How can we help?
This is a good place to start if you don't know what your legal obligations are as an employer, or if you want to find out a bit more about the benefits of training your staff.
If you require more detailed help then we provide a number of
consultancy
services designed to meet the specific needs of your business or organisation -
click here to find out more - or see below for some of
the answers to more commonly asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need a health and safety policy?
- What are risk assessments and do I need to do them?
- Are there any recent changes in health and safety legislation that I should be aware of (includes advice on October 2009 changes)?
- What duties do I have to train my staff?
- How Long Does the First Aid at Work Certificate Last For?
- Why bother?
Do I need a health and safety policy?
The Health and Safety at Work Act imposes a duty on every employer of five or
more persons to prepare and bring to the notice of employees a written statement
of general policy with respect to their health and safety at work.
Policies should be written and then signed and dated by a director or owner. A
typical health and safety policy would include: -
• A general statement of intent
• How people and their duties are organised
• Health and safety arrangements
• Appendices on specific aspects of health and safety where necessary
All such policies must be ‘living’ documents and must be reviewed and updated
from time to time or as and when required by law.
What are risk assessments and do I need to do them?
Probably, most organisations do nowadays. Depending on the nature of your
business how you assess risk and how its recorded will vary considerably. As a
starter try the links below from the Health and Safety Executives Website: -
>
A guide to the risk assessment requirements
>
Five steps to risk assessment
Are there any recent changes in health and safety legislation that I should be
aware of?
Health and safety legislation is reviewed, changed and updated on a regular
basis. You will find useful information on the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk and
also in your professional journals. Furthermore the HSE or your local
Environmental Health Department can provide useful information.
You can also
contact us.
Update October 2009As a result of a review of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, the Health and Safety Executive is bringing about changes to the requirements for provision of first aid in the workplace. The date for implementation of these changes is 1st October 2009. Click here to view our PDF document explaining the First Aid at Work October 2009 changes, their implications for employers and how Acorn is revising it's training to reflect the changes (updated March 2010).
What duties do I have to train my staff?
Several pieces of legislation refer to the training of staff, in particular the
Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations. Risk assessment plays an essential role in identifying training and
development needs.
Typically an organisation may need to consider
- first aid
- fire
- general health and safety
- manual handling
- display screen equipment
- other specialist areas
Many organisations select to provide their training in-house, however there is
often a need to buy in training from external sources to compliment this. This
is where we can help.
How Long Does the First Aid at Work Certificate Last For?
HSE Requalification and Certification Policy
1. Certificate Extensions (‘dispensations’)
Employers have the responsibility to ensure that first aiders with a current 3
year First Aid at Work certificate attend a requalification course within the 3
month period prior to the certificate expiry date.
However, where this has not been possible, HSE will allow an extension of the
original First Aid at Work certificate for 28 days beyond the expiry date,
within which a requalification course should be undertaken.
There is no need to contact HSE to request this extension.
During the extension period, HSE will continue to recognise the FAW
qualification and the first aider will continue to be a suitable person that the
employer can use for the purpose of providing first aid to employees.
Any first aider who is not able to undertake a requalification course up to a
maximum of 28 days after the expiry date of their 3 year certificate will be
required to retake a full 4 day FAW course.
Anyone requalifying within a period of certificate extension will have their new
certificate dated from the expiry date of the previous one, ie backdated.
This has been in effect since 1 June 2006
Occasionally customers still ask why bother with policies, training staff, risk
assessment and generally investing in safety. Perhaps a few considerations: -
- it’s the law (you can be fined and imprisoned for non compliance)
- staff that feel safe, valued and invested in, often give a little more
leading to better productivity and less ‘down time’
- quality assurance
- public image - we only hear about the companies that get it wrong
- customer expectation - getting ahead in the tendering process
- It can save you money. Accidents, sickness absence, recruiting and training
costs can all add up
Useful Links
The following is a list of contacts for organisations, who provide a variety of information and support on a broad range of topics.
Health and Safety Executive - www.hse.gov.uk
ROSPA - www.rospa.com
National Back Exchange -
www.nationalbackexchange.org.uk
Resuscitation Council (UK) -
www.resus.org.uk
Backcare - www.backpain.org
British Heart Foundation -
www.bhf.org.uk
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance