Health and safety guide

3. Health and safety - manager responsibilities

Under health and safety legislation all employees have responsibilities for ensuring their own health and safety at work and for the safety of others.

As a manager you have a greater responsibility to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of your employees and other persons who may be affected by the work activities of the Council.

• Directors, service heads and managers are responsible for ensuring that day-to-day health and safety matters are addressed within their directorate. They don’t necessarily have to complete the tasks themselves but they must ensure that any action required is completed by a competent person.
• Managers at all levels have specific health and safety responsibilities, and more information on these responsibilities can be found in the corporate health and safety policy (PDF, 118KB).

The corporate Health and Safety team can provide help, advice and guidance to managers on dealing with health and safety concerns and implementing the Council’s health and safety policies.

Documents and forms for managers

The corporate Health and Safety team has produced the following documents:

• Policies and Guidance documents on key health and safety topics
• Template forms and worked examples to help managers when completing risk assessments

Advice can also be taken from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who produce and publish guidance on health and safety matters.

Managers should make sure that:

• Risk assessments are completed for work activities which involve significant health and safety risk, reviewed as necessary and communicated to employees.
• First aid provision for employees is adequate and that the names of first aiders and first aid box locations are displayed
• Fire evacuation arrangements are in place and communicated to employees
• Accident reporting and recording systems are in place locally and employees understand how to report an incident
• Relevant training, instruction and information on health and safety matters is given to employees which is in-line with their work activities
• Inspections are undertaken of all work areas, buildings and premises under your control or in which your employees work

Manager should also:

• Attend council health and safety forums and sub forums and ensure that relevant information from these meetings is communicated back to employees
• Monitor health and safety systems and procedures and set targets to improve health and safety performance as part of the business planning process
• Monitor employees emotional wellbeing during one-to-one meetings and raise any concerns with the Human Resources team
• Ensure that employees are informed about corporate and directorate health and safety policies and understand their responsibilities for health and safety