Introduction to Health and Safety

Step 1: Review

Step 2: Set out your policy

Step 3: Organise the Workforce

Step 4: Controlling

Step 5: Plan and Implement

Further Reading

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Good health and safety practices do not just happen by chance.
They need to be managed just like any other aspect of your business.

The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974). The Act sets out the general duties, which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and to each other.

These duties are qualified in the Act by the principle of 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. In other words, an employer does not have to take measures to avoid or reduce the risk if they are technically impossible or if the time, trouble or cost of the measures would be grossly disproportionate to the risk.

What the law requires here is what good management and common sense would lead employers to do anyway: that is, to look at what the risks are and take sensible measures to tackle them.

The proper and effective management of health and safety will reduce the risk of accidents and occupational ill health.

Good safety management will involve:

Planning

Organising

Controlling

Monitoring

Reviewing

The five key steps to managing Health and Safety are set out below.

For an existing business an Initial Review of health and safety arrangements will provide useful information regarding the scope, adequacy and implementation of the current system. From this progress can be planned and monitored.

Step 2: Set out your Policy

A written statement of your Health Safety Policy is required if five or more persons are employed. It should include details of the organisation and arrangements for its implementation and should be communicated to all staff. It should be dated and signed by the Managing Director/Owner/Club Secretary to give it validity and reviewed on a regular basis to keep it up to date and revised when practices or procedures change.

Allocate responsibilities for health and safety. This should be done at all levels in the organisation to help secure commitment and co-operation.

Step 4: Controlling

(i) Ensure competence
This is achieved by ensuring that the company has or has access to, sufficient health and safety knowledge, skills and experience. Appropriate resources should be allocated and training needs identified and met in a planned way.

(ii) Training
Training may range from general induction training to more specific/complex matters e.g. heavy lifting.

(iii) Communicate
This entails providing information about hazards, risks and preventative measures. It also involves measures to encourage/secure the participation of the entire workforce.

Step 5: Plan and Implement

Set objectives, identify hazards, assess risks, implement performance standards and develop a positive attitude to health and safety i.e. what is to be done, who is responsible, when it is to be done and the desired end result.

Further Reading

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/index.htm

The following documents can be downloaded free of charge from the Health & Safety Executive website:

An Introduction to health and safety INDG 259 - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg259.pdf

Managing health and safety INDG 275 - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg275.pdf

Director's responsibilities for health and safety INDG 343 - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg343.pdf

Need help on health and safety? INDG 322 - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg322.pdf

The publication "Writing your Health & Safety Policy Statement - How to prepare a safety policy statement for a small business HSC6" is also available from the HSE Bookshop - telephone (01787) 881165.

HealthandSafetyPolicy example.doc

Many local authorities provide a downloadable sample document, which will help you to devise your own. The above is merely an example of such a document. Almost all of these follow exactly the same wording/format.