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As soon as your business is big enough to employ someone for over 21 hours per week you must register with the council. There is no cost implication for businesses but it ensures that we are aware of your existence. If you are not sure whether you are registered, then ring the Health and Safety Section to check. If you are not, we can arrange for the necessary paperwork to be sent to you.
You must display the poster ‘Health and Safety Law - What you Should Know’ where all your employees can read it. This is required by the information for Employees Regulations 1989. From the 1 July 2000 a new Health and Safety law poster must be displayed. The new poster reflects changes in legislation. If you have got the old poster it must be changed. An alternative option available to employers is to give all employees the approved leaflet containing the same information about their rights to safe employment. The poster is readily available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) or from good bookshops.
As an employer, you must hold employers liability insurance under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act and display a copy of the certificate on your premises. Many businesses will also take out insurance to cover accidents etc. which may occur to people on their premises who are not their employees, for example visitors, customers etc.
If you have five or more employees, you must prepare a written safety policy which clearly sets out the organisation and arrangements for workplace safety. A safety policy is a working document which helps to clarify responsibilities for safety, formalise procedures (such as accident notification) and communicate your policy and rules to staff. As such, it is the starting point for effective safety management.
Policies should include the following items as a minimum:
The length of the policy will depend upon the complexity of your business, the Council's officer's will be able to advise further and guidance booklets are available. Your safety policy must be reviewed regularly to ensure it is still up to date, be actively brought to the attention of all staff and be signed and dated by senior company management.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 places a duty on the employer to identify hazards and assess the risks in the workplace affecting both employees and non-employees with the purpose of identifying the measures necessary to comply with any duties and requirements of health and safety legislation. Non-employees may include distributors, customers, end-users, and the public if affected by the employer's activities, products and services. Assessment and control measures identified need to be recorded and the information made available to employees. The self-employed are also required to assess the risk to their own safety. Employers are required to appoint a competent person in certain circumstances to assist in undertaking these requirements.
Guidance on completing Risk Assessments can be found on the HSE website or via our Risk Assessment Factsheet.
The legislation governing the reporting of accidents is contained in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
It is important for all accidents to be recorded in an accident book or similar document. Even minor accidents and incidents could have long term implications and should therefore be recorded. Deaths or major injuries to any person must be immediately notified by telephone to the enforcing authority and confirmation sent on a standard form (F2508) within seven days. Other injuries resulting in an overnight stay in hospital or where a person stays off work for three days or more must also be reported. A procedure for this should be established. Examples of reportable accidents include:
Ailments due to natural causes which just happen to have occurred on the premises are not reportable even if fatal.
Certain dangerous occurrences and industrial diseases are also notifiable and the employer should be aware of those which could apply to his, or her, business, in cases of uncertainty it is better to report an incident than leave it unreported. These include some of the following:
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Act 1995 (RIDDOR)
This legislation places a duty on employers to report certain types of accidents, injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences to their health and safety enforcement authority.
For more information on what types of accident are reportable please refer to our RIDDOR Factsheet
To report an accident at work visit www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/
Legislation requires that adequate and appropriate first aid be provided. First Aid is essentially that which is administered until such time as professional medical aid can arrive, or that which is used to treat matters too small to require professional medical aid.
It is important that first aid materials and knowledge are available to all with the injuries, likely to occur at the specific workplace in question. Hence, if the employer is using chemicals, staff should be aware of first aid measures if the chemical is accidentally swallowed, splashed onto the skin, splashed in the eyes etc. Similarly, treatment for electric shock must be known; it is advised that a poster on this matter be displayed near electrical switchgear.
Drugs, non-first aid materials, and personal medication should not be kept in First Aid kits. First Aid kits must be clearly labelled and their whereabouts should be known to all staff. Where travelling in areas where First Aid may not be readily available it may be necessary to provide small travelling First Aid kits.
It is not obligatory, but is certainly advised, to have some trained First Aid staff at the smallest premises. At larger premises it is specifically required. In very large premises, it may be necessary to also provide a First Aid room.
Even though First Aiders need not be present, it is necessary to have an “appointed person” available to be responsible for maintaining First Aid kits and to take charge of a medical emergency. It may also be useful for such a person also to maintain the Accident Book.
Think About…
Safety documentation is essential to demonstrate compliance with health and safety regulations.
Should you require any further information or should you wish you contact a member of the health and safety team contact us at:-
Chadderton Town Hall
Middleton Road
Chadderton
Oldham
OL9 6PP
Telephone:0161 770 4484
Fax:0161 770 4500
Email: environmentalhealth@oldham.gov.uk
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