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Frequently
Asked Questions : Health
and safety questions you should
ask yourself.
Do you
have a health and safety policy?
It is a legal
requirement, under the Health
and Safety at Work Act 1974
section 2, to have a written
health and safety policy if you
have 5 or more employees. It
must have three elements:
A statement
of intent which reflects the
company intentions for health
and safety.
A
responsibilities section which
states how the policy will be
implemented within the
organisation.
An
arrangements section which
outlines the arrangements the
company has in place to manage
safety.
If you do not
have one you risk being served
an improvement notice or worse,
by either the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) or an
Environmental Health Officer (EHO).
Do you
have documentation which shows
that you have consulted and
trained employees regarding
matters which relate to their
health and safety?
Section 2 of
the Health and Safety at Work
Act requires organisations to
consult their employees
regarding matters which relate
to their health and safety. In
small organisations this is
normally done face to face by
the boss, although typically
there is no documentation in
place to verify this. This
problem can easily be overcome
by inserting a brief paragraph
within the policy document
stating that informal face to
face consultation is the norm
and this is backed up when
required by the use of emails,
and notice boards.
Do you
have documentation which shows
you have identified and
controlled the hazards your
employees face as part of their
working day.
Section 2 of
the health and Safety at Work
Act 1974 by implication, and
specifically the Management
Regulations require employers to
address the risks and hazards
employees are exposed to by
their work activities and hence
risk assessments must be
undertaken.
Many people
are fazed by this seemingly
technical term. In most
instances general risk
assessments can be undertaken
adequately by using common
sense. They should list all the
relevant work related hazards
which employees, contractors and
the public are exposed to, along
with the equivalent measures
which control them. All too
often people try to identify
unforeseeable hazards and do not
acknowledge hazards which have
previously been (identified and)
controlled.
However risk
assessments which are user
friendly and complement other
company procedures require
further time, skill and effort
to draft.
Contact us today to take the
pain out of your Health and
Safety arrangements. |
