Setting Up A New Business

The exact nature of what you need to do with respect to health and safety depends on what your business does, or will do. The management of health and safety does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be proportionate to the level of risk created by your undertakings. Also, it does not need to be overly bureaucratic. It does need to be effective at protecting the health, safety and welfare of employees and of non-employees that may be affected by the operation of the business. In order to help new businesses, the HSE have proposed a ten point list of essential health and safety matters.

Register a new business

If you are setting up a new business and you will employ staff, then you must register your business with either the HSE or your local authority. Who you register with depends on the type of work you do. In essence, industrial operations need to register with the HSE and commercial operations with the local authority. If you are unsure, contact your local authority or the HSE and seek advice.

Arrange suitable Insurance

As a minimum, all businesses need to take out appropriate Employers’ Liability Insurance (ELI) and must display a copy of the certificate in the place(s) of work. Copies of the insurance certificates must be retained for 40 years (or surrendered to the HSE if you cease to trade). Suitable insurance must be arranged for all persons driving on company business (either through the company or on an individual basis).

Access to competent health and safety assistance

It is legal requirement on every business that it has access to competent health and safety advice. In many cases, this will be provided from within the company, while in others this will require external assistance, such as from a health and safety consultant.

Health and Safety Policy

All companies must have a health and safety policy. Companies with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy. As a minimum, the health and safety policy must cover three key areas:

Risk Assessments

There are many legal requirements for a company to undertake risk assessments. The principal requirement is Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. In simple terms, a risk assessment is a careful and considered examination of what a company does and how people (employees and non-employees) can be harmed. Risk Assessments also require employers to put in place suitable measures to avoid hazards where reasonable practicable and to control the risks (to as low a level as is reasonable practicable) that cannot be avoided. Risk assessments must address at premises, operational and workplace environment issues, including: fire safety; electrical safety; manual handling; machinery safety; warehouse safety; office safety; gas safety; chemical and substance related safety; etc.

Although the risk assessment needs to be recorded (for business with five or more employees), it should be remembered that risk assessment is a thought process that requires actions to ensure the health and safety of people. It is not purely a paper exercise.

You will need to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment (or arrange for one to be carried iut for you).

Welfare

The employer must provide (or arrange) for suitable welfare facilities to be made available to workers. These include:

Also, other related factors need to be considered, such as:

Training

Employers must provide employees with suitable and sufficient training in order to protect the employee, other employees and non-employees who may be affected by the operation of the business. The level and type of training will be determined by the type of work undertaken and the levels of risk involved. The need for training may be identified during the risk assessment process.

Consultation

There is a legal requirement for employers to consult with their workers on matters relating to health and safety. This means discussing health and safety with the employees and allowing them to raise concerns and influence decisions. Consultation can be done in various ways. The employers may choose to consult each employee separately. For larger organisations, it is generally more appropriate (and convenient) to consult with employees through their health and safety representatives. These representatives may be:>/p>

Display the Law Poster

All employers must either display the HSE Health and Safety Law Poster in their premises or provide each of their employees with a copy of the HSE leaflet entitled “Health and safety law: What you should know”. The Health and Safety Law Poster includes basic health and safety information and informs people as to who is responsible for health and safety in your workplace.

Report accidents and ill health

There is a legal requirement under RIDDOR for an employer to report various accidents and instances of ill health. RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. These regulations place a legal duty on employers (and self-employed people and people in control of premises) to report:

Originally, under RIDDOR, reportable and notifiable incidents needed to be reported to your enforcing authority. In most instances, this will be either the HSE or the Local Authority. This information should be filled in inside the relevant box on the Health & Safety Law Poster displayed within your premises. Reporting can now be done through the Incident Contact Centre (ICC) on 0845 300 99 23. Appropriate forms may also be downloaded from http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm and emailed to riddor@natbrit.com.

Ten point list of essential health and safety matters