MEMBER BENEFITS
concern to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (taken from their publication Farmwise). The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 came into force 35 years ago as society woke up to the fact that employees were entitled to adequate protection at their workplace in order to prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities.
T
While it is easy to say that our lives are now over-regulated by health and safety issues and the threat of court action for damages in the event of an accident caused through negligence, it should now be high on the list of priorities for all businesses to ensure that there is a robust Health and Safety at Work policy in place.
Among the varied questions raised with me by members, there have been a number of health and safety issues. Lone workers, such as ghillies, gamekeepers, stalkers and hill shepherds, are particularly vulnerable. By the
Key points to remember are:
1. The policy must be reviewed regularly and updated where appropriate.
2. Different policies may be required for other areas of the business where risks may be different. Risk assessments should be done.
3. The employees must be made aware of the existence of any policy and any changes to that policy. It may be necessary to ensure that any contract of employment makes reference to health and safety issues and that breaches of the policy are properly addressed within the context of the disciplinary procedures.
4. Employees may require training or skills education in order to ensure that they are fully prepared for the risks associated with their employment. As every employee’s role may be different, it is not safe to assume that any one policy or one training session is appropriate for all employees. Foreign, disabled or pregnant employees, for example, may require additional training and/or supervision.
5. Equipment and protective clothing must be appropriate and safe for the work being carried out. Employees must know how to operate the equipment safely and when they are required to wear protective clothing.
6. Machinery and vehicles must be safe and regularly serviced.
7. Adequate systems and procedures should be in place for lone workers.
8. If an employee is working away from his 30
regular workplace (for example, on a contracting job), it may be necessary to consider the risks associated with the new workplace and the extent to which the health and safety policy at that workplace will or will not cover that employee.
9. If somebody else’s employee is working at your business, it may be necessary to check whether your policy or his employer’s policy covers that employee.
10. Verify that the qualifications and experience claimed by any new employee are correct.
11. If an employee is asked to carry out unusual duties, perhaps to stand in for a colleague on account of holiday or illness, checks should be carried out to ensure that health and safety issues have been taken into account.
12. Consider the safety of other visitors to the business who have not received training.
13. Consider the position of shooting and fishing guests (and the equipment such as boats and life jackets) and also whether any leases of shootings and fishings should deal with health and safety issues.
14. Professional advice should be taken where there is any doubt.
15. It will be easier to defend an investigation by the health and safety inspectors if an employer can demonstrate that all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure the continuing safety of the employees. So, keep a full paper trail.
he persistently high rates of fatal incidents and work-related ill health in the industry are of real
Health and safety and employment law are two spectrums of land management requiring ever- increasing attention and guidance. This new reference site has been compiled with the land manager in mind and will be hugely helpful. Congratulations to SRPBA and Willis for providing this valuable service
Andrew Bruce Wootton
nature of their work, these employees will be away from base for a number of hours and may be vulnerable to accidents, extreme weather conditions or breakdowns, while out of range with mobile phones or radios. Robust procedures need to be in place to ensure that such employees are checked out and checked in and that they are sufficiently trained and equipped. One recent question concerned an industrial tribunal case in which the employee had claimed constructive dismissal on the grounds that he had not been issued with adequate protective clothing. Another related to a shepherd who had driven a quad bike on a public road to save time and had been involved in an accident leaving him with a broken leg. That raised questions of the roadworthiness of the vehicle. What is clear is that employers must address Health and Safety at Work issues, that policies are kept up to date and that problems identified during any risk assessment are dealt with promptly and fully. All business circumstances will differ. The HSE publication Farmwise (available at
www.hse.gov.uk/ pubns/indg427.pdf ) should be essential reading for any land-based business.
LB Any comments made in this article are of a
general nature only and members and others should not place any reliance on them in relation to their particular business circumstances. The SRPBA strongly recommends that detailed professional advice should always be taken and, in particular, where there is any doubt about the adequacy of current Health and Safety at Work policies and procedures or risk assessments.
LANDBUSINESS ISSUE 36 JUNE-JULY 2010
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