Management of Health, Safety & Welfare

Date:               October 2023

Issue:              No. 6

Subject:          Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

This document forms part of the National Ice Centre’s organisational written safety policy arrangements. 

Departments, services or teams may consider it appropriate to develop additional guidance and systems of work on specific work related activities. 

Where proposals, additional guidance or changes to systems of work will have an impact on health, safety and welfare, this will be discussed and agreed at the Health & Safety Committee.

If you have any questions or require further information or support on the contents of this document, please contact the NIC Health & Safety Advisor or Corporate Safety Advice.

The information within this Safety Policy and Arrangements provides management with the minimum standards required in order for them to understand and fulfil their statutory duties and responsibilities. 

This Safety Policy and Arrangements is based on the information and structure detailed within HS(G) 65 ‘Managing for Health & Safety’. 

The information contained within this Health & Safety Executive Guidance Documents should be considered as the basis for good practice in safety management and follows a simple, Plan, Do, Check and Act Process.

Further information on the management standards currently identified within HS(G) 65 is located within the HSG 65 extract and full document which can be accessed using the following links.

• HS(G) 65 – ‘Measuring Performance Extract’ (HSE);
• HS(G) 65 – ‘Managing for Health & Safety’ (HSE).

Managers should be aware of these standards and their relevance in compliance with safety management.

Policy Statement

The National Ice Centre’s Health, Safety and Welfare Policy statement is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains current and a copy of the policy must be displayed prominently within every workplace. 

This policy statement identifies the areas of safety responsibility for management and also considers the safety functions for other colleagues within the organisation. 

All colleagues need to be aware of the detail within the policy statement to appreciate their general roles and responsibilities.

Corporate Safety Manual – ‘Safety Policy & Arrangements

Each Safety Policy and Arrangements document within the safety manual opens with the following statement:

‘This document forms part of the National Ice Centre’s corporate written safety policy arrangements.’

As with any other policy, if the content of that policy covers you work or responsibilities, you are required to adhere with the requirements of this policy to ensure that compliance with those standards is implemented.

All colleagues are required to comply with this, however as a manager it will be your responsibility and cannot be delegated.

It is important to recognise that the information identified within this document is an overview of each manager’s responsibilities and duties. 

Further information on specific duties or technical information on the contents listed below may be found within the corporate safety manual in each of the Safety Policy and Arrangement documents.

General Responsibilities

Every colleague has a set of general health & safety responsibilities with which they are required to comply. 

This general duty is in place within their job description.

All managers must familiarise themselves with the contents of the safety manual and adhere to the relevant policies and arrangements.  

Managers must not hesitate to ask competent colleagues to assist or advise them in areas of knowledge relating to health, safety and welfare in which they themselves consider that they are not competent.  

The Corporate Safety Advice team is available to assist managers to enable them to understand and discharge their responsibilities and duties effectively.

To effectively manage health, safety and welfare within a large organisation, processes must be in place to information is effectively disseminated. 

Meetings can be a proactive way of achieving this.  

Meetings discussing health, safety and welfare within the National Ice Centre can take many different forms and include:

• The Departmental Health, Safety and Welfare meetings to discuss safety matters;
• Meetings on specific technical safety issues;

All meetings, where health, safety and welfare issues are discussed, need to be properly recorded and actions clearly identified.

Training is an absolute requirement in health, safety and welfare management and is specifically identified within the Management of Health & Safety Regulations 1999, Regulation 13.

Managers must ensure that all staff are trained appropriately and that they are competent to undertake their roles and responsibilities.

All training must be formally recorded (not just health & safety training).

There are various types of training available and may include:

• Departmental induction covering basic safety for all new colleagues.
• ‘On-the-job’ training covering the practical aspects of the working activities
• Specific training looking at health, safety and welfare issues including asbestos, fire, CoSHH etc.
• Training for managers on health, safety and welfare issues relevant to their managerial responsibilities
• Training for staff on work practices / procedures
• Safe and correct operation of certain tools and equipment

Managers need to ensure that training needs analysis is undertaken and must consider the work activities and responsibilities and should reflect discussion within the performance appraisal.

Corporate Safety Advice provide training to both managers and colleagues on a variety of subjects, including the mandatory health & safety management training.

Mandatory Training

Mandatory safety training is also a requirement of the Performance Appraisal process for all managers.

NIC have committed to ensuring all managers attend mandatory health & safety training available through local training and  the Learning Zone.

Any manager who has responsibility for any other NIC colleague, risk assessment or Premises management must complete the Management Safety E-Training sessions.

Any manager with responsibility in the risk assessment process must complete the Risk Assessment E-Session.

After 3 years, managers are required to undertake refresher training on each of the modules that still relate to their role within the organisation.

This training is supported by additional E-Training / update sessions that are also in place to further assist managers and colleagues in their understanding of management and technical safety requirements.

Competence of colleagues (not limited to safety training) must be considered during any investigation following an unplanned incident and the information within the ‘Performance Appraisal’ process should be considered as a recoverable document by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in any investigation that they may undertake.

The Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 specifically require that all risks need to be assessed. 

More detail on the risk assessment process is detailed within the safety manual and is found within the document, SPA – ‘Risk Assessment’.

Managers must undertake training on completing risk assessments. 

This training is available from Corporate Safety Advice either as a stand alone session or as one of the mandatory modules for the management of safety.

Manager’s are responsible for ensuring that risk assessments have been completed for areas / activities that are within their control.

Managers need to ensure that regular audits, inspections or monitoring of the working environment and activities take place. 

Auditing

Auditing is a management process to evidence how safety is being managed effectively against auditing criteria. 

On the completion of an audit, conclusions on the safety management and action plans can be developed with relevant time scales and who will complete those actions using defined management standards.

Inspections and Monitoring

Managers should carry out regular health and safety monitoring inspections of the operations for which they are responsible and use a standard pro forma to record the inspection.

Inspections may include general inspections of the workplace or consider systematic sampling of hazardous activities.  Inspection can also be completed following an unplanned incident or near miss.

An effective monitoring system enables managers to measure performance and check policies, procedures, risk assessment and training is being followed.

Timescales

Any documented audits, inspections or associated process must be retained for a period of at least 3 years. 

In certain circumstances where a statutory requirement exists this time period may be greater. 

Managers must ensure that all incidents are investigated fully and recorded in line with the contents of the SPA – ‘Accident, Near Miss and Work Related Ill Health‘

Managers must ensure that any incident that falls within the RIDDOR categories are investigated fully and reported to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

Further information on RIDDOR is available within the SPA – ‘Reporting Injuries, Diseases & Dangerous Occurrences’

Managers are required to ensure procedures are in place to deal with emergencies. 

These procedures may take the form of written documents or signage.

Where emergency procedures have been developed, managers are required to communicate this information effectively to all colleagues so each person is aware of their own responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

Additional support may be required for colleagues who require additional support to evacuate in the event of an emergency will need to complete a PEEP. 

It is the responsibility of that colleague’s manager to complete this document with support from the person requiring the additional support.

Further information on PEEPs is available from the Safety Manual within the SPA  – ‘Fire Safety‘ section

Managers need to refer to the Safety Manual and any associated Safety Policy and Arrangements for a list of required controls, maintenance schedules, inspection regimes and testing arrangements.

Managers need to ensure compliance with any arrangements detailed within the Safety Manual

Health, safety and welfare is based within a legal framework and a majority of the information on the statutory requirements is detailed within Safety Manual in the ‘Safety Policy and Arrangements’ within the safety manual will identify how the National Ice Centre will meet its statutory legal responsibilities and duties.

As a manager, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that you comply with the specific requirements identified within each ‘Safety Policy and Arrangements’ in the Safety Manual.

Ignorance of corporate policy and statutory requirements is no defense in safety law. 

Health & safety legislation is written in such a way that all organizations are required to demonstrate compliance with the agreed corporate standards and where applicable, guidance from manufacturers and suppliers.