For SMEs in Great Yarmouth and across East Anglia, external health and safety consultants like Foley and Baugh are proving their worth.
For SMEs, maintaining a safe and compliant workplace is non-negotiable. However, with limited resources and budgets, hiring a full-time health and safety manager might not always be the best fit. Enter the external health and safety consultant – a flexible, cost-effective solution that delivers expertise without the overheads. Here, we reiterate and expand on what we discussed in our January blog.
Why use external health and safety consultants?
Employing a full-time health and safety manager comes with a hefty price tag: salary, benefits, training and office space can easily exceed £40,000 annually, according to some industry estimates. For SMEs operating on tight margins, this is a significant commitment. An external health and safety consultant, by contrast, offers tailored services on an as-needed basis – whether it’s a one-off audit, policy development, or ongoing support. You pay only for what you need, avoiding the fixed costs of a permanent hire while still meeting legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Health and safety regulations are complex and ever-changing, from COSHH assessments to fire safety rules. A full-time HSEQ manager may have solid general knowledge, but keeping up with every nuance across industries can be a stretch. External health and safety consultants bring a wealth of experience, often working with diverse sectors. They stay current with legislation – like the latest updates to the UK’s Building Safety Act – and can apply best practices tailored to your business, whether you’re in offshore, manufacturing, retail or hospitality.
SMEs often face fluctuating workloads. A full-time health and safety manager might be underutilised during quiet periods or overstretched during growth spurts. Health and safety consultants offer scalability: you can ramp up support for a big project (like a site expansion) or scale back during lean times. This adaptability ensures you’re never overcommitted, making it ideal for businesses with seasonal demands or those experiencing economic uncertainty.
An in-house health and safety manager, while dedicated, might become too entrenched in company culture to spot risks objectively. External consultants provide a fresh, impartial eye, identifying hazards or gaps that might otherwise go unnoticed. They also bring credibility during HSE inspections, demonstrating proactive compliance – a real boon for SMEs aiming to avoid fines or reputational damage.
For SMEs, an external health and safety consultant offers expertise, flexibility, and savings that a full-time hire can’t match. It’s a smart, strategic choice to keep your workplace safe and compliant without breaking the bank. For more information, contact Foley and Baugh, the health and safety consultants serving Great Yarmouth and the entire East Anglia region.
Call us on 01493 659026 or email us at hello@foleyandbaugh.co.uk.
