What are your accident / incident responsibilities as a Health & Safety Manager?
As the primary person responsible for the safety of your workforce, your primary goal as a Health and Safety professional is the safety of your people. Providing the workforce with a safe environment in which to carry out their roles and duties.
Key to these requirements, is reporting and taking action when an accident, incident or near miss occurs in the workplace that involves employees, contractors or members of the public visiting the company’s premise. It also includes monitoring safety, preventing and reducing risk, carry out risk assessments, raising the profile of any incidents and unsafe practices to employees, and adhering to the law.
Is it a legal requirement to have an accident / incident policy for a workplace?
No matter how minor an incident or accident is, they should all be reported by your company, and where appropriate in an accident book, which is a mandatory legal requirement. Serious incidents should also be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as required under legislative requirements, RIDDOR (as below).
What should be included in an accident / incident policy for a professional organisation?
Your accident and incident policy should include the following;
A definition of applicable terms as interpreted and applied by your organisation, typically including: Incident, Accident, Near Miss etc.
A general statement informing what the policy covers and what procedures should be adopted in the event of an accident, incident or near miss occurring.
An outline of the procedure, and how you intend to manage accident and incidents in the workplace. This will include; an Accident Book or other reporting formats, that records incidents, investigation arrangements, and how information is analysed for trends. These records should be reviewed regularly by the senior management team.
The policy should also outline reporting responsibilities under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), and should include reporting procedures for people in the workplace who encounter an incident and accident, outlining how to escalate to the senior management team and H&S manager, and how reports to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) shall be made.
Your policy should be reviewed regularly as part of its monitoring of safety and risk assessment.
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