The Statement of Health and Safety Policy
A COMPANY SAFETY POLICY NORMALLY CONTAINS THE ARRANGEMENTS, ORGANISATION AND PROCEDURES THAT FORM THE SAFE SYSTEM OF WORK FOR THE NORMAL WORK TASK OR PROCESS THAT PREVAILS WITHIN THE WORKPLACE OR COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.
Introduction and statutory reasons for a company policy.
Employers and directors of the workforce are under a statutory duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) to prepare and keep revised a written statement of health and safety policy. [HSWA s 2(3)].
There is an exception for very small businesses however if you employ more than five people you will need a policy.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 2051), Regs 3 and 4 also require that employers formally assess risks to their employees whilst at work (including a written assessment where there are five or more employees) and implement arrangements for protective/preventive measures.
This includes making known to all employees, and first-aiders, the company procedures for dealing with all ill health and particular fire hazards. Moreover, executives are personally liable for the implementation of safety procedures, safe systems of work and the preparation and revision of safety policies.
An organisation tree and proper nominated duty holders need to be noted in any safety documentation.
This section outlines the format which a written policy statement should follow and then considers in more detail the matters and issues that it should address.
Requirement to prepare a written policy statement
Every employer must consider then prepare, and if necessary revise from time to time, a written statement of his general policy regarding the health and safety of his employees.
In particular, the policy statement should refer to the organisation, in terms of manpower, and the arrangements, in terms of systems, for implementing the policy.
It should name all directors and managers that are statutory duty holders.
The general policy statement and any revision of it, must be brought to the attention of all employees, e.g. by notification, issue of a document and reinforced by posters throughout the workplace.
The policy document should explain the EMPLOYERS DUTIES, and be backed up by training courses briefing sessions and, in the case of new employees, a proper induction procedure.
Exceptions to this requirement
Those employers carrying on an undertaking in which, for the time being, having fewer than five persons are being employed, are excepted from the provisions of Sec 2(3).
[Employers Health and Safety Policy
Statements (Exception) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975 ~ 1584)].
Regard is to be given only to employees actually present on the premises, i.e. employees for the time being (not including relief staff
(Osborne v Bill Taylor of Huyton 119821 IRLR 17)).
Essential format and content of the policy statement
Essentially a policy should consist of three parts, as follows:
- A general statement of intent. This should outline in broad terms the organisations overall philosophy in relation to the management of health and safety. It should also include reference to the broad responsibilities of both management and workforce.
- Organisation (people and their duties). This part outlines the chain of command in terms of health and safety management. Who is responsible to whom and for what? How is the accountability fixed so as to ensure that delegated responsibilities are undertaken? How is the policy implementation monitored? Other organisational features should include: individual job descriptions having a safety content; details of specific safety responsibilities; the role and function of safety committee(s); the role and function of safety representatives; and a management chart clearly showing the lines of responsibility and accountability in terms of health and safety management. The competent person(s) who is to assist with compliance with the health and safety requirements should also be included. IManagement of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, Reg 61.
- Arrangement (systems and procedures). This part of the policy deals with the practical arrangements by which the policy will be effectively implemented. These include; safety training; safe systems of work; environmental control; safe place of work; machine/area guarding; housekeeping; safe plant and equipment; noise control; radiation safety; dust control; use of toxic materials; internal communication/participation; utilisation of safety committee(s) and safety representatives; fire safety and prevention; medical facilities and welfare; maintenance of records; accident reporting and investigation; emergency procedures; and workplace monitoring. (Records of the formal arrangements are also required to be kept where more than five employees are employed. ~Management of Health and safety at Work Regulations 1992, Reg4].)
Basic objectives and general content of statement
Health and safety policy statements should state their main objectives, e.g.:
(a) specify that health and safety are management responsibilities ranking equally with responsibilities for production, sales, costs, and similar matters;
(b) indicate that it is the duty of management is to see that everything reasonably practicable is done to prevent personal injury in the processes of production, and in the design, construction, and operation of all plant, machinery and equipment, and to maintain a safe and healthy place of work;
(c) indicate that it is the duty of all employees to act responsibly, and to do everything they can to prevent injury to themselves and fellow workers. Although the implementation of policy is fundamentally a management responsibility, it will rely heavily on the co-operation of those who actually produce the goods and take the risks;
(d) identify the main board director or managing board director (or directors) who have prime responsibility for health and safety, in order to make the commitment of the board precise, and provide points of reference for any manager who is faced with a conflict between the demands of safety and the demands of production;
(e) be dated so as to ensure that it is periodically revised in the light of current conditions, and be signed by the chairman, managing director, chief executive, or whoever speaks with authority on health and safety matters ; and
(f) clearly state how and by whom within the operation is to be monitored.
Organisation (people and their duties)
Suitable policies will demonstrate both in written and diagrammatic form (where appropriate) the following features:
(a) The unbroken and logical delegation of duties through line management and supervisors who operate where the hazards arise and the majority of the accidents occur.
(b) The identification of key personnel (by name and/or job title) who are accountable to top management for ensuring that detailed arrangements for safe working are drawn up, implemented and maintained.
(c) The definition of the roles of both line and functional management. Specific job descriptions should be formulated.
(d) The provision of adequate support for line management via relevant functional management such as safety advisers, engineers, medical advisers, designers, hygienists, chemists, ergonomists, etc.
(e) The nomination of persons with the competence and authority to measure and monitor safety performance.
(f) The provision of the means to deal with failures in order to meet job requirements.
(g) The fixing of accountability for the management of health and safety in a similar manner to other management functions.
(h) The organisation structure must unambiguously indicate to the individual exactly what he must do to fulfil his role. Thereafter a failure is a failure to manage effectively.
(i) The organisation should make it known (both in terms of time and money) what resources are available for health and safety. The individual must be certain of the extent to which he is realistically supported by the policy and by the organisation needed to fulfil it.
Arrangements (systems and procedures)
It is vital to establish safe and healthy systems of work designed to counteract the identified risks within a business.
The following aspects should be used as a guide when preparing arrangements for health and safety at work:
(a) The involvement of the safety adviser, committee and relevant line/functional management at the planning/design stage.
(b) The provision of health and safety performance criteria for articles, and product safety data for substances, prior to purchase.
(c) The provision of specific instructions for using machines, for maintaining safety systems, and for the control of health hazards.
(d) The development of specific health and safety training for all employees.
(e) The undertaking of medical examinations and biological monitoring.
(f) . The provision of suitable protective equipment
(g) The development and utilisation of permit-to-work systems.
(h) The provision of first- aid/emergency procedures, including aspects of fire safety/prevention.
(f) The provision of written procedures in respect of contractors and visitors.
(k) The formulation of written safe systems of work for use by all levels of management and workforce.
Appendices and company specific procedures to statements
There are a number of reasons for incorporating appendices to statements
of health and safety policy (although this is not a statutory requirement).
For instance, there may be a need to detail in depth the organisations intentions, arrangements and procedures for dealing with a hazard specific to a process, e.g. the risk of back injury associated with a particular handling operation. It may be necessary to formally declare the companys policy on asbestos in existing buildings or on the provision of prescription lens eye protection to certain groups of operators.
Fundamentally, an appendix can qualify and explain in depth certain provisions outlined in the statement.
Policy monitoring
Policy monitoring highlights four areas as follows:
(a) The accident and ill-health record.
(b) The normal standards of compliance with legal requirements and codes of practice.
(c) The extent to which organisations specify and achieve within a given time scale certain clearly defined objectives (of both short-term and long-term nature).
(d) The extent of compliance with the organisation and arrangements parts of the organisations own policy statement (discussed earlier), including in particular the written safe systems of work that have been developed by the organisation to meet its individual needs.
Checklist for statements of health and safety policy
Questions that need to be asked about your company policy document.
Does the statement express a commitment to health and safety and are the organisations obligations towards its employees made clear?
Does it say which senior officer is responsible for seeing that it is implemented and for keeping it under review, and how this will be done ?
Is it signed and dated by a partner or senior director?
Have the views of managers and supervisors, the competent person, safety representatives and the safety committee been taken into account?
Were the duties set out in the statement discussed with the people concerned in advance, and accepted by them, and do they understand how their performance is to be assessed and what resources they have at their disposal?
Does the statement make clear that co-operation on the part of all employees is vital to the success of the health and safety policy?
Does it say how employees are to be involved in health and safety matters, for example by being consulted, by taking part in inspections and by sitting on a safety council or committee?
Does it show clearly how the duties for health and safety are allocated and are the responsibilities at different levels described?
Does it state who is responsible for the following matters (including deputies where appropriate)?
- reporting investigations and recording accidents;
- fire precautions, fire drill, evacuation procedures;
- first-aid;
- safety inspections;
- the training programme;
- ensuring that legal requirements are met, for example, regular testing of lifts and notifying accidents to the health and safety inspector.
Arrangements:
(a) General
Keeping the workplace, including staircases, floors, ways in and out, washrooms etc. in a safe and clean condition by cleaning, maintenance and repair.
(b) Plant and substances
Maintenance of equipment such as tools, ladders, etc. Are they in safe condition? Maintenance and proper use of safety equipment such as helmets, boots, goggles, respirators, etc.
Maintenance and proper use of plant, machinery and guards.
Regular testing and maintenance of lifts, hoists, cranes, pressure systems, boilers and other dangerous machinery, emergency repair work, and safe methods of doing it.
Maintenance of electrical installations and equipment.
Safe storage, handling and, where applicable, packaging, labelling and transport of dangerous substances.
Controls on work involving harmful substances, such as lead and asbestos. The introduction of new plant, equipment or substances into the workplace C by examination, testing and consultation with the workforce.
(c) Other hazards
Noise problems with wearing ear protection and control of noise at source.
Preventing unnecessary or unauthorised entry into hazardous areas.
Lifting of heavy or awkward loads.
Protecting the safety of employees against assault when handling or transporting the employers money or valuables.
Special hazards to employees when working on unfamiliar sites, including discussions with site manager where necessary.
Control of works transport, e.g. forklift trucks, by restricting use to experienced and authorised operators or operators under instruction (which should deal fully with safety aspects).
(d)Emergencies
Ensuring that fire exits are marked, unlocked and free from obstruction.
Maintenance and testing of fire-fighting equipment, fire drills and evacuation procedures.
First-aid, including the name and location of the person responsible for first-aid and the deputy, and the location of the first-aid box.
(e)Communication
Giving employees information about the general duties under HS11l and specific legal requirements relating to their work.
Giving employees necessary information about substances, plant, machinery and equipment with which they come into contact.
Discussing with contractors, before they come on site, how they plan to do their job, whether they need the organisations equipment to help them, whether they can operate in a segregated area or when part of the plant is shut down and, if not, what hazards they may create for employees and vice versa.
(f) Training
Training employees, supervisors and managers to enable them to work safely and carry out their health and safety responsibilities.
(g)Supervising
Supervising employees as far as necessary for their safety C especially young workers, new employees and employees carrying out unfamiliar tasks.
(h)Keeping a check on the workplace
Regular inspections and checks of the workplace, machinery, appliances and working methods.
(For the connection between company health and safety policy statements, works rules, terms of a contract of employment and disciplinary procedures that can result in dismissal, see EMPLOYEE SAFETY RIGHTS, DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES AND UNFAIR DISMISSAL.. The most commonly held view would seem to be, by way of analogy with a trade union rule book, that statements in a health and safety policy statement are not implied terms of a contract of employment (Secretary of State for Employment z Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (No 2) [19721 2 AER 949 C a case involving a go-slow) (see E7012 EMPLOYEE. SAFETY RIGHTS, DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES AND UNFAIR DISMISSAL.).)
Comprehensive company health and safety policy document C specimen
1. The Company recognises its health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended by SI 1994 No 2865) and concomitant protective legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Environment Act 1995 and the Fire Precautions Act 1971, both as an Employer and as a Company and to that end has appointed (the following member(s) of staff) to be responsible for health and safety maintenance at the company, to keep workplace procedures relating to health and safety under constant review and to liaise with the Health and safety Executive wherever necessary, so as to keep the Company and its Board of Directors updated on any new legislation affecting them, EU Directives, regulations and British Standards, in order to ensure compliance with same.
2. In recognition of its duties under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 (RIDDOR), the Company has instituted a system for reporting accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive, including injury to any trainee, and this is in addition to its statutory duty to keep an Accident Book available for inspection by an inspector of the Health and Safety Executive.
3. In furtherance of (I), the Company proposes always to comply with its duties under s 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, regs 3-6, towards its employees and, more particularly, so far as is reasonably practicable, to
(a) provide and maintain a safe place of work, a safe system of work, safe appliances for work and a safe and healthy working environment;
(b) provide such information and instruction as may be necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of its employees and also compliance with the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (as amended by SI 1994 No 2865), the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (TURERA), the Employment Rights Act 1995 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and to promote awareness and understanding of health and safety throughout the workforce;
(c) ensure safety and absence of health risks in connection with use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances; ~
(d) make regular risk assessments to employees;
(e) take appropriate preventive/protective measures;
(f) provide employees with health surveillance.
(g) appoint competent personnel to help and secure compliance with statutory duties.
4.In further recognition of its statutory and common law duties, the Company has taken out insurance, with an approved insurer, against liability for death, injury and/or disease suffered by any of its employees and arising out of and in the course of employment, provided only that it was caused by the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty on the part of the Company; such certificate of insurance being prominently displayed so as to be available for inspection at all reasonable times by employees and a health and safety inspector
5.All employees of the Company agree, as a term of their contract of employment, to comply with their individual duties under s 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, reg 12 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and generallyco-operate with their Employer so as to enable the Employer to carry out his health and safety duties towards them. Failure to comply with health and safety duties, regulations, works rules and procedures regarding health and safety, on the part of any Employee, can lead to dismissal from employment; in the case of serious breaches, or repeated breaches, such dismissal may be instant without prior warning
6 Prime responsibility for health and safety lies with the Managing Director(s) of the Company and Board of Directors and the Company regards itself as bound by any acts and/or omissions of the Managing Director(s), any executive director or senior manager, giving rise to liability, provided only that such acts and/or omissions arise out of and in the course of company business, and prosecution of any director or senior manager shall not prevent a further prosecution against the Company.
7 In recognition of its duties under s 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Consumer Protection Act 1987, towards its Customers, the Company proposes (expressed as a normal term/condition of trade in its terms/Conditions of trade) to always supply machinery and parts which, so far as is reasonably practicable, are safe for normal operational use and free from foreseeable health and hygiene risks to Customers. To that end the Company will provide on an on-going basis Customers with such official and trade information, including relevant EU Standards and British Standards, relating to new and existing health and safew risks that may, or indeed, have come to its attention in the normal course of trade, and which can reasonably be obtained from HSE, British Standards Institution and the EU.
8 In recognition of its duties towards the general public and all lawful visitors to the Companys premises, the Company regards the extent of its duties as compatible with sections 2 and 5 of the Health and Safen at Work Act and the Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984. In particular, where visitors are under a statutory duty to wear personal protective clothing, or otherwise to take reasonable precautions for their own health and safety, thilure to do so will be regarded as a breach of Company policy, entitling the Company to take such measures as it considers appropriate, including asking the Visitor to leave the premises.
9 This Policy has been prepared in furtherance of s 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and binds all Directors, Managers and Employees, in the interests of Employees and Customers. We request that our Customers and Visitors respect this Policy, a copy of which can be obtained on demand.
Signed
Managing Director
Dated
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