Section 14: Health and Safety

14.1 Health and safety policy

The Board accepts its moral duty (which is also a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (its subsequent revisions and addenda) to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees as well as its duty to persons other than employees (e.g. visitors). To meet its statutory responsibilities the Board will ensure safety and absence of risks to health in the following:

systems of work;
use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
place of work including the provision and maintenance of means of access and egress;
working environment, including welfare facilities/arrangements.

The Act also lays duties upon all employees to take reasonable care for their own health and safety, and that of others, and to assist the Board in fulfilling its statutory duties.

To that end all employees should:

be constantly on the lookout for safety hazards and alert to possible accident causes;
understand the importance of reporting immediately to the Line Manager the discovery any faults in furniture, equipment and machinery, including electric wiring or plugs;
report in writing to the Health and Safety Representative any matter of concern within the area of health and safety.

Smoking is not permitted inside any diocesan office.

1 General

The Board is concerned for the health, safety and welfare of its employees at work and will observe the terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (the Act) and other allied legislation, the terms of any regulations made under it. The Board will keep under review any measures that may, from time to time, become necessary in order to ensure the health and safety of all employees and other persons using the Board’s premises.

The CEO will be responsible for the implementation of all general policy. (S)he will rely heavily on the co-operation of all employees to act responsibly and to do everything possible to prevent injury to themselves and to fellow employees.

2 Health

The Board will, so far as it is reasonably practicable, provide suitable facilities and arrangements for the welfare of all staff and to provide and maintain the premises and systems of work which would not involve risks to health. Such information, instruction, training and supervision will be given as is reasonably practicable and necessary to safeguard the health of employees at work.

3 Safety

It is the Board’s policy to ensure that all machinery and equipment in its buildings operate safely and that adequate information, instruction, training and supervision in its use has been provided, where necessary, for the safety of all employees.

Any defect in such machinery or equipment should be reported at once to your immediate Line manager.

4 Premises

It is the Board’s policy to see that offices are maintained in a safe condition, that they are without risk to health and that safe means of access and egress are provided for the use of all employees, visitors, and callers at the offices. For this purpose, the office buildings are periodically inspected and maintenance work carried out.

Employees should maintain the premises in a state of tidiness in order to minimise the risk of accident or damage to the furniture, machinery or equipment. In particular, telephone or electrical wires must not run across open areas of floor.

Any signs of deterioration, internal or external, which could prove hazardous, should be brought to the immediate attention of the Office Services Manager.

5 Duties of employees

The Act imposes obligations on employees as well as employers.

The following summaries of the provisions of Section 7 and 8 should be noted:

It is the duty of every employee whilst at work, to take reasonable care of him/herself and of the other persons who may be affected by his/her acts or commissions at work, and to co-operate with his/her employer or anyone else concerned to ensure that their obligations under the Act are performed or complied with.
With regard to any duty or requirement imposed on the Board or any other persons by or under the relevant statutory provisions, employees must co-operate with the Board so far as is necessary to enable the Board’s duties or requirements to be performed or compiled with.
No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interest of health, safety or welfare pursuant to the terms of the Act or any subsequent regulation.

6 Organisation

The Office Services Manager has been appointed by the CEO to monitor the implementation of the Policy. (S)he will bring any discrepancies to the CEO’s attention and arrange for them to be resolved in conjunction with the Property Director. If any problems are noticed between inspections, the Office Services Manager should be notified immediately.

7 Arrangements

a) Fire Instructions

In line with the provisions of The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 and its subsequent revisions, fire- fighting equipment fire detectors and alarms are installed in the offices on the advice and approval of the Fire Authority.

i.Your office is supplied with both water and carbon dioxide fire extinguishers in office areas and on stair wells; Emergency lighting is in place which would activate in the event of a power failure.

ii.At the close of business, all electrical equipment must be turned off, the plugs removed from the sockets and the power points disconnected except for those machines which are to remain operative.

iii.Loose paper must not be left on the surfaces of desks but stored in drawers or filing cabinets where possible.

iv.Employees must ensure that all fire doors are closed at all times.

v.Emergency exits must be kept clear from obstruction and ready for use at all times.

vi.No paper or other flammable or combustible material is to be stored on landings.

vii.In the event of fire, operate the nearest fire alarm immediately.

do not take risks:
always put your own safety and that of others first
do not attempt to fight the fire yourself

On hearing the Fire Alarm, a continuous, high intensity, variable electronic sound, the following action must be taken:

An appointed person will call the Fire Brigade immediately and then leave the building taking the attendance name board and the visitors record book;
Close all doors as you leave your area, and encourage others to leave promptly;
Leave the building as quickly as possible but at a steady pace, taking particular care on the stairs. If you have visitors, accompany them to the nearest exit.
Do not try to salvage documents or equipment (this reduces escape time)
Unless immediately to hand by your workplace, do not attempt to collect handbags, briefcases or coats or other personal belongings.
Remain at the assembly point on the car park until the Fire Officer in charge gives permission to re-enter the building.

b) First Aid

i.First aid boxes are kept in both diocesan diocesans containing dressings etc for treating minor injuries.

ii.In the event of illness, injury or accident at work assistance should also be sought initially from the designated First Aid representatives who will make a decision about what other help is required. If the incident is obviously extremely urgent, however, an ambulance should be summoned immediately.

iii.In accordance with the Health and Safety at Work (First Aid at Work) Regulation injuries or accidents, no matter how trivial they may seem, must be recorded in the Accident Book.

iv.The nearest hospital to the diocesan diocesans with an accident and emergency department is:

Queen’s Hospital
Belvedere Road
Burton-on-Trent
DE13 0RB

Tel: 01283 566333

There is also a Minor Injuries department at:

Samuel Johnson Community Hospital
Trent Valley Road
Lichfield
WS13 6EF

Tel: 01543 412900

c) Training

Health and Safety training will be provided for all employees as and when necessary. There will be regular fire drills.

8 Health and safety and machinery and equipment

Machinery and equipment must only be operated by trained people with all safety guards and safety devices in place and operational. Faulty or failed safety guards and devices should be notified immediately to your Line Manager, and the equipment made inoperative until the failure is resolved.
Computer users should ensure that their work space is set up so as to avoid having to sit awkwardly or make unnecessary head movements; operators' chairs should be adjusted to the correct height so that the ideally the monitor screen is around eye- level. Try to change your eye focus by looking away from the monitor screen occasionally to relax the muscles of your eyes and recover from any fatigue; yawning and blinking helps to maintain moisture in the eyes.
Work Station Risk Assessments will be carried out for all staff.