What should my Health and Safety Policy contain?

It is a legal requirement as part of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 that you must have a policy for managing Health and Safety in place.

But what is a Health and Safety Policy?

A Health and Safety policy sets out your general approach to health and safety, and explains how you, as an employer, will manage health and safety within your business. Key to this is that it should clearly state who does what, when and how to mitigate any risks.

If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down. If you have fewer than five employees working at your organisation, you do not need to write anything down, however, our experience working across a variety of sectors including; housing, healthcare, leisure and education has told us that it is very useful to do so. You must also share the policy, and any changes that are made to it, with your employees.

What should your Health and Safety Policy contain?

The challenge that we frequently come across is that organisations have either a policy in place that they think is up to the required standard, but sadly is missing several of the key components. Or, they have not got one in place at all, as they are unsure about what it should include.

To help you, our Health and Safety Consultants have put together the three key elements that all health and safety policies must cover.

Part One: Statement of Intent

This element of the policy is where you declare your commitments to managing health and safety, and also your aims. This should also be signed by the most senior person within the company, and should be reviewed regularly – once a year at least.

Part Two: Responsibilities for Health and Safety

The responsibilities section of the policy is where you should list the names, positions and roles of the people in your business who have specific responsibility for health and safety. This will likely vary depending on how your organisation is managed, the size of it and the risks associated with each department.

Part Three: Arrangements for Health and Safety

The arrangements section is where you will provide details of the practical measures that you have in place to mitigate risks. Within this part of the policy you should also show how you are going to achieve your health and safety policy aims. For instance, this could include; explaining how to carry out risk assessments, training employees, and using safety signs and equipment.

How Pennington Choices can help…

At Pennington Choices, we have over 15 years’ of experience providing occupational health and safety services to clients of all different sizes across a range of sectors and disciplines. Our expert and qualified Health and Safety Consultants can assist not only with your Health and Safety Policy creation and planning, but we can also act as your Competent Person to ensure that you comply with The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

How can I get in touch to find out more?

If you would like to find out more about our Health and Safety Policy service or how Pennington Choices can act as your Competent Person, you can get in touch with our experts today. This can be done either via email or by calling 0800 883 0334.