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We’re all aware that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidelines and regulations related to workplace health and safety. When it comes to appointing a competent person, the HSE emphasises the importance of having someone with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to help manage health and safety within an organisation. The specific requirements and recommendations for appointing a competent person may vary depending on the nature of the workplace and the potential risks involved.
In this blog our head of compliance, Carl Ormerod, outlines what you need to consider about appointing a competent person.
Under UK Health and Safety Law, employers have a legal duty to appoint one or more competent persons to assist in complying with health and safety regulations. This requirement is stated in Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Put simply appointing a competent person is a Legal Requirement.
There is no ‘competence criteria’ as such. The HSE does not prescribe specific qualifications or certifications that a competent person must hold. Instead, competence is determined based on an individual’s knowledge, training, experience, and other relevant factors. Employers should assess the competence of their chosen persons in relation to the specific risks in their workplace.
The competent person is typically responsible for helping to identify and assess risks, implementing control measures, providing training and guidance, and monitoring ongoing health and safety performance. It’s important to document the appointment of competent persons and their responsibilities within the organisation’s health and safety management system.
The HSE suggests that a competent person should have a good understanding of the workplace and its processes, relevant safety laws and regulations, and the specific risks associated with the industry or activities. They should also stay up-to-date with changes in legislation and best practices.
“From our perspective training and development is critical for the success of the competent person role.” Carl says. “Employers should ensure that their competent persons receive appropriate training and support to carry out their roles effectively. Our consultants have a minimum of a Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, plus a plethora of industry specific specialisms such as behavioural based safety and working in high hazardous areas, such as in the petrochemical industry”.
There are a wide range of courses available which could be dependent on your industry or workplace requirements. NEBOSH, for example, covers any industry and enables people to learn from the basics starting at the General Certificate up to the Diploma which is recognised worldwide.
Our recommendation, as you’d expect, is to ensure your team gain adequate training in order to fulfil the competent person role effectively. You might also expect us to say give them extensive training to ensure they can perform their very best in the role.
Having support from external assistance from health and safety consultants can enable organisations to meet their competence requirements, especially if there is a lack in-house expertise.
“Having robust health and safety policies and robust processes in place can be completed in a much more effective and efficient way by using consultants. This is simply because many organisations place the competent person role onto someone who has another primary role, such as operations manager. This means the H&S is often reactive more than proactive due to how busy that person is likely to be.” Carl highlights.
Here at OMS we offer a broad range of Health & Safety consultancy services that strives to meet all possible needs and includes the implementation of ISO 45001; audits, inspections and investigations; workplace risk assessments; communication facilitation and even stress management services. We carry a range of comprehensive insurances enabling us to operate in a wide range of working environments. We operate to best practice and are at the forefront of any new guidance from the HSE, with our involvement with the local East Midlands HSE “Working Well Together” committee, which we Chair. The Working Well Committee is an industry led initiative, supported by HSE, and aims to improve health and safety in the construction industry. East Midlands Working Well Together is made up of approximately 24 members with organisations including construction, civil engineering and trade related companies, local government, safety groups, training organisations.
Our competent person service ensures you can regularly access advice by email or phone as needed. This does not absolve you of responsibility under UK Law, but it does ensure that the job will be carried out in compliance with legislation and to a professional standard. As part of the “Regulation 7” competent person package, we undertake a full H&S Inspection of your organisation and provide you with a report and action plan to help identify your current status of compliance. We also like to have account managers for our clients, with a primary and secondary consultant being provided, to ensure that you receive a continuity of service during leave periods and there is always someone there to help when needed.
It’s essential for employers to carefully assess their specific health and safety needs and appoint competent persons accordingly. The goal is to ensure that health and safety risks are effectively managed to protect employees, visitors, and others in the workplace.
If you’d like to talk about the competent person role within your organisation, get in touch with OMS today.
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