Writing a Health & Safety Policy

Did you know a health and safety policy is mandatory if you have over five employees? It's also often a requirement for tenders. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to get started in writing a policy for your organisation.

Introduction

A Health & Safety Policy is intended to document how you will manage health and safety risks, as well as confirm your commitment to relevant legislation. It is mandatory for a company with over five employees to have a written policy.

As with other company policies, a Health & Safety Policy should include an action plan on how your team can ensure the policy is adhered to; making it clear who is responsible. It can also form part of your evidence in achieving OHSAS 18001 Certification.

Legal Responsibilities

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has a website with information on legal responsibilities, which include:

		Take out Employer's Liability Insurance (compulsory)
		Appoint a competent person
		Provide basic welfare facilities
		Provide free health and safety training and supervision
		Consult your workers
		Display the health and safety law poster
		Understand RIDDOR reporting procedures
		Keep up-to-date

To see your full list of responsibilities with an explanation of each, visit HSE's webpage on 'Things you must do.' You can also use the HSE website to find legislation relevant to your industry.

You may also wish to integrate Fire Safety into your Health & Safety Policy. You can find out more on your responsibilities by visiting the Fire Gateway website.

Policy Content

As with most policies, there should be a succinct introductory statement of intent, including reference to the broad responsibilities of both the organisation's management and those of employees.

Responsibilities

Once the statement of intent is complete, the next section should be on Responsibilities, covering:

		Who is responsible for the policy
		Who is responsible for health and safety
		Specific responsibilities
		Who will implement actions
		Who is responsible for training
		How the policy is monitored

It's management's responsibility to make employees aware of the Health & Safety Policy and its implications. This may necessitate simple instruction or training depending on the size and type of organisation you are.

Management must inspect and maintain all machinery, ensuring any sites open to the public or visitors are also well maintained. All insurances and certificates (such as fire safety) should also be arranged.

The section should also outline responsibilities of all employees. These would include:

		Co-operation with all health and safety matters
		Taking personal responsibility for health and safety
		The reporting of related concerns to the person responsible for health and safety

Procedures

Before formalising your health and safety procedures, you should undertake a thorough risk assessment. Depending on your organisation's activities, your procedures may include:

		Plant and Equipment
		Equipment areas
		Hazardous substances
		Noise control
		Dust control
		Fire safety
		Medical facilities
		Emergencies

Getting Started

You can use the HSE's template for a simple Health & Safety Policy whilst below there are links to a range of organisations' Health & Safety Policies to help you get started.

	> British Airways Health & Safety Policy
	> EDF Energy Health & Safety Policy
	> National Express Health & Safety Policy
	> Vodafone Health & Safety Policy

Policy Monitoring

Monitoring is something that should be set out in the policy. There should be both short and long-term objectives resulting from the creation of policy, so ensure timescales are set to review them.

The person responsible for health and safety within the organisation should keep track of work related causes of sick absence, any incidents and investigations on how to prevent a reoccurrence.

It's beneficial to organise office walkabouts to monitor any health and safety risks. This will provide an opportunity to check that employees are working in accordance to the agreed rules. By involving employees in this, it's more likely they will adhere to them.

Don't forget that you have a legal duty to consult with your employees on matters affecting their safety in the workplace. You must bring the statement of intent section of your policy to their attention and where they can read more. You can do this by incorporating health and safety issues into inductions, producing a company handbook, or posting it on your intranet.

It would be good practice to keep on top of compliance and legal requirements; which could be reviewed formally at management meetings. The HSE website also has free e-bulletins to help keep you updated.

To gain OHSAS 18001 Certification, it's mandatory to monitor the relevance and effectiveness of your Health & Safety Policy, so by developing your own, you could be well on your way to achieving independent certification!

We hope you found this guide from The British Assessment Bureau useful, helping you to create your own Health & Safety Policy.

The British Assessment Bureau reputation was established in 1965. Today, our core business is the accreditation of people, services and organisations. We certify organisations to the latest ISO management standards and design and manage bespoke accreditation schemes.

For more helpful guides and articles visit www.british-assessment.co.uk/news.htm

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