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Yes I agree a massive subject! One that I am also on a mission to get sorted, there seems to be more an more and more you could have once you scratch the surface!
Very briefly, before I go home for the day a few things that spring to mind:
All correct insurances (sure you have)
COSHH assessments - control of substances hazardous to health
PPE - Personal Protective Equipment
Driver qualifications
Waste carriers Licence - we only found about about that one when one of our boys got pulled by the police and asked for it! Obtainable from the environment agency for a smallish fee.
Not only are there H & S docs needed have you thought about an Environmental policy? Quality Assurance or Employment Policy! I am totally bogged down in it all too and can sympathise!
Dont know what area you live in but my local Business Link is going to send me templates for all of the above Free of Charge..try and find your local one.
to be honest,there is a lot of red tape involved,we are going to introduce our own training certificates,on a template,to show that our staff have had training in house for.....mowers,strimmers,tractors,hedgecutters......etc,etc. that way we can prove that we have put into place an adequate training system,with documentation to prove it.
i know that there are companies that will do all this for you,at a price.
To directly answer your question about documentation in the van you could go along with Steve’s & Pro Gard Pexamples and cover all bases but I would suggest from a H&S legal view point you must have as a minimum copies of your insurances (Empl, PL, Van etc), Chemical log
In addition a copy of your Daily work sheet and Waste carriers license or exemption letter.
The daily work sheet will act as an audit trail for your waste, it should hopefully have reference to any chemical treatments being applied and highlight any other hazards and risks. On the assumption that your work is all existing clients and nothing new you wouldn’t by law (I believe) need to have detailed risk assessments or policy documentation.
I’m still struggling to get to grips with it all but I believe that you must address the key health and safety objective which is to achieve and maintain compliance as far as is reasonably practicable with the Health and Safety at Work encompassing:
- The Health & Safety at Work Act
- The Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations
- The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
- The Fire Precautions Act & ‘Reform’ requirements
You must ideally also prove that you are committed to continually improving health and safety performance by setting goals for.
1) Provision and maintenance of equipment of work.
2) Safe use, handling, storage and transport of equipment and chemicals.
3) Provision of information, instruction, training and supervision;
4) Full risk assessments of all workplaces / locations under the Company’s control in a condition that is safe and without risks.
5) Provision and maintenance of a working environment for employees that is safe and without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.
6) Consultation with employees.
7) Employment of competent staff only.
The main thrust is that you as an employee have done everything within reason to ensure the safety of your staff and that they are fully aware of your policies and procedures. You must be able to prove that you have the co-operation of employees at all levels taking ownership of health and safety for themselves and others who may be affected by their work activities.
This also applied to any contractor working for or on behalf of your company that they follow safe working practices, and satisfy to you that their systems of work, plant, equipment and materials are safe and that their staff are suitably qualified, trained, experienced and supervised
I think the only things i need to do are to add my ins details and then duplicate my binder. Its like Jessica said you think you have done it all only to find out that you have only scratched the surface.
The more you read into it the more it becomes, as long as i keep on top of it and keep it up to date i think that would be ok.
What makes me mad though is when you talk to other people in the trade about it, they then look at you as if you were stupid and say b0%%*?ks to all that, insurance will do me.
All this paper work is an additional cost to us all and has to be passed on to the clients. I often use H&S and other government directives as examples when quoting for jobs and it does help secure a higher price than the fly by night gardeners.
BGS LTD said:
We use http://www.northgatearinsoemployerservices.com/. They provide a range of services including HR and Health and Safety. HR if there is an issue with an employee as long as we contact them as early as possible and follow their advice if their advice is wrong and we face penalties they have insurance which will cover us. Considering the fines that can be handed out at tribunals for things like constructive dismissal and unfair dismissal we consider it worth the expense.
Taking into account things like the 48hr rule, which is constantly being reviewed do you know who is and isn't entitled to be exempt from this? What the correct procedures are for employees to opt out of the 48 hour rule, your obligations to ensure that staff who do not exceed 48 hours?
If your an employer are you aware of your responsibilities to actually confirm that all your employees are entitled to work in the UK, or the heft fines that you will receive if it is found you have employed someone who isn't? If you think this is easy and would not effect you I know of one council where it was discovered they had employed illegal immigrants as Community Wardens. They had passed both security and crb checks.
Policies and procedures, there really is no point in wasting your time reinventing the wheel time and time again. I know I don't. Unless it is small and simple the first thing I do is google for similar policies. Pick two or three excellent examples and plagarise like hell and adapt to our own circumstances. We end up with a policy that has adopted best practices and looks good. By deliberately leaving out the company name it can be adopted and changed easily by other TMOs who want to use it. Many policies really are very similar in their core content. Of course you do need to spend time reading through them!