Health and Safety policy

Health and Safety Policy

 

Purpose of policy

 

  1. Justice for Tenants (the Employer) takes health and safety issues seriously and is committed to protecting the health and safety of its staff and all those affected by its business activities and attending its premises. This policy is intended to help the Employer achieve this by clarifying who is responsible for health and safety matters and what those responsibilities are. 
  2. This is a statement of policy only and does not form part of your contract of employment. This policy may be amended at any time by the Employer in its absolute discretion. The Employer will review this policy at regular intervals to ensure that it is achieving its aim effectively. 

 

Who is responsible for workplace health and safety?

 

  • Achieving a healthy and safe workplace is a collective task shared between Employer and staff. This policy and the rules contained in it apply to all staff of the Employer, irrespective of seniority, tenure and working hours, including all employees, directors and officers, consultants and contractors, casual or agency staff, trainees, homeworkers and fixed-term staff are set out in the section headed “Responsibilities of all staff” below.

 

Employers responsibilities

 

  • The Employer is responsible for: 
  1. Taking reasonable steps to safeguard the health and safety of the staff, people affected by the Employer’s business activities and of people visiting its premises;
  2. Identifying health and safety risks and finding ways to manage and overcome them;
  3. Providing a safe and healthy place of work and safe entry and exit arrangements, including during an emergency situation; 
  4. Providing and maintaining safe working areas, equipment and systems and, where necessary, appropriate protective clothing
  5. Providing safe arrangements for the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
  6. Providing adequate information, instruction, training and supervision to enable all staff to do their work safely, to avoid hazards and to contribute positively to their own health and safety at work. The Employer will give you the opportunity to ask questions and advise who best to contact in respect of those questions, if you are unsure about how to safely carry out your work;
  7. Ensuring any health and safety representative receive appropriate training to carry out their functions effectively;
  8. Providing a health and safety induction and appropriate training to carry out their functions;
  9. Promoting effective communication and consultation between Employer and staff concerning health and safety matters and will consult with staff directly relating to health and safety;
  10. Regularly monitoring and reviewing the management of health and safety, making any necessary changes and bringing those to the attention of all staff. 

 

  • The board of directors of the Employer has overall responsibility for health and safety and has appointed the Directors as the Principal health and safety officer with day-to-day responsibility for health and safety matters. 
  • Any concerns about health and safety matters should be notified to the Directors. 

 

Responsibilities of all staff

 

  • All staff must:
  1. Take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions;
  2. Co-operate with the principal health and safety officer and the Employer generally to enable compliance with health and safety duties and responsibilities;
  3. Comply with any health and safety instructions and rules, including instructions on the safe use of equipments;
  4. Keep health and safety issues in the front of their minds and take personal responsibility for the health and safety implications of their own acts and omissions;
  5. Keep the workplace tidy and hazard free
  6. Repost all health and safety concerns to the Principal health and safety officer promptly, including any potential risk, hazard or malfunction of equipment, however minor or trivial it may seems; and
  7. Co-operate in the Employer’s investigation of any incident or accident which either has led to injury or which could have led to injury, in the Employer’s opinion. 

 

Staff responsibilities relating to equipment

 

  • All staff must:
  1. Use equipment as directed by any instructions
  2. Report any fault with, damage to or concern about any equipment (including health and safety equipment) or its use to the principal health and safety officer;
  3. Ensure that health and safety equipment is not interfered with; and
  4. Not attempt to repair equipment unless suitably trained and authorised

 

Staff responsibilities relating to accidents and first aid

 

  • All staff must:

 

  1. Promptly report any accident at work involving personal injury, however trivial, to the principal health and safety officer so that details can be recorded;
  2. Familiarise themselves with the details of the first aid facilities and trained first aiders, which are available from the principal health and safety officer;
  3. If an accident occurs, contact reception or dial 999 (or 111) as deemed appropriate;
  4. The Principal health and safety officer is responsible for investigating any injuries or work-related disease, preparing and keeping accident records, and for submitting reports under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, where required

 

Staff responsibilities relating to national health alerts

 

  • If an epidemic or pandemic alert is issued, all staff must comply and co-operate with all instructions, arrangements and advice issued by the Employer as to the organisation of business operations and steps to be taken by staff to minimise the risk of infection

 

Staff responsibilities relating to emergency evacuation and fire

 

  • All staff must:
  1. Familiarise themselves with the instructions about what to do if there is a fire (available from Reception)
  2. Ensure they are aware of the location of fire extinguishers, fire exits and alternative ways of leaving the building
  3. Comply with the instructions of the Fire warden
  4. Co-operate in fire drills
  5. Ensure that fire exits or fire notices signs are not obstructed or hidden at any time
  6. Notify the Organisation immediately of any circumstances which might hinder or delay evacuation in a fire

 

  • On discovering a fire, all staff must:
  1. Immediately trigger the nearest fire alarm and, if time permits, call reception and notify the location of the fire; and 
  2. Attempt to tackle the fire only if they have been trained or otherwise feel competent to do so. 
  1. On hearing the fire alarm, all staff must:
  1. Remain calm and immediately evacuate the building walking quickly with running, following any instructions of the fire wardens;
  2. Leave without stopping to collect personal belongings
  3. Stay out of any lifts; and
  4. Remain out of the building until notified by a fire warden that it is safe to re-enter

 

The Principal health and safety officer is responsible for ensuring fire risk assessments take place and changes made where required, and for making sure there are regular checks of fire extinguishers, fire alarms, escape routes and signage. 

 

Risk assessments, display screen equipment and manual handling

 

  • Risk assessments are simply a careful examination of what in the workplace could cause harm to people. The Employer will assess any risk and consider measures to best minimise any risk. 
  • Staff who use a computer for prolonged periods of times should try, where possible to organise short breaks every few hours away from the computer screen.
  • Guidance on manual handling can be obtained from the principal health and safety officer and where necessary training will be provided by the Employer.

 

Non-compliance with health and safety rules

 

  • Any breach of health and safety rules or failure to comply with this policy will be taken very seriously and is likely to result in disciplinary action against the offender by the Employer. 

 

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