What is a health and safety policy?
The basics: Health and safety isn’t just a buzzword. For modern businesses, it’s a legal obligation and involves a duty of care to staff and clients. While good intentions have their place, when it comes to health and safety you need to formalise what you will do as a business to create a safe working environment for staff and customers alike.
With that in mind, a health and safety policy is a key document for any business to ensure it is adequately safeguarding its staff and customers. It is also a policy that ensures a business sets out its obligations, alongside outlining its intentions to create a working environment that meets a legal standard.
Content of the policy: This document sets out how the employer will manage health and safety risks posed by its operations, with a particular focus on the company’s staff and customers. This can span across a broad range of instances, from the day-to-day maintenance of safety standards in the office to notes on particular equipment that may pose a physical risk.
This document also outlines how employees can report any health and safety concerns and who would be responsible for responding to health and safety reports or issues. It’s worth noting here that health and safety extends to the mental health risks posed to staff, and should be considered when completing a health and safety policy.
What does Docue’s health and safety policy template include?
High-quality model clauses: Docue’s dynamic health and safety policy template covers, among other things, the following matters:
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Responsibilities: This part of the health and safety policy template explains who takes responsibility for a safe working environment, who to report safety concerns to, and the risks of not complying with the health and safety policy.
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Information and consultation: This section of the health and safety policy simply explains who will be consulted on health and safety matters. This might be a trade union, or an employee representative.
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Training: This section of the health and safety policy template includes information on safety training an employee might need to do their job competently and safely. This extends to things like hazardous substances, electrical safety, asbestos awareness, and anything else that would be relevant for your working environment.
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Equipment: Your health and safety policy template will need to explain the equipment you’ve provided for your staff, and how to safely use it.
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Accidents and first aid: Accidents happen, which is why our health and safety policy template outlines the first-aid facilities available, the names of first-aiders, and how to report an accident at work.
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Fire safety: This section of our health and safety policy template includes relevant information related to fire safety, from first assembly points to fire drills.
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Risk assessments: Here, our health and safety policy template outlines the aims of a risk assessment, and measures taken to manage health and safety risks. This may include information relating to workstation assessments for staff.
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Questions: Finally, no health and safety policy template would be complete without an outline of who to contact in the event the health and safety policy left a few questions unanswered.
Why Docue?
With Docue, you can create a top-quality health and safety policy in no time. Our service includes model clauses designed by expert employment lawyers to help you draft the policy yourself and tailor it to your needs.
