Advice Pack for Smaller Firms
Sheet 2: How to use this pack
If you have not got the right policies, people and procedures in place to MANAGE health and safety, this pack will help you to get started.
LOOK AT YOUR SYSTEM
Before you start to look for hazards and review your precautions, you need to look at the system you have in place for managing health and safety on an on-going basis. This means seeing whether you have established and communicated clear safety aims objectives, allocated responsibilities to key people and set out procedures for dealing with health and safety issues. You need to be able to develop a health and safety action plan showing everyone in the business where key procedures such as risk assessment, inspection, investigation and training need to be fitted into your overall business approach. Further guidance is contained in the free HSE leaflet "Five Steps to Successful Health and Safety Management".
REVIEW WHERE YOU ARE NOW
Call a meeting of key staff to review your existing arrangements. You may not be aware that you have any procedures in place to deal with health and safety. (Its just the way we do things round here!). On the other hand you are likely to have some documentation - for example your statutory safety policy statement. Start by trying to answer the question "Where are we now?"
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE LAW!
Don’t be put off by health and safety law. Yes, there is a lot of it, but the underlying principles are actually quite straightforward. Sheet 4 "Health and Safety Law at a Glance" will give you a quick overview of some of the main requirements. Also, use the questionnaire - Sheet 5 " Health and Safety Law: How Well Are You Coping?" as a prompter.
ELIMINATE OR CONTROL RISKS
Remember, some things you have to do simply because you have set up in business and you are employing people. Most health and safety law however is about eliminating (or if you can’t do that) controlling risks. By law you have to carry out risk assessment to identify what your main problems are. Use the guide in this pack to get started. Seek professional advice where necessary to determine what legal standards apply to particular risks.
GET HOLD OF FREE INFORMATION
There is a lot of simple introductory information available (much free of charge) to help you understand your legal duties and how to meet them. You will also need to purchase some key publications. The "resource sheet" gives you guidance on where you can go for essential information and advice.
PROFESSIONAL HELP
Once you have got started you may find that you need outside professional services. (Remember, you have a legal duty to appoint or make use of the services of a "competent" person). RoSPA can help here. We can provide a range of health and safety services including a special service, ‘RoSPA Health and Safety Review’ designed specifically to meet small firms’ health and safety needs. Also, why not consider becoming an occupational member of RoSPA and joining a local RoSPA affiliated Health and Safety Group.
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