Health & Safety policy

It must be formally written down. Hawthorn Safety are here to help you develop a meaningful, accurate and legally compliant Health and Safety Policy which properly reflects the activities of your business.  

Health & Safety Policies consist of the following three sections:  

• The general policy on health and safety at work statement sets out your commitment to the management of effective health and safety, and what you want to achieve.  
• The organisation section details who is responsible for specific actions within your organisation from emergency procedures to risk assessing etc.  
• The arrangements section provides the detail of what you are going to do in practice to achieve the aims set out in your statement of health and safety policy.  
• The arrangements section should include how you will intend to meet the commitments detailed in your statement of health and safety policy. Information on how you are going to eliminate or reduce the risk of hazards in your workplace must be included.  
• The arrangements section also includes any additional actions necessary in order to effectively manage health and safety within the organisation. This could include anything from staff training through to erecting warning signs to highlight potential risks. It could also include any suggested, improved safety equipment, such as guards or additional personal protective equipment, for instance goggles, safety boots or high-visibility clothing or even replacing hazardous chemicals with less harmful alternatives. The Arrangements section of your policy should focus your attention on the activities that could present a risk to people or cause serious harm.  

What do we mean by ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’? 

A hazard is something in your business that could potentially cause harm to people, this could be anything from certain chemicals, electricity or working at height. A risk is the chance – however large or small – that a hazard could cause harm. The law tells you that the higher the risk the more cost and effort should be put into dealing with that risk.