Health and Safety Policies need not be difficult or complicated but do need to be Specific to your particular business. It is unlikely that an ”off-the-shelf” policy will give you the type of policy that is best for your business.  In our experience ”off-the shelf” policies usually contain a large volume of text most of which is not relevant to your buiness because it is too generic.

A health and safety policy sets out your general approach, objectives and the arrangements you have put in place for managing health and safety in your business. It is a unique document that says who does what, when and how.

If you have five or more employees, your policy must be written down.

As the employer you have overall responsibility for health and safety.  You can delegate responsibility for day-to-day tasks to someone else, eg a manager or supervisor.  You should make sure that they keep you informed about health and safety matters as they are still your overall responsibility. You can delegate specific tasks to individuals in your organisation, by workplace area or by topic but you remain responsible.

Responsibilities should be clearly set out so that if there are any health and safety concerns, they can be reported to the right person.

Employees also have legal responsibilities to take care of their own health and safety as well as that of others affected by what they do or do not do when they are at work, and to co-operate with you to help you comply with the law.

Health and Safety Policy Statement of Intent

Your statement of general policy is likely to include a commitment:

• to provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from our work activities;
• to consult with our employees on matters affecting their health and safety;
• to provide and maintain safe plant and equipment;
• to ensure safe handling and use of substances;
• to provide information, instruction and supervision for employees;
• to ensure all employees are competent to do their tasks, and to give them adequate training;
• to prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health;
• to maintain safe and healthy working conditions; and
• to review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 impose a requirement on all employers to effectively plan, organise, control, monitor and review their health and safety management systems and procedures.  For your health and safety policies and procedures to be effectively implemented, they need to be:

• up-to-date
• relevant
• practical
• understandable.
  
  

At affersafety we can create bespoke health and safety policies and procedures from scratch for your business or we can simply review and update existing material.

Whichever you choose, we will work closely with you to ensure legal compliance and workable procedures.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact use at info@affersafety.co.uk or telephone on 01352 780098 or 07968 381445.