Health And Safety In Small Businesses Reading Answers

Jan 11, 2023

Health and safety in small businesses Reading Answers contains 7 questions that are to be answered in 20 minutes.School Of Design Reading Answers is taken from the Practice Tests for Ielts 2. IELTS topic- Health and safety in small businesses Reading Answers deals with health and safety policies for workers in small business places. This Health and safety in small businesses Reading Answers, contains one type of IELTS reading question where the candidate has to write the appropriate answer in the blanks. Candidates need to skim through the passage for the best answer. They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Health And Safety In Small Businesses Reading Answers

Health And Safety In Small Businesses

The rate of accidents at work is almost 75% higher in small businesses than in larger companies. One possible reason is chat many managers of small businesses have an inadequate knowledge of health and safety issues.

Many managers of small businesses claim their situation is made worse by bureaucracy, arguing that the huge number of regulations – not just on health and safety but also on tax, the minimum wage, and much, much more – makes their work diﬃcult.

Many managers are simply not aware of their responsibilities. They are too busy running their companies to read manuals, employ consultants or go to seminars. Moreover, the average business person doesn’t know where and how to get information.

The Federation of Small Businesses argues that the special nature of small businesses should be recognised by health and safety inspectors, with an emphasis on education and how to comply with the law, rather than simply on enforcement. For instance, inspectors could make employers aware of what they really need to know, rather than swamping them with mountains of leaﬂets which may not be relevant.

Improvements are being made, however. The Health and Safety Executive has issued a free guide to the most important health and safety laws for employers. All employers must have their own health and safety policy statement and, for businesses with more than ﬁve employees, this must be in writing. It should be speciﬁc to the business and clear about the arrangements for and organisation of health and safety at work.

We should state a strategy, detail how it will be implemented and by whom, and say when it will be reviewed and updated. It is advisable to involve employees in this process, as they have direct experience.

Assessing and identifying risks is the starting point. But to comply with the law, businesses must train their employees about health and safety, and provide information to others who need to know, such as the contractors working for them. These are often smaller companies that carry out most of the dangerous work. Helping them to get into good safety habits makes it easier for them to tender for work from big companies.

Other advice from the Health and Safety Executive for small businesses tackles speciﬁc issues, such as helping small companies to deal with work-related stress.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 21-27

Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 21-27 on your reading answer sheet.

One cause of health and safety problems in small businesses is that managers do not have enough relevant ________

Answer: KNOWLEDGE
Supporting Sentence: One possible reason is chat many managers of small businesses have an inadequate knowledge of health and safety issues.
Keywords: managers, small businesses, inadequate knowledge
Keyword Location: Paragraph – 1, lines 2-3
Explanation: The first paragraph states that nearly 75% more workplace accidents occur in small businesses than in larger ones. One reason could be the fact that many small business managers lack adequate knowledge of health and safety issues.

Managers complain they have too many _________ to deal with.

Answer: REGULATIONS
Supporting Sentence: Many managers of small businesses claim their situation is made worse by bureaucracy, arguing that the huge number of regulations
Keywords: managers, arguing, regulations
Keyword Location: Paragraph – 2, lines 1-2
Explanation: The second paragraph states that many small business managers argue that bureaucracy is to blame for their predicament, citing the numerous rules and laws that must be followed. This includes those pertaining to taxes, the minimum wage, health and safety, and a plethora of other issues.

Managers may not fully understand their _________

Answer: RESPONSIBILITIES
Supporting Sentence: Many managers are simply not aware of their responsibilities
Keywords: managers, not aware, responsibilities
Keyword Location: Paragraph – 3, line - 1
Explanation: The third paragraph states that many managers have no understanding of their responsibilities. They are too busy running their businesses to attend seminars, hire consultants, or read manuals.

Businesses sometimes feel that inspectors give them far too many

Answer: LEAFLETS
Supporting Sentence: For instance, inspectors could make employers aware of what they really need to know, rather than swamping them with mountains of leaﬂets which may not be relevant.
Keywords: inspectors, swamping them, mountains of leaﬂets
Keyword Location: Paragraph – 4, lines 4-5
Explanation: The fourth paragraph talks about a common query. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, health and safety inspectors should take into account the unique characteristics of small businesses and place more of an emphasis on education and legal compliance than just enforcement. Instead of bombarding employers with mountains of leaflets that may or may not be relevant, inspectors could, for instance, inform employers of the information they really need to know.

Businesses above a certain size must produce a written ___________ of their health and safety policy.

Answer: STATEMENT
Supporting Sentence: All employers must have their own health and safety policy statement and, for businesses with more than ﬁve employees, this must be in writing.
Keywords: own health, safety policy, statement, writing.
Keyword Location: Paragraph-5, lines 2-5
Explanation: The fifth paragraph states something important that the business employers have to follow. Every employer is required to have a written health and safety policy statement, which is required for companies with more than five employees.

A company’s health and safety policy is relevant to both its employees and its_________

Answer: CONTRACTORS
Supporting Sentence: But to comply with the law, businesses must train their employees about health and safety, and provide information to others who need to know, such as the contractors working for them.
Keywords: train their employees, about health and safety, contractors
Keyword Location: Paragraph-7, lines 1-3
Explanation: The seventh paragraph states something crucial corresponding to the safety policy. Businesses must educate their staff members about health and safety, as well as anyone else who needs to know, like the contractors they hire, in order to comply with the law.

The Health and Safety Executive can advise small businesses on problems of _____________ among their employees.

Answer: STRESS
Supporting Sentence: Other advice from the Health and Safety Executive for small businesses tackles specific issues, such as helping small companies to deal with work-related stress.
Keywords: Other advice, specific issues, work-related stress
Keyword Location: Last paragraph, lines 1-2
Explanation: The last paragraph ends with an important note. The additional guidance from the Health and Safety Executive for small businesses is to address particular issues. This involves assisting small businesses in managing stress at work.

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