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Health and safety guidance for young people – the changes 1 year on

The last year has seen many providers across the UK look at the changes brought in 12 months ago and consider, and make changes to their procedures and arrangements. Some of you may remember the seminar we delivered in Exeter last September outlining the changes and the importance to your business operations. There are however many providers who have done very little to change and more worryingly this represents the situation they have been in since 2011 when the SFA withdrew their contractual health and safety requirements on providers.

The key faults we find are:

Little or no knowledge of the changes to advice and guidance issued last year (bear in mind if this is you that these changes included advice from the HSE, BIS, Dfe and Ofsted)
A reluctance to move away from the HASP format of employer health and safety assessment.
HASP forms containing references to laws and regulations that have changed making the forms even less relevant.
An overbearing assumption of responsibility for checking and advising on health and safety even when the trainee is and employed status apprentice.
Little or no training (formal or even basic instructions) to employees on the changes or health and safety in general.
No supporting arrangements or procedures, or any that have been reviewed, appropriate to the health and safety processes for employer engagement.
No clear leadership or management of the process as a whole.
Whilst the list may seem quite damning, not all the points are applicable to all providers we have worked with. There are plenty of examples of good practice.

The health and safety executive also have their concerns that many people have not taken the changes on board. They will be surveying a wide range of businesses including providers in the coming months. We have worked very closely with the HSE and hope to allow providers in the network to respond to the survey. Watch this space!.

Finally we have developed a ‘desk top audit’ of your health and safety provision and many providers have taken advantage of our knowledge and expertise in this area to review and improve their systems. It is very cost-effective as it does not involve the cost of us visiting your promises (though this can be arranged). We are fully aware of all the requirements placed on your business in this area, let us evaluate your systems and improve your level of compliance and efficiency.



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