What Incidents Should Be Reported At The Workplace

Businesses are under a regulatory obligation to record all workplace incidents in a timely and appropriate manner. Failing to do so can result in non-compliance, hefty fines, operational disruption and even reputational damage. When incidents are not handled correctly, there is a possibility they can reoccur and create the same problems over and over again.

Government guidelines state that every business must provide their employees with the facility to report workplace incidents as and when they occur. In earlier days, the process of reporting was done using paper-based forms and evidence. Modern human resource management systems have now automated this process which makes incident reporting more efficient.

The new way of reporting workplace incidents is to implement a one-stop solution that is an HRMS deployed organisation-wide. All employees can access the incident reporting module and report incidents or breaches with as many details as available. Being a centralised system, these reports are displayed to the authorised employees across the organisation.

Compliance challenges are also resolved by using the automated incident reporting system. The advanced HRMS helps employees generate audit-ready incident reports easily. The only major responsibility of organisations is to educate their employees about what workplace incidents must be reported. Again, an HRMS can help your workforce learn about incident reporting through workplace learning courses.

Here are some of the workplace or work from home incidents that Sentrient’s HR management software can help your employees report as per compliance requirements.

What incidents should be reported at the workplace

1. Child safety reporting

Institutions or organisations where children are an integral part must prioritise their safety. Any potential incidents that threaten children’s safety can also be reported to allow for the prevention of the incident. An HRMS can be used to report:

Child safety breaches
Child safety concerns
Child safety complaints
Hazards and risks
Mandatory reporting
Unsafe child safe environment

2. Covid-19/Infection reporting

Recent times have shown how fragile human lives can be. Fighting against Covid-19 has been one of the most pressing concerns of every employer. As the workplaces reopen, incidents related to this and other infections must be dealt with caution. Employers can allow users to report the following using an HRMS:

COVID-19 absences
COVID-19 breaches
Infection Prevention and Control
Misconduct
Unsafe practises
Working from home reporting

3. Employee relations and HR reporting

Encouraging and maintaining professional and friendly work relations among employees is one of the most sensitive HR tasks. It can be improved by using an HRMS to report the issues or incidents related to the following:

Code of Conduct
Discrimination
Sexual harassment
Unlawful adverse action
Victimisation
Workplace bullying

4. Security and cybersecurity reporting

Workplace security and cybersecurity breaches are serious incidents. Reporting them helps to reduce such incidents or breaches or reduce their impact in the future. Some of these issues can include:

Cybersecurity threats
Cybersecurity breaches
Physical security threats
Physical security breaches
Theft
Misconduct

5. Whistleblower reporting

Every business must encourage employees to raise their voices against prevailing malpractices that are not in the best interest of their organisation. Government regulations also require businesses to support whistleblowers and ensure their safety. Some of the issues that can be highlighted using a HRMS include:

Anti-competitive behaviour
Anti-money Laundering
Bribes
Conflict of interest
Ethical misconduct
Fraudulent behaviour

6. Work health and safety reporting

Last but not least, every company must prioritise employee work health and safety. Providing employees with a safe workplace must be one of the most essential duties of an organisation. Employees should draw their employer’s attention to conditions that threaten their health and safety. This might include:

Accidents
Emergency and evacuations
Hazards and risks
Near misses
Violent and aggressive behaviour
Workplace injuries

Responsibilities of employers

All employers are responsible for educating their workforce about workplace incidents and providing the facility to report any incidents. That is not all, other employer responsibilities may include:

An employer has to provide appropriate first-aid equipment and facilities
Employees must be made aware of what to do in case of emergencies (evacuation and first aid)
Reporting notifiable incidents to the governing body (state or territory)
Manage incident reports properly for insurance purposes

Conclusion:

Compliance becomes easier when employees are educated about reporting and dealing with workplace incidents properly. Sentrient’s HR management system can help your employees learn about workplace incidents and how to report such incidents. It includes a wide range of features that allow managers and HR to perform the HR management function easily.