The Essential Health and Safety Knowledge Guide - Part 1

 
Difference between fire warden and fire marshal training online atf solutions

Introduction

Health and Safety in the workplace is a huge topic and for smaller businesses often proves a difficult subject to understand.

With a myriad of legislation to work through how do you know what is applicable for your business or organisation?

In this first part of our Essential Health and Safety Knowledge Guides we will aim to dispel some myths around Health and Safety in the workplace and answer the key questions that our team take throughout the week.

  1. Firstly, what is the definition of Health and Safety?

  2. Why do we need health and safety and why is it important?

  3. What is the health and safety at work act and when was it introduced?

  4. What is health and safety legislation?

  5. What is the Health and Safety Executive?

  6. Who works for the HSE?

  7. What are the powers of the HSE?

  8. Who is legally responsible for health and safety at work?

  9. Where do I start with Health and Safety compliance?

  10. What is a Risk Assessment?

  11. What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

  12. What is Health and Safety Training?


Let’s start at the beginning and first work out…

What is the definition of Health and Safety?

To get off to a clear start let’s first understand the definition of Health and Safety and what that means. The Cambridge Dictionary defines Health and Safety as:

“The laws, rules, and principles that are intended to keep people safe from injury or disease at work and in public places”

So what does that actually mean?

In layman’s terms to us what is being stated is that both employees and the general public have a right of expectation to be safe when outside of the home. This means both when at work, when visiting a business or place of work and when simply moving around such as walking the dog, getting shopping, or playing sport in the local park.

You might be thinking does that mean that local authorities and councils have a duty to provide Health and Safety as well as private businesses?

Put simply, yes it does!

Councils and local authorities like large businesses realise the importance of heath and safety and often have a dedicated member of staff such as a Health and Safety Officer or team of Health and Safety Managers whose role is dedicated to ensuring legislation is met and safe environments are provided for workers and member of the public alike.

With us so far, great news! Then lets focus on private sector businesses in the UK…

For those not in the know these are basically private companies who are not in the direct control of the government at local or nation level.

According to research carried out by the Federation for Small Business  for 2019 in the UK there were 5.9 million private sector businesses comprising of 3.5 million sole proprietorships (59% of the total), 2.0 million actively trading companies (34%) and 405,000 ordinary partnerships (7%) in 2019.

1.4 million of these had employees and 4.5 million had no employees.

Alongside this it is useful to know that the UK had a working population percentage of around 76%, meaning roughly 50.8 million people working from the total population of 66.65 million.

That is a lot of people at work and a lot of Health and Safety requirements to be catered for!

Not forgetting the general public who are not at work also have a right to expect to remain safe!

Why do we need health and safety and why is it important?

In a nutshell it is just a good thing for everyone to reduce the likelihood and risk of injury and accidents. Its good for everyone.

Imagine living in a place where your personal safety and well-being is not considered by your employer or by the government.

You could be asked to carry out dangerous work or work in an environment that is hazardous to yourself and others and there would be nothing you could do about it, no-one to complain to without the risk of losing your job or facing more severe punishments.

In a modern world this seems like something from the dark ages but you have to remember you are one of the lucky ones as there are still people around the word that face this problem every day.

By setting out rules, regulations and legislation in law that apply to everyone governments try to ensure that the public are safe and protected. This may mean you as an employee or your employees as a business owner.

Either way due to these laws and guidelines our health, safety and well-being is something we come to expect as a given, especially when carrying out our work.

Around the world each country has its own laws regarding health and safety, in the UK one of the biggest pieces of legislation that still in effect today was the Health and Safety at Work act 1974.

What is the health and safety at work act and when was it introduced?

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain.

Sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA the legislation set out the general duties and expectations that employers have towards employees, the general public, themselves and each other.

It also outlined in law the duties self-employed people have towards themselves and others. The Health and safety at work act put into practice a new system based on less-prescriptive and more goal-based regulations, supported by a wealth guidance and codes of practice.

Shortly afterwards in January 1975 a new government agency was formed to manage and maintain the new legislation. It was named the Health and Safety Executive.

What is health and safety legislation?

Health and safety legislation is the outline in law to protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job and within the workplace. The act sets out duties for all parties within the workplace and sets out rights for workers. It establishes set procedures for dealing with hazards and accidents in the workplace hazards and provides for enforcement of the law where compliance has not been achieved voluntarily.

The Health and Safety at Work Act legislation also sets out a wide range of duties for employers who must protect the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees.

The responsibility for employers doesn’t end there and they must also apply this to others on their premises, including temps, casual workers, the self-employed, clients, visitors and the general public.

The Health and safety executive who oversee compliance in Great Britain also enforce other laws and reform orders relating to workplace safety.

What is the Health and Safety Executive?

The Health and Safety Executive, often now referred to as the HSE is responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of health, safety and welfare in the workplace and also for research into occupational risks in Great Britain.

Launched in 1975 under it first leader, Director John Locke, the Health and Safety Executive plays an important role in the upkeep of the legislation put into place in 1974 and since developed.

Fast forward to today and chaired by Martin Temple the HSE still oversee and enforce the Health and Safety laws alongside many other duties such as reducing occupational disease, overseeing hazardous installations, and providing improved ongoing regulation and research.

Its formal functions are set out in the 1974 act clearly as follows:

  • Assist and encourage persons concerned with matters relevant to the operation of the objectives of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

  • Make arrangements for and encourage research and publication, training, and information in connection with its work.

  • Make arrangements for securing government departments, employers, employees, their respective representative organisations, and other persons are provided with an information and advisory service and are kept informed of, and adequately advised on such matters.

  • Propose health and safety regulations.

The HSE is mainly a government funded agency but sees around 30% of income from charges  to industry for scientific research and high hazard regulation.

Who works for the HSE?

The Health and Safety Executive, like many government agencies or large public bodies employees’ people in a whole range of roles throughout the organisation. From Board level directors to marketers and administrators the agency has a need for all.

Interaction with business owners is normally carried out via a HSE Inspector or by an officer from your local authority with a business owner or other responsible person .

The Health and Safety Executive state that an inspector’s role is to:

  • investigate (when accidents have happened or a complaint is made) whether people are at risk, to find out if something has gone wrong

  • require you to take action to control risks properly if you are not already complying with the law

  • take appropriate enforcement action in relation to any non-compliance, ranging from advice on stopping dangerous work activities to potentially taking prosecutions where people are put at serious risk

  • provide advice and guidance to help you comply with the law and avoid injuries and ill health at work

Inspectors and local authority officers prioritise the highest risks and those businesses which fail to manage health and safety properly and have a range of powers in which to help investigate, enforce and prosecute businesses and employers who are not meeting their obligations.

What are the powers of the HSE?

As a governmental agency the Health and Safety Executive have a large remit and a wealth of powers at their disposal.

Most commonly Inspectors can

  • enter into business premises;

  • inspect and investigate issues

  • take measurements, samples and photographs;

  • require an area or machine to be left undisturbed;

  • seize, render harmless or destroy dangerous items; and

  • obtain information and take statements.

If a case is made against you it is to be taken seriously. The HSE holds powers of prosecution and HSE operates a Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme.

If you are found to be breaking health and safety laws, 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, such as investigating and taking enforcement action.

Coupled with a fine or possible impossible for more serious offences ensuring compliance within your business and across your operations should be at the forefront of every owners list of importance.

The avoidance of prosecution should not however be the motivating factor, simply ensuring the health safety and well-being of your employees is normally paramount in the mindset of todays modern business leaders.

Who is legally responsible for health and safety at work?

The short answer is you are! Within the workplace and working environment everyone is responsible for their actions and the impact of those around us however ultimately the responsibility for Health and Safety at work sits with the business owners and employer and those in responsible positions within an organisation such as Directors.

These roles of responsibility mean that employers need to ensure all employees and visitors to their premises are protected from anything that may cause harm whilst controlling any potential risks to injury or health that could arise.

This is widely known as ‘Duty of Care’

Whilst an employee also has a duty of care to carry out their duties in a safe manner it is ultimately that of the employer in the eyes of the law.

Failing to provide adequate assessment and provision of things such as protective equipment, welfare facilities or health and safety training are all examples of a possible failure to meet your duty of care as an employer and can have serious consequences.

From small injuries and lost time incidents that cause short term problems within your daily activities to accidents, severe injuries, ill health and even fatalities providing adequate care and protection to your staff, visitors and the general public that you come into contact with whist carrying out your business operations is paramount.

As an employer there is lots you can do to help mitigate this risk, protecting both your employees and you business along the way.

Where do I start with Health and Safety compliance?

The simplest way to start out in protecting both your people and your business is by completing a full and comprehensive risk assessment that covers all business activities your staff undertake (more below)

Once completed you can then decide on what health and safety training is required to ensure your legislative compliance is met.

With your risks assessed and your staff trained you can then provide any necessary personal protective equipment for them to carry our their duties whilst requiring a safe and secure workplace to work within and for your visitors to visit.

With ongoing and periodic review you can identify new risks or changes in those already noted and repeat the process accordingly.

To recap some of the key things you need to consider doing are:

  • Carrying out a risk assessment for all business activities undertaken

  • Carrying out a Fire risk assessment for each of your premises

  • Ensure staff have full health and safety training that applied to their roles

  • Ensuring staff have the correct personal protective equipment deemed necessary for their tasks to be carried out

  • Ensure a tidy, organised and safe workplace for your employees, your visitors and the general public.

What is a Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment is a working document and should be carried out by a competent person. It follows a simple established logic and will help you to:

  • Identify the hazards

  • Decide who might be harmed and how

  • Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

  • Record your findings and implement them

  • Review your assessment and update if necessary

When you have completed a full risk assessment or even more comprehensive multiple risk assessments specific to working practices, business operations and high level risks such as Fire Safety you will have a list of actions that you need to attend to.

Risk assessments should be carried out by a competent person that understands the process.

To skip the queue check out our Online Risk Management Training Course here to get the up to speed on what is required.

What is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A Fire risk assessment is a working document dedicated to assessing the risk of fire within your premises and the completed document outlines findings and any necessary actions needed to reduce risk and comply with legislation.

  • The Regulatory Reform Order (Fire) of 2005 replaced the previous Fire Precautions Act of 1971 meaning that any Fire Certificate issued that you still have is considered null and void.

  • The Order was designed to provide a minimum fire safety standard in all non-domestic premises with a few exceptions.

  • If it is a workplace it designates the employer the Responsible Person (RP).

  • If any other person has control to some extent then they could have duties under the Order.

  • If it is not a workplace then any person having control to some extent or the owner and can be designated the Responsible Person.

  • Those persons, or a person acting on their behalf, are required to carry out certain fire safety duties which include ensuring the general fire precautions are satisfactory and conducting a fire risk assessment.

A very important note - If more than five persons are employed it has to be a written fire risk assessment!

When you have completed a full Fire risk assessment you will have a list of actions that you need to attend to. Risk assessments should be carried out by a competent person that understands the process.

To skip the queue check out our award winning In The Line Of Fire ™ Workplace Fire Training Course and our Online Fire Warden Course to get the up to speed on what is required. We also provide specialist Fire Training courses for specific sectors including:

What is Health and Safety Training?

Health and Safety Training is for both employees and employers like and ensures workers can carry out tasks and duties safely and without any risk to health.

Effective training such as our online courses show employees what should be done and what shouldn’t be done within a specific topic, enabling them to protect both themselves and others.

Training should be provided free of charge by the employer alongside supervision and can be carried out in person or from an accredited online training provider.

Often a blended-approach is suitable. This is where training is formed from some hands-on training mixed with some online training.

As an online health and safety training provider we take training seriously and in the next part of our Essential Health and Safety Knowledge Guides will discuss in detail everything you need to know.

If you need online training advise just drop us a line here or call us on 01905 371321

Share this online

 
Guidance, Health and SafetyOllie LimpkinHSE, Health and Safety