Health & Safety

By law your organisation must have a written health and safety policy if you employ five or more people. (Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978 section 2 (3))

Your policy should contain:

• a statement of general policy on health and safety at work;
• the organisation and arrangements in place for putting that policy into practice;
• a risk assessment of health and safety risks arising from your work - what are they, what action is needed to remove or control hazards, who is responsible for carrying out the action.

District Councils and the Health and Safety Executive are both involved in improving health and safety but within different sectors. For example District Councils are involved in service sector businesses and offices and the Health and Safety Executive are involved with manufacturing and construction.

The Health and Safety Executive has a free leaflet called 'An Introduction to Health and Safety: Health and Safety in Small Businesses' which contains guidance on preparing a health and safety policy document.

NICVA has an advice note on Risk Assessment which provides information on how to carry out a risk assessment.

Belfast City Council provides a guide to managing health and safety for small businesses including information on risk assessment and writing a safety policy. You can download a blank risk assessment form here.

The Health and Safety Commission (Great Britain) produces guidance for management committees of voluntary organisations and board members in the public and private sector. They list five main action points:

1. Management committees should accept formally and publically a collective role in providing health and safety leadership in their organisations.
   
2. Ensure each member of the management committee accepts his/her individual role in providing health and safety leadership for the organisation.
   
3. Ensure that all management committee decisions reflect health and safety intentions as articulated in the organisation's health and safety policy.
   
4. Recognise the management committee's in the act of engaging the active participation of staff and improving health and safety.
   
5. Ensure that the management committee, is kept informed of, and alert to the relevant health and safety risk management issues. A member of the management committee should be designated health and safety director for this purpose.

Health & Safety Commission 2001 Director's Responsibilities for Health and Safety.