4. Meet The Current Regulations For Health And Safety

Health and Safety Basics

The Health and Safety at Work ( Northern Ireland) Order lays down general guidelines for health and safety in the workplace, it requires every business to conduct a risk assessment.

Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility, employers and employees must ensure that the premises, equipment and work environment is safe – this applies to self-employed people and those who work at home! The law requires you to ensure that your premises are safe for you, your employees, visitors, customers, contractors and to some degree, even trespassers!

You must undertake an assessment of the risks associated with your work environment and activities, and depending on the results of that assessment, take steps to minimise the risks identified.

It is compulsory to provide suitable First Aid facilities for employees, and staff should all be made aware as to the location of first aid boxes, and someone should be responsible for restocking them. You, or someone appointed by you, must take responsibility for Health and Safety, calling an ambulance when required etc. You do not need to have a staff member trained as a First Aider unless you have 50 or more employees or your Risk Assessment highlights that need.

Registration

Certain types of business must register with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland or their local authority. As a general rule of thumb, the following types of business are required to register:

• If you have any employees or if the public has access to any part of your premises you will probably be required to register.
• If you have employees in a shop, office, catering or leisure/care facility, you will have to register with the local environmental health department.
• Engineering workshops, car-repair centres, nursing homes, manufacturing factories and agriculture based businesses must register with HSENI.

You must ensure that you are registered with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland or your local authority if required.

Contact HSENI on 0800 0320 121 or visit: www.hseni.gov.uk to check your responsibilities if you are unsure.

Minimum Workplace Standards

There are certain regulations in place to ensure that everyone has a safe and comfortable work environment. These include the following:

• Toilet Facilities – these can be mixed facilities so long as they are enclosed, clean working and lockable from the inside.
• Hot and cold water, soap and towels or a hand dryer must be available.
• Bottled or mains drinking water should be available.
• Work areas should be regularly cleaned and waste removed
• Individuals should have sufficient space (at least 11 cubic metres per person) and a sufficiently well ventilated area in order to work comfortably (temperatures should be a minimum of 16C in a seated work environment and a minimum of 13C if in an active work environment).

Further information is available from: The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland – www.hseni.gov.uk/info-guide.cfm

 Fire

Your premises will need to meet fire safety standards; you will have to consider escape routes, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, emergency lighting, safe storage of any flammable materials, fire doors, fire escapes etc. All businesses are required to undertake a Fire- Risk Assessment to see what dangers a potential fire can pose, assess the likely risks and take measures to minimise those risks, called control measures. The local fire safety officer can provide you with more detailed information and advice.

Currently some types of businesses also require a fire certificate, this requirement is due to be abolished in a few years and the law will require every business (regardless of size0 to prove they have Fire Risk Assessment and Control procedures in place. In the meantime, you will require a Fire Certificate if:

• You employ more than 20 people or if 10 or more staff work above or below the ground floor.
• More than one business operates in the same building and in total, there are twenty (or more) employees or more than ten employees work above or below the ground floor.
• You store hazardous substances on your premises.
• You run a hotel or guesthouse where six or more people can sleep or with any sleeping accommodation above the first floor or below the ground floor.
• You run a betting, gaming or amusement business or a leisure premises (unless it is only for swimming).

To learn more about Fire Risk assessments and your legal responsibilities, contact your local Fire Safety Officer or read, “Fire Safety: An Employer’s Guide” which you can obtain from: www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/fire/index.htm

Protecting Your Employees

You have a legal duty of care towards your employees; you must try to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that they can do their work in a safe environment using safe equipment. Employers must therefore undertake certain activities (depending on their sector) to minimise risks for employees, these include:

• Regularly inspect and maintain all working equipment to ensure it complies with safety regulations (you may have to keep certificates to prove that certain machinery or equipment has been tested.)
• Employees are entitled to be provided with protective equipment for their personal safety, it is the employers responsibility to ensure that protective clothing and equipment is maintained to high standards and disposed of when no longer suitable! Depending on the job and work environment items in this category could include: goggles, gloves, breathing apparatus, hard hats, safety boots or ear-muffs as examples.
• Staff should be made aware of potential hazards and should be informed if they are to be working with any hazardous substances during the course of their work. Staff should also be trained in relation to the correct handling procedures and control measures in place that have been designed to minimise these risks.
• Employees using computers are entitled to have regular eye tests paid for by their employers. You must also ensure that the monitor (VDU) clearly displays characters with no flickering, that the monitor, keyboard and chair height and back support are all flexible to allow the employee to adopt a comfortable working position and avoid fatigue in the arms or hands.

 Accident Book

Despite the best efforts of many employers and employees, accidents do still happen. When an accident does occur in the workplace, businesses are required to keep specific records according to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

An “Accident Book” should be kept in each workplace, when any serious injury, disease or dangerous incidents occur the relevant details should be recorded in the book. Those relevant details include: date, time, details of accident, injured person’s name, any witnesses to the accident, any treatment required/provided (e.g. was First Aid administered or an ambulance called.)

Near misses should also be recorded as these provide valuable preventative information i.e. when you conduct a risk assessment you can refer to near misses and see potential hazards and risks that need to be addressed in your workplace! Employees must be allowed access to the accident book, employers should not refuse to allow an incident to be recorded!

Some incidents need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, or other relevant local authority, such as:

• An accident that causes someone to be off work for more than three days
• Deaths or major injuries
• Specified Work-related diseases
• Certain dangerous occurrences

For further information contact the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) 0800 0320 121 or visit: www.hseni.gov.uk/pdfs/riddor.pdf

 

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