and are hoping to send employees on expat assignment, there are health and safety repercussions to consider. These will vary significantly by industry but there are some steps you can take to keep you on the right side of OHS regulations:
There is a lot of information about health and safety policy and procedure online. Ensure you have the correct information for your jurisdiction by using your own government websites as a source. They should have comprehensive information on:
In addition, some government websites have templates for policy documents that make compliance easier.
When planning an expat assignment, conduct a thorough risk assessment of the potential dangers your expat employee may face while overseas including:
Also assess any unique dangers in their working environment that your employee may need to be cognisant of.
Then outline how your company will mitigate these issues through:
Natural disasters like extreme weather, earthquakes and volcanos could pose a risk to your employee while they are overseas. Research the kind of events that have been known to happen in their destination country and have a plan in place to evacuate them if needs be. Encourage your employee to stay up to date with local news to ensure you have as much forewarning as possible if an event is going to occur.
There really is a lot to think about when it comes to helping an employee prepare for their assignment overseas, particularly if you are a small business. Protect your employees while they travel on expat assignment or for business with our international health insurance for SME’s so they can access medical treatment around the world.
With our modular international healthcare plans for small and medium sized businesses you can build your plan to suit the needs of your employees and your budget. Get an instant view of the cover we offer and a quick estimate for a selection of plans to suit your business.
