Our health and safety strategy

Our aim is to proactively promote a positive health and safety culture within the Company and its contracts, and to have a systematic approach to the management of health and safety.

To be achieved through:

• clear, accessible health and safety policy and arrangements which are easy to understand and implement
• minimising any risks from our undertakings to employees and society
• working towards achieving occupational health targets with the Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy
• maintaining and continually improve measurable standards in occupational health and safety to minimise risk to employees and others, demonstrating commitment and conformance to the standard to stakeholders and customers
• monitoring accidents, incidents, near misses, dangerous occurrences and health, safety and environmental related sickness absences, so we can ensure safe practices and relevant employee support is in place
• assisting our customers to have an awareness of health and safety issues in work and training, and to develop the skills to keep them safe
• ensuring all our sub-contracts have appropriate health and safety measures included when they are monitored regularly
• signposting employers and training providers to relevant information and advice on health and safety when taking on customers either on work experience, training placements, or paid employment. And promoting the benefits of good health and safety management to reduce the risks to young people and adults in the workplace.

Core processes:

• Ensuring the board and senior management understand their health and safety duties and the corporate responsibilities of the organisation, demonstrating competent, consistent, committed standards to partners, employees, and society, and demonstrate this by reviewing health and safety at board meetings.
• Promotion of a suitable and sufficient health and safety policy, which is monitored and reviewed annually by the Board, the Directors Strategy Group, Contract Management Group and Professional Management Group, demonstrating a culture of continuous improvement at the highest level.
• Producing health and safety information, instruction, training and supervision for all employees through induction and essential training schemes. And detailed and specific targeted training for those tasked with responsibilities for health and safety to ensure competency throughout the organisation.
• Monitoring and reviewing accidents, incidents, near misses and dangerous occurrence, and ill health trends in the workplace with early referral to occupational health as required. Statistics are compiled and reviewed quarterly to ensure trends are monitored and targets set.
• Facilitating open communication and consultation on health and safety topics via quarterly meetings of the Health, Safety and Environmental committee and staff representatives. There is a commitment to keep employees informed or their responsibilities.
• Ensuring continuous monitoring of legislation and development of Company procedures to ensure compliance.
• Ensuring suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out by competent employees as required by our policies and procedures.
• Monitoring human resources processes, manage sickness levels, and provide support services through occupational health, the employee support programme, and line manager training to help employees to reduce absence levels.
• Promoting positive use of the public interface websites, including health and safety information for customers and employers, and links to other appropriate websites.
• Promoting to employees, practitioners, and customers of health and safety initiatives such as the European Week of Health and Safety and Company initiated schemes.
• Working with voluntary organisations and sub-contractors managed by the Company to provide health and safety advice and training.
• Implementing internal and external audit processes to ensure compliance with legislation and our own procedures for health and safety.

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