H&S Guide Sample

Section 1a1 Insurances• Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969• Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998Most companies should have a certificate of employers’ liability (EL) insurance.Most companies should have EL insurance in place to a value of not less than £5 million.Read the information and answer the questions below.Have you implemented procedures to ensure that: You are aware if you qualify for an exemption (Refer to the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: A Guide for Employers (HSE40) for further details). EL insurance is obtained (to a value of not less than £5 million)? A copy of your current certificate of EL insurance is displayed at each site or premises? Your employees must have access to it but it can be made available electronically if required (for example on an intranet). You are able to retain copies of certificates that have expired? (Claims for diseases may be made up to 40 years after they have been identified.)Your company may also require other insurances, such as:• Public liability• Building and contents• Professional indemnity/liability• Business interruption• Key person• Vehicles• Contractors all risk.Usually, insurance companies include these as part of a package of insurance policies for businesses.Forum insuranceComprehensive legal expenses and tax investigation cover insurance is included as standard in Forum membershipand includes cover for costs incurred defending a health and safety criminal prosecution and access to an experthealth and safety helpline.For more information on our business insurance, call us now on 01565 626001.Further InformationHSE publication: Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: A Guide for Employers (HSE40) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdfHSE insurance website: www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/get.htm Health & Safety Guide 2016 3

2 Responsibility• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974You must identify who is ultimately responsible for health and safety in your business.Read the information below.The proprietor, partner, managing director or similar person is ultimately responsible for health and safety for allaspects of the business. Sometimes this responsibility may be shared jointly by directors or board members, forexample.Duties for health and safety may be delegated to a person in the organisation who is competent to perform them,but the responsibility will still remain with the proprietor/partner/managing director.It is necessary that the proprietor/partner/managing director is identified as the proprietor/partner/director withresponsibility for health and safety.This person must ensure that the business has access to competent health and safety advice, so that health andsafety responsibilities can be suitably discharged.Where it is not economically viable to employ someone directly, then the assistance of an external consultancycan be sought. You may find that a combination of in-house and external expertise is preferable.Obtaining this advice, however, in no way reduces the responsibility of the proprietor/partner/managing director.Please enter below the name and position of the person who is ultimatelyresponsible for health and safety, together with the full address and contactdetails of your company. Company Address Postcode Fax Telephone EmailPerson responsible for health and safety Position4 Forum of Private Business

Section 1a3 Enforcing authority inspections• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974• Health and Safety (Fees for Intervention) Regulations 2012If an enforcing authority inspector calls, you must ensure you co-operate with hisor her requests.An enforcing authority can include the HSE, the fire and rescue service, the police or your local authority (LA).Answer the questions below.Are you aware that: Enforcement inspectors can enter your workplace at any time without giving notice, though notice may be given where the inspector thinks it is appropriate? Normal inspection includes assessing the workplace, work activities, the management of health and safety, and documents to ensure you are complying with health and safety, food and fire legislation? During a normal inspection, an inspector will expect to check that you have arrangements in place for consulting and informing employees? Enforcement action may result in a letter informing you of your requirements for compliance? Enforcement action may result in an Improvement Notice (IN) informing you of what has to be done, why and by when? (The improvement notice will inform you when the remedial action has to be undertaken by. After this period, a re- inspection may be undertaken to determine your compliance.) If you fail to comply with the requirements of the improvement notice, you may be prosecuted? Enforcement action may result in a Prohibition Notice (PN) informing you to cease the activity until appropriate remedial action has been taken? (The prohibition notice will inform you when the remedial action has to be undertaken by. After this period, a re-inspection may be undertaken to determine your compliance.) If you fail to comply with the requirements of the prohibition notice, you may be prosecuted?Fees For InterventionAre you aware that: The new HSE cost recovery scheme is called Fees For Intervention (FFI)? If you are in material breach of health and safety legislation the HSE may recover its costs from you by charging a fee for the time and effort it spends on helping you to put the matter right, investigating and taking enforcement action? The recovery of costs for formal intervention is currently levied at £124 per hour, with a monthly invoicing schedule? You can avoid intervention fees by ensuring legal compliance?Further InformationHSE publications: What to Expect when a Health and Safety Inspector Calls (HSC14) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc14.htm Health and Safety Regulation – A Short Guide (HSC13) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc13.pdf Fee for Intervention – What you need to know: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse48.pdfRegulating and Enforcing Health and Safety microsite: www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/HSE Fee for Intervention (FFI) microsite: www.hse.gov.uk/fee-for-intervention/index.htm Health & Safety Guide 2016 5

4 Directors’ duties• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974• Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007• Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986Companies and directors (and those ultimately responsible for health and safety – the ‘controlling minds’) can beprosecuted for failing to comply with health and safety legislation. This can lead to large fines and penalties andalso imprisonment in serious cases.Disqualification orders related to health and safety failures in the management of companies may also be raised.These are legal sanctions against directors convicted of health and safety offences.The maximum period of disqualification is 15 years (except where the order is made by a court of summaryjurisdiction – in which case the maximum period is 5 years).Where offences and liabilities are deemed to be corporate then penalties can include unlimited fines, remedialorders and publicity orders. A remedial order will require a company or organisation to take steps to remedyany management failure that led to a death. The court can also impose an order requiring the company ororganisation to publicise that it has been convicted of the offence.Are you confident that suitable arrangements are in place to: Plan, deliver, monitor and review a comprehensive health and safety management system? Ensure company board, directors, partners, proprietors, etc. lead by example and show a strong commitment to health and safety? Ensure you have access to competent health and safety advice? Ensure all staff are sufficiently trained and competent in their health and safety responsibilities? Ensure your workforce is consulted properly on health and safety matters, and that their concerns are reaching the appropriate level within your organisation? Undertake suitable and sufficient risk assessments at all levels in your organisation? Ensure that monitoring of what is happening on a day-to-day basis is undertaken? You have at least an annual board meeting (or equivalent) where health and safety is discussed and appropriate targets and budgets are set to help manage and improve health and safety? Further Information HSE Leading Health and Safety at Work Microsite: www.hse.gov.uk/leadership HSE Corporate Manslaughter microsite: www.hse.gov.uk/corpmanslaughter6 Forum of Private Business

Section 1a5 Health and safety policy• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974By law, businesses employing five or more employees, including proprietors or partners, must have a written healthand safety policy that is reviewed at least on an annual basis. It is helpful, in terms of defence against litigation, if abusiness has a written policy, even if it employs fewer than five employees.For example, the company may employ fewer than five employees directly, but may also employ casual or agencystaff or contractors. For the purposes of health and safety, casual or agency staff or contractors should be classedas employees as you still have a duty of care towards them.If you employ five or more people, you need to have a formal, documented healthand safety policy.Read the information below.Are you confident that suitable arrangements are in place to:You will need to formulate a health and safety policy document. There is a sample health and safety policy documenton the CD-ROM that accompanies this guide. This can be adapted to your own requirements.The policy should be commensurate with the size and complexity of your operations.Having a health and safety policy in place will assist in:• Compliance with the law• Documenting the management systems that you already have in place• Ensuring employees (and others working at your premises, such as contractors) are informed of the health and safety arrangements for the business• Securing contracts with clients• Demonstrating compliance to insurance companies• Demonstrating a professional image to clients and suppliers.You need to work through the rest of the Guide and update your policy statement accordingly. The level of detail inyour policy statement will depend on how complex your business is (you may need to significantly expand on thetemplate provided to ensure that your arrangements are covered)..The health and safety policy should be broken down into three sections:1. Statement of intent (the policy statement)2. Organisation/duties and responsibilities3. ArrangementsFurther InformationHSE website: Write a health and safety policy for your business www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/write.htm Health & Safety Guide 2016 7

6 Risk assessment• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999Risk assessments are required for all aspects of your operations. You must identify hazards and assess the level ofrisk they present to employees and others. The number and complexity of Risk Assessments will depend on youroperations and the degree of risk presented.The process of Risk Assessment should be proportionate to the level of risk presented by your operations. Low riskoperations, for example, will only need a simple risk assessment process where complex situations will need a morecomplicated risk control strategy developing.There is a sample risk assessment form on the CD-ROM that accompanies this guide. This can be adapted to yourown requirements, but should be commensurate with the size and complexity of your operations.See the flowchart opposite which can help you conduct a risk assessment.You must undertake a risk assessment of your activities that present significant hazards.Read the information and answer the questions below.Have you implemented procedures to ensure that: A ‘competent person’ is identified to undertake a risk assessment? Other competent people may be available to assist if necessary. Hazards are identified? (Hazards are things that have the potential to cause harm.) This can be undertaken by direct observation and discussion with those involved in tasks Those at risk are identified? (This may not only be your employees but could also be visitors, contractors (e.g. maintenance staff) and the general public, among others.) The risks arising from significant hazards are identified? (Risk is the likelihood that harm may result from a hazard.) The risks are evaluated? (Consider the combination of the probability (i.e. likelihood) of the risk impact and the severity of the possible outcomes (i.e. consequences).) You have identified control measures to reduce the likelihood of a problem occurring? Control measures should be identified and recorded for each hazard/risk. (There may be additional precautions and practical steps that could be taken to remove or minimise the risk.) Choose a risk scoring mechanism that is simple enough for people to understand (e.g. a probability and severity matrix using High, Medium and Low categories). Your risk control system should follow a simple hierarchy, this being: Eliminate the hazard (e.g. undertaking the work from ground level to avoid working at height), Substitute the Hazard (e.g. using less harmful substances), use Engineering Controls (e.g. extraction ventilation), use Administrative Controls (e.g. developing procedures, providing information, training, etc.) before any final reliance on PPE (as a last resort). Assessment findings are recorded (and recommendations are actioned to make improvements)? Assessment findings are reviewed and updated to make sure they still reflect the company’s operations.8 Forum of Private Business