Introduction

It is the policy of Activfirst, as far as reasonably practicable, to provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all employees, and to provide such information, training and supervision as is necessary for this purpose.

Activfirst also accepts responsibility for the health and safety of other persons, including visitors and contractors, who may be affected by its activities.

Policy on Health and Safety at Work
Activfirst is committed to doing all that is reasonably practicable to provide a safe and healthy place of work for all employees. This Health and Safety Policy applies to all workplaces used by the Company.

Activfirst is also committed to achieving appropriate standards of health and safety at work. The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of management; however, employees also have an important role in creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment.

Employees have a legal duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions.

Activfirst will fulfil its responsibilities by working in accordance with relevant health and safety legislation, Approved Codes of Practice and recognised good practices. This will be achieved by:
•  Providing safe systems of work and a healthy working environment
•  Ensuring employees are aware of potential hazards and associated risks
•  Providing appropriate training and instruction
•  Encouraging employees to take personal responsibility for health and safety

Activfirst has produced this Health and Safety Policy document to define responsibilities and outline the arrangements in place to ensure satisfactory standards of health and safety at work.

Risk assessments of all work activities have been undertaken in accordance with legal requirements.

Activfirst places particular emphasis on employees cooperating fully on health and safety matters and undertaking work activities in a safe manner.

Responsibilities – Introduction

The ultimate responsibility for safety and health rests with senior management. The Company Director has overall responsibility for the implementation of this Health and Safety Policy.

Each Line Manager is responsible for maintaining safe and healthy working conditions within their area of control and must report any issues that cannot be resolved immediately to the Company Director without delay.

All employees has legal responsibilities under health and safety legislation. Any concerns, suggestions or complaints relating to health and safety should be reported to the employee’s Line Manager in the first instance.

Managing Director

  • Overall responsibility for the implementation of the Health and Safety Policy and monitoring its effectiveness.
  • Liaison with other Line Managers, as necessary, to ensure that adequate resources are allocated to Health and Safety at Work.
  • To ensure that suitable and sufficient assessments of hazards and risks associated with buildings and premises are undertaken, recorded and reviewed, and that are appropriate control measures are implemented.

Line Managers

  • To ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out, recorded and reviewed.
  • To ensure employees are aware of and follow safety procedures.
  • To ensure accidents are recorded, investigated and appropriate action is taken.
  • To maintain records relating to PPE and training.
  • To monitor fire safety arrangements, including fire drills and evacuation procedures.

Safety Officer

  • To maintain and update Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for all hazardous substances.
  • To monitor and review risk assessments.
  • To carry out regular safety inspections.
  • To maintain health and safety records.
  • To ensure appropriate training is provided and recorded.
  • To act as the competent person in accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.

Employees

  • To take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others.
  • To use equipment, machinery and PPE correctly.
  • To report all accidents, hazards and unsafe conditions immediately.
  • To comply with all health and safety procedures.
  • Not to misuse or interfere with anything provided for health and safety.

Accident Reporting
All accidents, incidents and near misses must be reported to a Line Manager or the Health and Safety Officer and recorded in the accident book. Records must be accurate and complete.
All incidents will be investigated and appropriate action taken to prevent recurrence.

Where applicable, incidents will be reported in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

Fire Safety
All employees must use the occupancy notification system when on Activfirst premises. This will be used as a register to ensure all persons are accounted for during evacuation.

First Aid Section
Employees must familiarise themselves with the location of first aid equipment. All accidents must be recorded in the accident book.
Accident data will be reviewed periodically to identify trends and implement improvements.

Slips and Trips
Activfirst will:

  • Assess risks and implement control measures
  • Ensure floors are maintained in good condition
  • Provide adequate lighting
  • Keep work areas free from obstruction

Employees must:

  • Maintain tidy work areas
  • Report hazards promptly

Electrical Safety
Employees must carry out a visual check of electrical equipment before use and report any defects immediately. Faulty equipment must be removed from use without delay.

DSE
DSE are devices or equipment that have an alphanumeric or graphic display screen and includes display screens, laptops, touch screens and other similar devices.
These regulations apply to employees who use display screen equipment as a significant part of their work (typically daily for continuous periods of one hour or more). These workers are known as DSE users.  For DSE users, Activfirst will:

  • Analyse workstations to assess and reduce risks
  • Make sure controls are in place
  • Provide information and training
  • Provide eye and eyesight tests on request

Activfirst will collaborate with employees to help to manage the potential health problems associated with DSE in a practical way by:

  • helping spot the risks
  • Making sure health and safety controls are practical
  • Increasing the level of commitment to working in a healthy way

Employees will follow Display Screen Equipment Guidance Document.

If a user or a potential user requests an eye test Activfirst will provide one. If the test shows that the user needs glasses specifically for DSE work, Activfirst will pay for a basic pair of frames or lenses. Users are entitled to further tests if DSE work is considered to cause them visual fatigue and at regular intervals after the first test.

DSE assessments will be reviewed when:

  • Major changes are made to the equipment, furniture, work environment or software
  • Users change workstations
  • The nature of work tasks changes considerably
  • It is thought that the controls in place may be causing other problems

Manual Handling at Work
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, as amended in 2002 (‘the Regulations’) apply to a wide range of manual handling activities, including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying. The load may be either animate, such as a person or an animal, or inanimate, such as a box or a trolley. Activfirst will:

  • Avoid the need for hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practicable
  • Assess the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that can’t be avoided
  • Reduce the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling, so far as is reasonably practicable
  • Record risk assessment
  • Provide a safe Manual Handling Guidance Document
  • Provide aids as required from the risk assessment

Employees have duties too. They should:

  • Follow systems of work in place for their safety
  • Use equipment provided for their safety properly
  • Cooperate with their Company on health and safety matters
  • Inform their Line Manager if they identify hazardous handling activities
  • Take care to make sure their activities do not put others at risk

Lone Worker
The Company has an obligation under the Health and Safety at Work (etc.) Act 1974 (HSW Act) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSW Regulations) to provide a safe, secure environment for every employee. This includes the risk of employees working alone.
Employees should bear in mind that although it is the legal responsibility of the Company to provide safe systems of work, individuals have a responsibility to follow safe working practices. In the wider community where individuals work alone, or in small groups, they do need to remain alert to their own safety and that of their colleagues.
Lone workers are employees who work by themselves without close or direct supervision. They are found in a wide range of situations.

Although there is no general legal prohibition on working alone, the broad duties of the HSW Act and the MHSW Regulations still apply. Lone workers should not be more at risk than other employees. This may require extra risk-control measures. Precautions should take account of normal work and foreseeable emergencies, e.g. fire, equipment failure, illness and accidents.
Activfirst will assess risks associated with lone working and implement appropriate control measures. Although lone workers cannot be constantly supervised, it is still the duty of Activfirst to ensure their health and safety at work. This could be done through regular contact between the lone worker and another employee by telephone.
Activfirst will also:

  • Assess whether the workplace presents a special risk to the lone worker?
  • Provide a Lone Worker Guidance Document
  • Provide working telephones for all lone workers
  • Take action to eliminate, minimise or transfer any risk
  • Ensure that in difficult situation employees may be accompanied by another employee

Employees will:

  • Ensure they do not take unnecessary risks, adhere to the Lone Worker Guidance sheet
  • Make their Line Manager aware of any medical conditions that might have developed
  • Seek and follow advice from their Line Manager
  • Follow all lone working procedures and maintain regular communication with their Line Manager
  • Maintain a weekly online diary of all proposed visits including name and contact and actual building location of the meeting and notify your Line Manager of changes (ensuring your Line Manager has access at all times)
  • Make sure that your Company provided mobile phone is charged, in working order and set up with emergency numbers
  • Report any incidents including threats and potentially dangerous situations

If a person becomes ill, has an accident or there is an emergency a risk assessment should identify foreseeable emergencies. The Line Manager should then ensure that:

  • Emergency procedures should be established, and employees trained in them
  • Information about a dangerous situation/area should be given to lone workers
  • Employees should have access to first aid facilities
  • Mobile workers should carry a first-aid kit suitable for treating minor injuries
  • The risk assessment may indicate that lone workers need training in first aid

Stress at Work
Activfirst is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of our employees. Activfirst recognises that work-related stress is a health and safety issue and is committed to identifying and reducing workplace stressors.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities, as with any other hazard. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires an employer to take measures to control that risk.

This policy will apply to everyone in the Company. Line Managers are responsible for implementation and Activfirst is responsible for providing the necessary resources.

Definition of stress
HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them’. This makes an important distinction between pressure, which can be positive if managed correctly, and stress, which is likely to be detrimental to physical or mental health if it is prolonged. Work related stress can be tackled by working with your employer to identify issues at source and agreeing realistic and workable ways to tackle these. If the pressure is due to what your Line Manager is doing, talk to your Department Manager, or GP.

There are six main areas of work design which can affect stress levels. They are:

Demands – this includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment
Control – how much say the person has in the way they do their work
Support – this includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues
Relationships – this includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour
Role – whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles
Change – how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation

Activfirst will conduct risk assessments to identify all workplace stressors and eliminate or control the risks from stress. These risk assessments will be regularly reviewed. Activfirst will monitor the effectiveness of measures to address stress by collating sickness absence statistics. They will ensure that bullying and harassment is not tolerated within their jurisdiction, and be vigilant and offer additional support to an employee experiencing stress outside work, e.g. bereavement or separation. Where needed, Activfirst will sign post to relevant organisations for counselling.

Responsibilities
Managers will:

  • Conduct and implement recommendations of risks assessments within their area
  • Ensure good communication between management and employees, particularly where there are organisational and procedural changes
  • Ensure employees are fully trained to discharge their duties
  • Ensure employees are provided with meaningful developmental opportunities
  • Monitor workloads to ensure that people are not overloaded or underutilised
  • Discourage work-related contact with employees outside normal working hours or whilst on holiday
  • Monitor working hours and overtime to ensure that employees are not overworking; monitor holidays to ensure that employees are taking their full entitlement
  • Attend training, as requested, in good management practice and health and safety
  • Signpost to seek medical help if a concern is raised

Employees will:

  • Raise issues of concern with the Human Resources Manager or Line Manager
  • Take an active part in the process of assessing the risk, e.g. completing surveys or providing honest feedback when requested

Human Resources Manager:

  • Must be meaningfully consulted on any changes to work practices or work design that could precipitate stress
  • Must be able to consult with Employees on the issue of stress
  • Must be meaningfully involved in the risk assessment process

Visitors and Contractors on site:

  • Visitors on site are the responsibility of their host.
  • Visitors to the offices should be accompanied at all times and they remain the responsibility of their host during fire evacuation or other unusual or unplanned circumstances. Health and Safety information for visitors is displayed in the entrance to 75 St Johns Street Office.

Visits to Other Locations
From time to time, employees will be required to visit locations under the control of another employer. In these circumstances, the host employer is responsible for ensuring the safety of Company personnel.

Company employees should ensure that they are given sufficient information by the host to protect their own health and safety at host premises. Safety problems should be reported to the host so that suitable remedial action may be taken.

The Company personnel who are on host premises must obey the safety standards laid down by the host.

If the standards set down by the host are lower than normal Company standards, then the Company standards and procedures should be followed. If this gives rise to difficulties which cannot be resolved locally, then the matter should be referred to the appropriate Line Manager, for action.

Monitoring and Auditing of Health and Safety at Work
Safety standards for all work activities undertaken at the Company have been established. Appropriate Risk Assessments have been undertaken, as required by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and other legislation. To ensure this policy is kept up to date, particularly when changes in business practice, nature and size occur. We will also ensure that this policy, its arrangements and the way it has operated is reviewed annually.

Workplace Learning
The employer has the primary responsibility for the health and safety of the learner and should be managing any significant risks. As a training provider, we should take reasonable steps to satisfy ourselves that the employer is doing this.

Checks should be made to ensure the learner knows how to raise any health and safety concerns.
If the learner is an apprentice, the workplace learning will take a minimum of 366 days so we will undertake our own risk assessment of the Employer’s site which will be valid for 2 years unless any major changes are noted.

At an apprentice’s progress review, we will check to ensure the learner has a good understanding of Health & Safety and will check if they have any issues to report.
You should keep checks in proportion to the environment:
Do:

  • remember that the placement provider (employer) has primary responsibility for the health and safety of the learner and should be managing any significant risks
  • take reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that they are doing this. For employers who are new to taking learners on work experience, talk through what the learner will do and any relevant precautions. It might be helpful to make a note of your conversation
  • rely on past experience, or pooled experience, for example within the local authority area. You do not need to do it all again for a new learner where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the learner’s needs are no different to those on past placements
  • work with parents to ensure employers know in advance about learners who might be at greater risk, for example due to health conditions or learning difficulties, so they can take these properly into account
  • keep checks in proportion to the environment:

** or a low-risk environment, such as an office or shop, with everyday risks that will mostly be familiar to the learner, simply speaking with any new employer to confirm this should be enough. This can be part of the wider conversation on placement arrangements
** for environments with less familiar risks (e.g. in light assembly or leisure facilities), talk to the employer to find out what the learner will be doing and confirm the employer has arrangements for managing risks. This will need to include induction, training, supervision, site familiarisation, and any protective equipment that might be needed
** for a placement in a higher-risk environment such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing: discuss with the employer what work the learner will be doing or observing, the risks involved and how these are managed. Remember that although the placement might be in a higher-risk environment, the work the learner is doing and the surroundings they are working in may not be, for example it could be in a separate office area

  • satisfy yourself that the instruction, training and supervisory arrangements have been properly thought through
  • check that the employer understands about the specific factors relevant to employing young people (for further details see http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/law/index.htm)
  • check that learners know how to raise any health and safety concerns

Don’t:

  • repeat the process for a new learner, or visit unnecessarily, where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the learner’s needs are no different to those on past placements
  • seek additional paperwork for assurance purposes, or seek to second-guess the employer’s risk assessment or their risk control measures
  • you are unlikely to have the knowledge to evaluate the assessment as this could give the false impression that you have ‘approved’ it. Please note employers with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written assessment