Environmental Health Officers can provide information and guidance to help your business comply with health and safety requirements. This can include providing advice on writing a health and safety policy and/ or completing risk assessments.
Health & Safety Policy
Every business should have procedures in place to manage health and safety and to make sure accidents are prevented as far as is reasonably practicable. Where you employ five or more members of staff, you must, by law, write down your procedures in the form of a safety policy.
Your health and safety policy should have 3 parts as explained below:
- Part 1- Statement of intent
The statement of intent should list your company’s aim for health and safety. You, as the owner or most senior person in the company, should sign and date the statement. You should also set a review date. The statement of intent must be displayed where all employees can read it.
- Part 2- Responsibilities for health and safety
This section of the policy lists the names, positions and roles of the people within your company who have specific responsibility for health and safety
- Part 3- Arrangements for health and safety
The arrangements section gives details of the specific systems and procedures you have in place. This part of your policy should describe in details how you control the risks associated with your business activities.
Our officers can provide you with a sample safety policy or give you more advice on how to write a policy for your business. Further information is available Protect your profits”
Risk Assessments
All employers must assess the risks to the health and safety of their staff or other workplace users or visitors and if you employ five or more members of staff, you must, by law, write down the findings of this risk assessment
A Risk Assessment helps focus on the risks that really matter in the workplace- the ones with the potential to cause harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip or trailing cables are tied up or covered to reduce the risk of people falling over them.
Officers can provide advice on Risk Assessments
Guidance and examples completed risk assessments are also available from the Health and Safety Executive website.
Workplace health, safety and welfare
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues and apply to most workplaces.
The Regulations deals with requirements on issues such as ventilation, temperature, lighting, cleanliness, room dimensions, workstations and seating, floor conditions, falls or falling objects, transparent and translucent doors, gates and walls, windows, skylights and ventilators, traffic routes, escalators, sanitary conveniences and washing facilities.
For further information on the requirements of the Workplace Regulations please see the link to the Approved Code of Practice on the Workplace Regulations, https://www.hseni.gov.uk/publications/l24-workplace-health-safety-and-welfare-gb-acop-approved-use-ni.
Further details are available on:
Workplace Temperatures and Outdoor working in the Sun
Sun Safety for Outdoor Workers
Advice for Small Businesses
The Protect Your Profits booklet has been developed to provide small to medium businesses with step by step advice on how to manage health and safety and includes information on risk assessments and developing a safety policy. It should be read in conjunction with the information sheets below which give specific advice for the following types of business.
Information Sheets
Contact Details
For further information contact Health & Safety and Consumer Protection Team
📞 028 71253253
📧 [email protected]