AND OTHER STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO HEALTH, SAFETY & WELFARE MANAGEMENT, including: HSg65
IT'S TRUE - HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGEMENT IS A MINEFIELD !
There IS NO quick and easy way of meeting your obligations for the care of your people and others affected by your business, under UK, European and many other countries' health and safety law. As a business owner / partner / director or employer, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for documented and publicising a POLICY, assigning and describing RESPONSIBILITIES, ARRANGEMENTS for implementation of the policy & if appropriate, more detailed PROCEDURES.
Note: If you employ no more than 5 people in the UK then some things do NOT have to be documented - but it wiser to do so anyway FOR YOUR OWN BUSINESS' PROTECTION !
See the Q&A section below to understand WHY and HOW a consultant such as John Lane WILL BENEFIT and ADD VALUE to and RAISE your business' CREDIBILITY with your existing and prospective CUSTOMERS and help to RAISE YOUR SALES & PROFIT POTENTIAL !
* Much of my own work on health and safety centres around helping my clients to WIN NEW BUSINESS by ENSURING PROFESSIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY DOCUMENTS & PRESENTATIONAL MATERIALS ARE ARE PREPARED & INCLUDED WITHIN MAJOR TENDER SUBMISSIONS
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WHY USE A CONSULTANT FOR HEALTH & SAFETY ?
The act of employing an external consultant or advisor on its own does NOT transfer 100% of the liability and responsibility for health and safety from the employed management of an organisation to the external person or party.
See also Ethics & Insurance for my considerable health and safety advice insurance cover.
Q: Is it EASIER to do NOTHING about health and safety management and paperwork and HOPE for the BEST ?
- NO – this is the illogical and mistaken view taken by MANY businesses and organisations throughout the UK and the reason why so many of them are subject to litigation every year with significant awards of damages made against them to injured employees.
Q: Does this mean its going to COST a FORTUNE to do SOMETHING instead of NOTHING ?
- NOT NECESSARILY - You would be surprised at just how little work can be involved to meet the most important statutory requirements, depending on the simplicity or complexity of your organisation and the activities it carries out.
- Initially, if you employ more than 5 people, you MUST produce a written health and safety policy
- The policy should be supplemented by descriptions of responsibilities and duties assigned to relevant people in the organisation and the arrangements, with procedures where appropriate, for putting health and safety management into practice.
Q: But we only run an office-based business. We don’t have people running around in vans doing heavy manual work with dangerous equipment !
- DON’T THINK that just because you only work in offices that you are exempt from the law.
- Offices almost ALWAYS contain numerous, real, safety hazards, any one of which could cause an injury to an employee or visitor to your premises. The likelihood may be that nothing (serious) will every happen BUT if it does it could be a MAJOR accident or incident leading to MAJOR injury or even loss of life. e.g. office electrical equipment that has not been electrically tested for many years or that is inappropriately used could cause electrocution, uncovered trailing cables are major hazards in more ways then one, lack of first aid facilities in-house could lead to a minor accident becoming a major one, failure to inform staff that they should take breaks from computer VDU work, leading to upper limb disorders, repetitive strain injuries and headaches / eyesight problems, etc.
- All of these are real-life examples of situations that WILL eventually land the organisation’s boss in court with no guarantee of winning his / her case where there is no documentation to demonstrate a pro-active risk assessment and resulting risk minimisation exercise has been carried out.
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SO WHY USE A CONSULTANT FOR ANYTHING AT ALL ?
- It LIFTS the burden of having to find out WHAT to DO, HOW to DO IT and in WHAT SEQUENCE
- It LIFTS the burden of trying to manage health and safety ON YOUR OWN, particularly if your management resources are too limited to do justice to the minimum legal requirements
- It DOES OFFER to some extent, a SHARING of responsibility in cases where you have contracted your advisor to keep you up to date with health and safety law and to maintain aspects of your health and safety management system - IT REDUCES your own liability whilst NOT eliminating it completely.
- It is USEFUL to have an advisor to help you complete & WIN tenders for new contracts and SUCCESSFUL applications for inclusion on customers' approved supplier lists *
* Much of my own work on health and safety centres around helping my clients to WIN NEW BUSINESS by ENSURING PROFESSIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY DOCUMENTS & PRESENTATIONAL MATERIALS ARE ARE PREPARED & INCLUDED WITHIN MAJOR TENDER SUBMISSIONS
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