Health and Safety Training
It is important for all employers to ensure that they are meeting their legal obligations with regard to the training of employees. However, many employers are left confused by the diverse requirements placed upon them, particularly under Health and Safety Legislation.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 it is a requirement for employers to provide such training as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees; Additionally, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to take into account capabilities, induction training and retraining. There are also requirements built into legislation such as The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 for training on specific work equipment and the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 so that employees are aware of the purpose and how to use personal protective equipment.
Any failure to provide suitable training for employees could lead to enforcement action such as Improvement notices or prosecutions and fines. Training in safe working procedures should be undertaken on a regular basis; and where appropriate ‘in-house’ training can be given. However, it is important that the training is delivered by a ‘competent’ person and is appropriate to individual responsibilities.
RIDDOR Reporting
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. They require that various types of incident are reported to the Enforcing Authorities (The Health & Safety Executive and Local Authorities).
RIDDOR specifically requires that reports are made within specific time scales and to the relevant Enforcing Authority. Previously this required an employer sending a written report to the Authority; however a report can now be dealt with by the HSE Incident Contact Centre. The quickest way to do this is to call the centre on 0845300 99 23 , reports can also be emailed or faxed to the ICC.
So what incidents must be notified?
If an incident results in any of the following outcomes it must be reported:-
• Any fatality as a result of a work related incident
• A Major injury to a person at work as a result of a work related incident. These include fractures (other than to digits), amputations, dislocations of shoulder, hip, knee or spine, burns, loss of sight (inc temporary). Injuries which lead to unconsciousness or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours are also included.
• Any accident where a person not at work (i.e. member of the public) is taken to hospital for treatment.
• A Dangerous Occurrence (an incident such as collapse of lifting equipment)
• Notification must be followed by a written report within 10 days – although the ICC can arrange this for you.
RIDDOR also has requirements to report the following incidents:-
• Any absence from work for over 3 days where the cause of the absence is a personal injury which is not a specified major injury but results in absence from normal work for more than 3 consecutive days.
• Any death of an employee which the death was as a result of a reportable accident within one year of the incident.
• Occupational diseases – only certain types of disease have to reported and this is notified to the employer through the employee’s General practitioner.
It is important to remember that not all incidents have to be reported – those involving minor injuries which require treatment from the first aid kit or those resulting in less than three days off work and near misses do not require a formal report to the Enforcing Authority. However it is best practice for an employer to ensure these are reported ‘in-house’, this enables monitoring of safety performance which will help to prevent future accidents.
Work Equipment
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations impose requirements on all employers with respect to the work equipment that they may be using. But many will ask what is ‘work equipment’? Work equipment itself is defined in the regulations as ‘any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work’. There have been many questions raised regarding the use of work equipment, to clarify work equipment is in use when there is any activity involving work equipment and includes any of the following: - starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing, modifying, maintaining, servicing and cleaning.
The regulations impose a number of requirements on employers, these include ensuring that work equipment is suitable for use, that is the equipment should only be used for the operations and under the conditions it was intended for. Employers should incorporate this thinking into their risk assessments to ensure that the correct equipment is used to reduce the potential for injury.
It is important for employers to maintain their work equipment in good condition, good record keeping of maintenance carried out is also vital. Where maintenance is carried out it is important to ensure that this is done by competent persons. Other requirements that must be adhered to include, regular inspection of equipment, provision of information and instruction and training. Employers must ensure that all people who use work equipment receive suitable and adequate training for the purposes of health and safety; they should also be made aware of any risk that may entail through use of the equipment and what precautions must be taken.
The remainder of the regulations are concerned with the equipment itself including guarding dangerous parts of machinery, controls, emergency stops, isolation, lighting etc.