Management of health and safety

Health and safety is everyone’s responsibility.  

Health and Safety Handbook

The Health and Safety Handbook will help you understand what is expected of you under the Essex County Council health and safety policy.

It will make sure you are carrying out your activities in a way that protects the health, safety and wellbeing of yourself and your colleagues. 

Health and Safety Handbook (HSF002) (DOCX, 383KB)  

Roles and responsibilities policy 

The roles and responsibilities policy explains how accountability is defined, documented, communicated and supported within the council. It says who does what, when and how.  

Responsibilities, duties and activities are delegated to the Chief Executive, executive directors, monitoring officer, function health and safety coordinators and champions, line managers, the corporate health and safety team and occupational health professionals. 

Roles and Responsibilities (HSP 2.0) (DOCX, 379KB)  

Health and safety management plan 

We've adopted the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ approach to managing health and safety.  

This policy applies to all functional areas in the council. Where other employers buy a health and safety service from the council, this document may be used as a guide to legislative requirements and best practice.  

Health and Safety Management Plan (HSP 4.0) (DOCX, 250KB)

The health and safety policy statement sets out our general approach to health and safety. It explains how we, as an employer, will manage health and safety in the organisation.   

Health and Safety Policy Statement (HSP 1.0) (PDF, 143KB)

Health and safety inspections

Managers will need to put in place an inspection regime for their area of responsibility. For most managers this will be an inspections tour but this can extend to arranging for statutory inspections. 

The Inspection policy (HSP11.3) (DOCX, 190KB) will help managers decide what inspections are needed and when.

As a minimum, office inspection tours should be carried out on a quarterly basis using the quarterly office inspection tour form. 

Quarterly office inspection tour form (HSF038) (DOCX, 48KB)

Wall calendar 

The health and safety wall calendar gives managers, or people with delegated health and safety duties, an indication of when reviews should occur. It also suggests a routine for reviewing documentation. 

Health and Safety Wall Calendar (HSF147) (DOCX, 120KB)

Retention of health and safety documents policy 

The retention of health and safety documents policy provides definitive retention periods for records and information where they are either: 

• specifically defined by health and safety legislation and related environmental or waste  
• required to be retained by the council for an agreed period for purposes related to defending it against health and safety enforcement action or civil claims 

Retention of Health and Safety Documents Policy (HSP 3.0) (DOCX, 345KB) 

Safe systems of work 

Safe systems of work are structured processes designed to reduce the risk of harm when employees face unavoidable hazards at work. Examples of safe systems of work include: 

• a set of operating instructions for a dangerous piece of machinery 
• a safety checklist for employees working at height or in a confined space 
• a step-by-step guide to dealing with a certain hazardous substance 

Regularly review your systems of work to make sure they still reduce or minimise risk and revise them as necessary. 

When making a safe system of work, you may wish to use the Safe systems of work form (HSF 021) (DOC, 372KB).

Health surveillance 

Health surveillance is a system of repeated health checks that identify signs of ill health caused by work. This code of practice is to make sure you are compliant with statutory health surveillance requirements. It will identify the health surveillance requirements of the various occupational groups employed by the council. 

Health Surveillance Policy (HSP 11.2) (DOCX, 128KB) 

Employers Liability Certificate 

Each year, we publish our Employers Liability Certificate that shows the insurance arrangements made for the council.