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Year: 2024

Health and Safety Policy

Insight by

amanda

Amanda Lambert

Published on

7 September 2024

Health and safety blog

Table of contents

Do I need a health and safety policy?

Find out why even small businesses need a health and safety policy. Learn how to write a policy that meets legal requirements and keeps your employees safe.

If you employ less than five people, you still need a health and safety policy; you can verbally communicate to employees or others who may be affected by your business activities.

Businesses with more than five people must have a more detailed health and safety policy that includes the organisation and arrangements.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It’s sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA.

How to write the policy

A policy is a written statement which has three essential parts:

1) Health & Safety Policy

The health and safety policy details a statement of intent. The statement of intent details your aims and objectives, health and safety policy, processes and systems to prevent accidents, train your employees, supply PPE, etc. The policy is signed and dated by the most senior person, the managing director.

(2) Organisation of Health and Safety – Roles and Responsibilities

The organisation of health and safety is best done by developing an organisation chart, with the most senior person at the top, then detailing the people who are responsible for the day-to-day running of all matters concerning health and safety. An example is:

  • Managing director
  • Health and safety advisor
  • Fire safety manager
  • Health and safety training manager
  • Risk assessments and method statements manager
  • PPE manager
  • Control of substances hazardous to health COSHH manager

In small businesses, one person may have many roles

3) Arrangements for health and safety – How are risks managed?

The arrangements for health and safety should detail how the organisation aims to achieve its aims. For example:

  • Develop risk assessments
  • Training of people
  • Consulting with people
  • Fire and emergency arrangements
  • First aid arrangements
  • Reporting of accidents, injuries and dangerous incidents
  • Arrangements for working at height, manual handling, etc.

Tips to write a health and safety policy

Here are some tips for creating a health and safety policy:

Be specific – Tailor it to your business and clearly state who is responsible for what. 

Get buy-in – Involve all stakeholders, especially those with significant safety responsibilities, to ensure the policy is accurate. 

Review regularly – Update the policy annually or when there are changes to the business, such as a new management structure or expansion. 

The benefits of having a written policy for businesses of any size including: 

  • Demonstrating a commitment to the health and safety of employees, customers, contractors, and the public
  • Clarifying responsibilities
  • Building confidence when seeking new contracts or tenders

Buy a policy

We have written several health and safety policies. Click on the link to review them: Health and safety policies.

We can write a policy for you if you can’t see your company type above.

SEGURO Support

If you would like a little FREE support for advise, call us on 0800 031 5404 or complete the form below, and we will contact you.







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    All your Health & Safety needs for 2024 in one place

    Insight by

    amanda

    Amanda Lambert

    Published on

    25 August 2024

    Health and safety blog

    All your Health & Safety needs for 2024 in one place.

    Here at Seguro we can be a one stop shop for your safety needs. We can help you with one off client requests or by being your competent person providing you with our full Safety package the choice is yours.

    Competent Person

    We provide a full Health & Safety Management System including a policy, employee handbook and an environmental policy. Expert advice is available for you 24/7.

    Accreditation

    We can help you to provide the paperwork needed to enable you to show you are capable of working safely. These vary depending on what accreditation you are looking to complete. We stay with you until the accreditation is achieved.

    Risk Assessments & Method Statements

    We have a full library of RAMS available for you to purchase from as little as £10. All of our documents are available in word format for you to be able to amend and use as you need in your business.

    Safety Advisor

    This is a support service for less than 5 employees, this comes with expert advice as well as access to our online documents and Risk assessments. This can be purchased separately or comes free with accreditation applications for less than 5 employees.

    We offer many more services including PQQ preparation, Construction Phase Plan preparation. Why not visit our website and see if we can help you with any issues you have now and throughout 2025.

    What is Builders Profile?

    Insight by

    amanda

    Amanda Lambert

    Published on

    14 August 2024

    Health and safety blog

    Table of contents

    What is Builders Profile?

    Find out how Builders Profile streamlines subcontractor procurement. Get all the details you need in one convenient location.

    Builder’s Profile provides a service enabling clients and contractors to procure the services of subcontractors who have demonstrated compliance and provided the necessary PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) information.

    The accessible database allows companies to submit their information and keep it up to date easily for clients and contractors to review. If you are a client or a contractor, it gives you one location to view all the details you need to manage a supply chain, no matter how large or small.

    The idea is that subcontractors are able to fill in one PQQ instead of having to fill in different ones for each contractor they want to work with.

    The benefit for contractors of Builder’s Profile is that all the information you need to select a subcontractor is in one place.  This can help reduce the cost of procurement as well as administration.

    There are various levels of membership available

    • Main Contractor Membership
    • Subcontractor Premium Membership
    • Subcontractor Basic Membership
    • Members of our Partner Trade Associations, Premium Membership
    • Members of Supporting Trade Associations share a discounted Premium Membership

    The Key Benefits

    • You do not need to manage multiple profiles and documents over several platforms.
    • A secure system that allows you to keep your PQQ files and documents all in one place.
    • Access to Marketplace allows you to see and tender for thousands of private and public construction market projects.
    • Access to Acclaim. Acclaim is one of the founding members of SSIP to obtain SSIP accreditation.

    What does a Builder’s Profile cost?

    For a sub-contractor, the membership fee depends on your turnover; the price range is between £149 to £349 + VAT per annum. (January 2025)

    If you hold a constructionline membership, a combined membership is possible.

    SEGURO Support

    The world of PQQ’s SSIP accreditation suppliers, such as CHAS, Constructionline, PQS, and Builders Profile, is complex.

    If you would like FREE support to help you work out the best option, please call us on 0800 031 5404, or we can contact you. Complete the form below, and we will get in touch.







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      Do you need a Fire Risk Assessment?

      Insight by

      amanda

      Amanda Lambert

      Published on

      22 July 2024

      Fire safety

      General Fire Awareness TrainingDo you need a Fire Risk Assessment?

      1. Who’s responsible

      If you’re an landlord, business owner, occupier, or other non-domestic premises, you’ll be the person responsible for fire safety. You’re known as the ‘responsible person’. The Fire Safety Order also applies if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property as you have paying guests.

      Responsibilities

      As the responsible person you must:

      • carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
      • tell staff or their representatives about the risks you’ve identified
      • put in place, and maintain, appropriate fire safety measures
      • plan for an emergency
      • provide staff information, fire safety instruction and training

      Non-domestic premises

      Non-domestic premises are:

      • all workplaces and commercial premises
      • all premises the public have access to
      • the common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings

      2. Fire risk assessments

      As the responsible person you must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment of the premises. This will identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep people safe.

      You’ll need to consider:

      • emergency routes and exits
      • fire detection and warning systems
      • fire fighting equipment
      • the removal or safe storage of dangerous substances
      • an emergency fire evacuation plan
      • the needs of vulnerable people, eg the elderly, young children or those with disabilities
      • providing information to employees and other people on the premises
      • staff fire safety training

      Help with the assessment

      You can do the fire risk assessment yourself with the help of standard fire safety advice documents.

      You’ll need to appoint a ‘competent person’ to help, eg a professional risk assessor, if you don’t have the expertise or time to do the fire risk assessment yourself.

      Your local fire and rescue authority might be able to give you advice if you’re not sure your risk assessment’s been carried out properly. However, they can’t carry out risk assessments for you.

      CHAS support

      Insight by

      Bob Evans

      Bob Evans

      Published on

      27 June 2024

      CHAS

      Table of contents

      CHAS Support

      A CHAS application can be daunting if you are not a health and safety advisor or have had no formal training in health and safety such as NEBOSH or similar.

      What Is CHAS?

      CHAS stands for (the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) and is underneath the umbrella of SSIP.

      The CHAS assessment criteria are the same as those of all SSIP suppliers. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella organisation formed in 2009 to reduce the duplication of health and safety assessments.

      Many companies and government bodies require an SSIP accreditation before they allow you to tender.

      The CHAS assessment standards and requirements are listed below.

      • Policy
      • Arrangements
      • Occupational Health
      • Behavioural Management
      • Enforcement Actions
      • Accident Reporting and Investigation
      • Fleet Operations / Management Scheme
      • Competent Advice – Corporate and Construction
      • Drug and Alcohol Policy
      • Training and Information
      • Individual Qualifications and Experience
      • Monitoring, Audit and Review
      • Risk Assessment Leading to a Safe System of Work
      • Workforce Involvement
      • Co-operation and Co-ordination
      • Welfare Provision
      • Subcontractors and Sub-consultants
      • Contractor
      • Principal Contractor
      • Designer

      Our CHAS application process

      Step 1. Register for an account with CHAS and choose the membership level you require.

      Step 2. Purchase the associated Support Package via our website or by calling us.

      Step 3. We will contact you to request specific documentation. The information we require varies depending on the type of CHAS application selected.

      Step 4. We review your documents and implement anything missing, then upload all evidence to your CHAS portal and submit for assessment.

      Step 5. You will receive your CHAS-compliant certificate and enjoy all the benefits of demonstrating compliance.

      WHY select Seguro to support you with your CHAS application

      We have over 20 years of industry experience and complete over 500 applications yearly.

      As part of our hassle-free and in-depth service, we’ll complete the CHAS registration form on your behalf and prepare supporting documents as and when necessary.

      CHAS registration requires you to have a recognised health and safety management standard and covers compliance issues regarding your field of work.

      Once we have received the information we require from you, we aim to have your CHAS application submitted for assessment within five business days, although this is often even sooner.

      Our fees are the most cost-effective available. We will do the work while you get on with your job, saving you time and money.

      We will assign you a dedicated health and safety professional offering CHAS support throughout the process. We can implement policies, arrangements and procedures, assist with assessments like RAMS and provide training to your workforce. When we have completed the application, you will have everything you need to pass the CHAS accreditation.

      Testimonials

      Spinney Electrical

      I would just like to thank you for all your help patients & time.

      Finally!! Feeling relieved.

      Vicky

      13th February 2023

       

      City Dispense

      We’ve passed again, thank you for your help

      Regards

      Andy  | Director

      9th February 2023

       

      Hyperion

      I just wanted to send you a quick email about the amazing staff you have on your team.

      Natasha has been dealing with Hyperion for a couple of years now, and we have received nothing but exceptional service from this young lady. I get the quickest responses, with as much help as possible provided every single time. She has gone above and beyond for myself and Mark every time I have spoken to her.

      I thought I would just share this with you as I feel her remarkable customer service and attitude towards the job should most definitely be recognised, and she’s an absolute credit to yourself and the rest of the team.

      Thanks to all at Seguro

      Kind Regards

      Saskia

      26th February 2020

      Learn more about CHAS

      We have a series of articles where you can learn more about CHAS. The list of articles is below:

      Get CHAS Support

      Complete the form, and we will tell you how it works and how much the whole process costs, including the CHAS fee for your circumstances.

        Why use Seguro for your CHAS Accreditation?

        Insight by

        amanda

        Amanda Lambert

        Published on

        5 June 2024

        CHAS

        Why use Seguro for your CHAS Accreditation?

        We supply bespoke documentation to help complete the sections needed for CHAS as well as a dedicated consultant for you to contact at any time through the process.

        We help you to submit all the documentation on the CHAS online portal providing you with a step by step guide for your involvement.

        We have over 25 years’ experience in the industry and successfully complete over 900 applications every year. Our job is to make your life easier letting you focus on your business.

        Call us now on 0800 031 5404 or send us a quotation request, we will reply within the same working day.

        Top Ten tips for completing a PQQ

        Insight by

        amanda

        Amanda Lambert

        Published on

        22 May 2024

        Health and safety blog

        Seguro approval

        Completing a PQQ can seem like a daunting task.

        There are lots of sections and information about your company that you may not have had to think about before. Submitting a good PQQ doesn’t mean it will be a winning PQQ but it does mean you have a much better chance if you have shown you have taken the time to complete it properly.

        It goes without saying a good PQQ has no errors or information missing and that you have answered all questions as fully as you can.

        We have compiled a handy top ten tips list that should should help:

        Top Tips

        1. Read the PQQ fully as the beginning so you can understand what is required of you.
        2. When putting the PQQ together take it one question at a time.
        3. Always provide evidence and supporting documentation when asked for.
        4. Ensure your answers focus on the requirements set out in the specification and evaluation criteria.
        5. Provide all of the information requested. If you cannot provide some of the information, for whatever reason, ask for advice or as a minimum give a reason for not providing the information so they know you have not just skipped that section.
        6. Where relevant, cross-reference the answers or responses in your PQQ to the questions as this will make it easier to evaluate.
        7. Be clear on your pricing model and state any assumptions you have made when pricing. This will enable the assessor to see the reasons you may be more expensive or indeed cheaper.
        8. The assessor can only evaluate what you have submitted. The assessor cannot refer to any previous knowledge or experience it has had with you unless it is in your submission
        9. Make sure you are aware of the objective of the contract – this will help focus your submission.
        10. Don’t be put off by the PQQ documentation – you can always ask for help.

        A must for every PQQ is that you complete and return the document by the deadline and in the correct format that has been requested. Failure to do those simple thing could mean your PQQ isn’t even looked at.

        If you still feel you need some help we are more than happy to see if there is anything we can do.

        Get in touch with us via our General PQQ submission.

        Benefits of using Elearning

        Insight by

        amanda

        Amanda Lambert

        Published on

        9 April 2024

        Health and safety blog

        What are the benefits of using Elearning?

        There are a number of benefits to Elearning whether you choose to use it on its own, or to enhance any existing in house training you may provide.

        It saves time and is cost effective

        Instead of having to arrange a training session at a set time and place you can carry out Elearning at a time and place that suits you. This helps to reduce the time taken away from the office, removes travel costs and increases workplace productivity.

        Learning with 24/7 access

        Many traditional training courses operate within normal 9-5 office hours. Meaning you and your staff have to leave your jobs and take time out of the office to attend. This can also mean additional hassle of travel to and from the venue. Most Elearning courses have an average completion time of an hour, and CPD approved courses allow once completed, to print out certificates of proof.

        It’s discreet

        Not every employee will feel comfortable learning in a large group. We all learn at different speeds and levels and may find some topics harder to understand than others. Elearning allows your staff to learn on their own and to tackle the subject at their own pace.  The interactive tasks that are set ensure a thorough understanding throughout each module.

        If your looking for any Health & Safety Elearning courses we have some that you may be interested in.

        Asbestos Awareness

        Manual Handling Awareness

        Working at Height

        CHAS Training guidance

        Insight by

        amanda

        Amanda Lambert

        Published on

        14 March 2024

        CHAS

        Table of contents

        CHAS Training Guidance

        You will be required to prove that your personnel have been trained and you have the correct training and procedures to show they are performing their jobs responsibly with Health & Safety.

        The training requirements often differ depending on which sector you are in and the business size. CHAS has identified some set minimum criteria, and it is a good place to start for all companies.

        To comply with the standard, you may be required to train your personnel in the following courses if you have not already done so.

        CHAS will accept any training qualification provided it meets the content requirements and an organisation of suitable expertise has independently approved it.

        Such organisations include:

        • Relevant Trade Associations, e.g. BESA, ECA
        • Safety organisations, e.g. RoSPA, IOSH, IIRSM
        • Government agencies, e.g. CITB
        • Regulated training authorities, e.g. City & Guilds

        Seguro health and safety training

        We offer twenty-four health and safety training courses at a fraction of the cost management time you’d expect; this health and safety e-learning has the bonus of a minimal loss of productivity because it’s efficient and flexible.

        You can try them for FREE.

        Learn more about CHAS

        We have a series of articles where you can learn more about CHAS. The list of articles is below:

        Which Accreditation is best for my business?

        Insight by

        amanda

        Amanda Lambert

        Published on

        7 March 2024

        Constructionline

        Which Accreditation is best for my business?

        This is a question here at Seguro that we get asked on a daily basis, as a consultant that is not a question we can answer for your business. There are a number of factors you should take into account when you are making the decision:

        • Have you been asked by a client to have a particular one?
        • Are you looking to get on a certain clients supplier list – they may have a preference?
        • What is the purpose of the accreditation?
        • Do you have a budget in mind?
        • Do you have all the necessary paperwork?

        If you have an answer to any of the above then that accreditaiton is the best one for your business as there is already the promise of a return on your investment.

        Our advice where a client has no preference and there is a possibility that they will need both in the future is to follow this process:

        Stage one: Apply for your CHAS accreditation as this can be used for the Health & Safety Section of Constructionline as well as being able to be used for many deem to satisfy schemes under the SSIP umbrella scheme.

        Stage Two: Once you have your certificate for CHAS apply for your Constructionline status.

        Each business is individual so if you want to get bespoke advice, please give us a ring on 0800 031 5404