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Providing Affordable, Simple and Dignified Funeral Care

We are a family owned and operated funeral business, we are proud of the service quality, experience and personal attention we devote to every family we are honoured to assist. We do not answer to share holders or large corporations, therefore we can meet your funeral needs in a time frame that suits you. Cherish Funerals can offer you and your family alternatives and cost effective funeral care.

Our staff have many years experience and undergo continuous training to ensure you receive the highest possible standard of service. We pride ourselves on delivering quality service consistently.

Click through to our funeral planning cost guides below to start planning.

In today's rapidly changing work landscape, creating ahealthy work environment is crucial for employers' and employees' well-being and productivity.

By prioritising their workforce's physical and mental well-being, employers can foster a positive work culture, reduce absenteeism, increase job satisfaction, and ultimately drive business success.

This article suggests  some good practices for employers and employees to create a safe andhealthy work environment.

1. Eliminate Potential Hazards

In any workplace, potential hazards can cause injury or illness to employees. It is crucial to identify and eliminate these hazards as much as possible. This helps create a safer andhealthier work environment for everyone.

There are several ways to reduce the risk of potential hazards:

Eliminate: Removing hazards from the workplace is the safest option, and the option we encourage all our workplaces to try to adopt where practical. For example, if there is a sharp object that is causing cuts, it can be removed or replaced with a blunt object. When it isn’t possible to eliminate the hazard altogether we then look for opportunities to:

Substitute: Substitution involves swapping a higher risk hazard with a lower risk alternative.For example, if a chemical is causing respiratory problems, it can sometimes be replaced with a less harmful chemical that is capable of performing the same task.

Isolate: Isolation involves creating some sort of barrier between people and the hazard. Common examples include fencing around a building site or witches hats on a roadworks site. 

Engineer: Engineering controls are when we design safety features into the product. For example, seatbelts in vehicles, adjustable office chairs, harness anchors on roofs and kill switches on tools are all engineered safety controls. 

As well as implementing the above options to increase the safety of a task we should also use training and supervision, policies and procedures and personal protection equipment to help foster a safer environment. These should always be supporting tasks and should never be the only safety controls used, because if they fail, someone is likely to still get hurt. 

2. Promote Open Communication 

Open communication is vital forcreating a healthy work environment. Employers should encourage employees to report any safety concerns or hazards promptly. 

Establishing an anonymous reporting system can provide employees with a safe and confidential avenue to voice their concerns. Regular safety meetings and forums can also facilitate open discussions about safety practices, allowing employees to share their insights and suggestions. 

Employers should actively listen to their employees' feedback and take appropriate actions to address any identified issues promptly.

3. Foster a Culture of Health and Wellness 

Employers play a significant role in promoting their employees' overall health and well-being. They can provide wellness programs like access to fitness facilities, healthy food options, and mental health resources. 

Encouraging regular breaks, promoting work-life balance, and implementing flexible working arrangements contribute to a healthy working environment.Employers should lead by example and actively participate in wellness initiatives to demonstrate their commitment to employee health and inspire others to follow suit.

4. Ensure workers have the proper equipment

Employers must ensure workers have the right equipment for the job. This includes personal protective equipment (PPE), tools, and machinery. By providing the right equipment, employers can help to prevent injuries and illnesses.

5. Create a Safety Committee and Hold Monthly Safety Meetings

A safety committee is a major group of employees responsible for identifying and preventing workplace hazards. The committee should at least meet monthly to discuss safety issues, review accident reports, and develop new safety initiatives.

To create a safety committee, you will need to:-

Recruit members from all levels of the organisation.

Set regular meeting times and agendas.

Provide the committee with the resources they need to do their job.

6. Ensure Ergonomic Workspaces

Ergonomic workspaces prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Employers should assess and modify workstations to ensure proper ergonomics, such as adjustable chairs, ergonomic keyboards, and eye-level monitors as well as ensure any personal protective equipmentand tools are properly fitting. 

Regular breaks and stretching exercises can help alleviate the strain caused by prolonged postures. Employees should be educated about proper posture and provided with training on how to set up their workstations ergonomically as well as use tools in the safest manner. 

Encouraging regular movement throughout the day and providing options such as sit/stand desks or active seating options can further promote ahealthy work environment.

7. Promote Work-Life Balance

Achieving ahealthy work environment  is crucial for the overall well-being of employees. Employers should set realistic workloads and deadlines, avoid excessive overtime and promote using annual leave and personal days. 

Flexible working arrangements, like telecommuting and flexible scheduling, can improve work-life balance. Employers should encourage their employees to disconnect from work during non-working hours and promote the importance of self-care and mental well-being. 

Employees, in turn, should actively manage their time and prioritise their personal lives to maintain ahealthy work environment.

Conclusion

Creating a safe and healthy work environment requires a joint effort from employers and employees. By implementing the best practices discussed above, employers demonstrate their commitment to the overall well-being of their workforce and foster a positive work culture. 

Employees should actively engage in safety programs, communicate openly, and prioritise their health and well-being. Employers and employees can create ahealthy work environment that promotes physical and mental health, increasing productivity, job satisfaction, retention, and overall success.

First Aid Kit Auditing and Replenishment

Plan for the worst, hope for the best. We love this saying and it's an integral part of our first aid kit auditing and replenishing service. 

Utilising feedback from your staff, what we know about your industry and the latest WorkSafe guidelines to conduct a risk assessment of your working environment and provide you with relevant hospital grade products to ensure a speedy recovery should a workplace injury occur. 

Convenient, cost effective, tailored solutions

Our on-site service is convenient, cost effective and tailored to your needs. Our expertise enables us to use our best judgement to balance the requirements of planning for a catastrophic event while minimising the costs to your business where we can. 

HSWA Compliant Solutions

You can trust us to ensure your first aid equipment is up-to-date, regularly serviced, appropriate for the work you do, and meets the compliance requirements of the Health & Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 for first aid facilities. 

Range of options

Depending on your location we are able to offer monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual servicing to most of the areas we currently service. Other frequencies can be negotiated on request. We are also able to fulfill online orders for the rest of New Zealand and offer phone advice where appropriate. 

Why not book an assessment - the first one is complimentary

We're here to help and the best way we can do that is to come and visit your workplace so we can see your working environment. 

A valuable business tool

Health and Safety as a business tool is often misunderstood and in most instances under utilised. We're passionate about health and safety not just because it sends our workers home safely but also because there are substantial business benefits to be had too. 

Done well, a good health and safety strategy offers insights into your business that could allow you to improve operational efficiency, leverage your worker's talents and areas of expertise, reduce sick leave, improve communication and reduce downtime due to mechanical breakdown among other benefits. 

Protect your greatest assets 

Finding good, quality, qualified workers who fit your workplace's culture is a tough job. Not only that, after they've been working with us for a while, they become part of our extended families. No one wants to loose a good worker, especially not the ones who put in the longest hours and do what needs to be done to get the job done. Do you know they can often be the workers who are are at the greatest risk? Do you know what they are often at risk of? Do you know how to protect them?

These are the questions your health and safety system is intended to help with and also what we aim to help you to answer. 

More than simply compliance

Health and Safety is so much more than simply compliance. In fact, if your focus is to simply comply, chances are your Health and Safety initiatives will fall short of your expectations. 

First Aid Kit Auditing and Replenishment

We're here to help and the best way we can do that is to come and visit your workplace so we can see your working environment.

Our on-site service is convenient, cost effective and tailored to your needs. Our expertise enables us to use our best judgement to balance the requirements of planning for a catastrophic event while minimising the costs to your business where we can. 

If you want to book an assessment or have any questions or queries about our workplace first aid kit audits and services please use the contact form to reach out to us. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Alternatively, give us a call on 03 260 6129 or 0800 724 435(on the off chance our phones go to voicemail, please leave a message so we can get back to you).

COVID continues to be the topic that dominates most workplaces and I've recently had a few calls seeking some guidance about how to prevent workplaces from being shut down in the event of a exposure event.  

One option is to implement bubbles. These are great if you can fully segregate your workplace, but aren't practical if you need flexibility in your teams and/or your workers all socialise together outside of the workplace.  

For most small businesses (in my opinion), your best chance of minimising the impact of a COVID case affecting your entire workplace is to avoid scenarios that create close contacts. So this essentially means maintaining a distance of at least 1.5m at all times (or at least as much as possible). 

Where this can't be accommodated, use (preferably P2 or N95) masks (definitely not scarves, shirts, or cloth masks). Make sure masks are being used correctly and keep the close contact time below 15 minutes.  

Ensure good hygiene

regularly clean surfaces 

regularly clean hands (soap and water is best but hand sanitiser is good too) 

no sharing smokes, drinks, vapes etc 

no coughing or sneezing on others or near others 

no kissing at the workplace 🙂  

If you can manage to follow the above, you should be in a good position to prevent the spread and it is also much less likely your team members will be considered close contacts of someone who tests positive.  

I hope this provides some practical tips and helps relieve the current stress levels a little.