THE HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

A PRACTICAL GUIDE
It is a requirement under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 that the
employer prepares a written statement of the companys intention to protect the health, safety
and welfare of its employees, together with the company safety organisation and
arrangements for its implementation.
The statement should state concisely what general action plan the company has in place for
ensuring the health and safety of its employees. Reference may be made to legislation,
employee co-operation, communications, disciplinary actions etc signed and dated by the
employer and regularly reviewed.
The organisation shows who is responsible for putting the policy into practice and the levels of
responsibility within the company. The employer is ultimately responsible, they may however
delegate duties to managers and supervisors. These delegated responsibilities should be
shown in the form of a diagrammatic tree plan. This should be supplemented with a written
description of each posts duties.
The most important part of the policy is the arrangements for ensuring health and safety
within the workplace. These are the working documents by which your employees must
abide. It should cover the full range of work activities carried out at the premises and include
the following (where appropriate) in the form of fully documented procedures, associated
information including brief reference to legislation and guidance notes:(1)

A brief summary of the health and safety legislation.

(2)

The powers of the enforcement agencies and how to deal with a visit.

(3)

Emergency procedures: Evacuation

Fire

(4)

(5)

(6)

Accident and first aid: Accident procedures

First aid facilities
Accident reporting
Electricity: Portable electrical equipment
Maintenance
Inspection
Electrical installation
Gas: Maintenance
Inspection
Emergency procedures

(7)

Office safety.

(8)

Warehouse safety: Storage instructions

Locations of goods

(9)

Transport safety: On site

Off site
Fork lift safety
Drivers licences

Other major incidents

Emergency services liaison
Accident investigation
First aiders etc

Defect reporting
Permits to work etc

Permits to work/repairs
Defect reporting etc

Capacity of racking, weight limits

Defect reporting
Insurance inspections
Maintenance reports
Daily checks

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(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)
(14)

Personal protective equipment: Issue

Inspection
Storage

Maintenance
Defect reporting etc

Mechanical safety: Guidance notes/technical data

Maintenance
Inspection
Guarding

Defect reporting
Statutory engineer reports
Permits to work/repairs etc

Noise control: Guidance

Assessment

Personal protective equipment

Noise control procedures/zones

Manual handling: Guidance

Assessments

Training: Forklifts
Cranes/hoists
Machinery
Warehouse
Fire

Transport
First aid
Violence
Manual handling etc

(15)

Disciplinary procedure

(16)

Employee liaison/communications

(17)

Contractor liaison procedures/visitors and public liaison procedures

(18)

Risk assessments: Manual handling

Visual display units
Noise
General hazards

Asbestos
Lead
Safety

(19)

Hazardous substances risk assessments (COSHH) plus other assessments, if

applicable, e.g. DSE, manual handling etc

(20)

Safe systems of work

(21)

Induction procedure, temporary/agency workers

(22)

Working Time Regulations

The policy when finished must be reviewed periodically and must be brought to the attention
of all employees. It must be readily available at all times. The document must be signed and
dated by the person ultimately in charge of the company. It is important to remember that
the policy is a working document. It will probably become quite lengthy and so it may be
advisable to produce a short safety booklet to disseminate the information contained to the
employees subject to review as appropriate.
It is important to remember that the policy in itself does not ensure compliance with the law.
It is necessary to inform, train and organise staff and carry out checks to ensure that agreed
safety arrangements are being adhered to.
For further advice please contact Environmental Health Division, Walsall MBC, Challenge
Building, Hatherton Road, Walsall, WS1 1YG. Tel: 01922 652217.

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