Should safety training be a requirement for directors, managers and supervisors?

Promotion is a natural progression through a company, but what does it mean for safety training?

It is easy to overlook the basics, such as safety training, when making decisions with regard to promotion by thinking that someone has been doing their job for a period of time and therefore knows what is required at the next level

It is not always as simple as that, as progression often means taking on more responsibility and being accountable.

So, what does the Law say, and what should we be doing?

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The law says that every business must have a policy for managing health and safety.

A health and safety policy sets out your general approach to health and safety. It explains how you, as an employer, will manage health and safety in your business. It should clearly say who does what, when and how.

Your policy should cover three areas:

Part 1: Statement of intent

State your general policy on health and safety at work, including your commitment to managing health and safety and your aims. As the employer or most senior person in the company, you should sign it and review it regularly.

Part 2: Responsibilities for health and safety

List the names, positions, and roles of the people in your business who have specific responsibilities for health and safety.

Part 3: Arrangements for health and safety

Give details of the practical arrangements you have in place, showing how you will achieve your health and safety policy aims.

The law says that all workers must be adequately trained and competent to carry out their jobs.

What is competence?

‘Competence is the ability for every director, manager and worker to recognise the risks in operational activities and then apply the right measures to control and manage those risks,” explained Judith Hackitt, HSE’s chair.

Competence can be described as the combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge that a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely.

As an employer, you should take into account the competence of relevant employees when you are conducting your risk assessments.

Competence in Health and safety should be seen as an important component of workplace activities, not as an add-on or afterthought.

Responsibilities for health and safety

Why leadership is important?

Effective health and safety performance comes from the top; members of the board have both collective and individual responsibility for health and safety. Directors and boards need to examine their own behaviours, both individually and collectively, against the guidance given – and where they see that they fall short of the standards it sets them, to change what they do to become more effective leaders in health and safety.

Why health and safety training is important

The purpose of training is to ensure that your employees have the knowledge and experience to undertake their tasks effectively, creating,

• a positive health and safety culture;
• raise awareness of the importance of health and safety training;
• explore roles, responsibilities and the ways in which people’s actions affect the health and safety of others;
• understand the risk assessment process; and
• explore ways of managing health and safety improvements.

Training requirements

The Law say that suitable training needs to be given to all employees, including senior management. Listed below are some recognised Health and Safety Courses:

IOSH                Safety for Executives and Directors

IOSH                Managing Safely

IOSH                Leading Safely

IOSH                Working Safely

CITB                 Health and Safety for Directors

CITB                 SMSTS Site Manager Safety Training Scheme

CITB                 SSSTS Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme

CITB                 Health and Safety Awareness

Mark James

Joint Managing Director

Britannia Safety & Training

07500 832842

sales@britanniaits.com