Employer Responsibility

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR FIRST AID AT WORK?

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and people to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work.

To work out how many first aiders you need and what type of training they require you will need to carry out a first aid needs assessment.

First Aid Needs Assessments

Conducting a first aid needs assessment will identify what type of first aid training your first aiders will need, how many first aiders you need and where they should be located.

There is no requirement for the assessment of first aid needs to be formal or written down although it may be useful for employers to record the results and employers might need to justify their level of first-aid provision.

How much first-aid provision an employer has to make depends on the circumstances of each workplace.

The First Aid at Work Guidelines for Employers from the Health and Safety Executive were last updated on 1st October 2009 and contain more detail, you can download the full HSE guidance on First Aid at Work regulations. There are now two levels of workplace first aider making it necessary to carry out this assessment to ensure that you provide the correct type of first aider(s)

A first aid needs assessment should consider the following:

• the nature of the work and workplace hazards and risks
• the size of the organisation
• the nature of the workforce e.g. are there any employees with disabilities or particular health problems?
• the organisation’s history of accidents
• the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers
• work patterns
• the distribution of the workforce
• the remoteness of the site from emergency medical services
• employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites
• annual leave and other absences of first aiders and appointed person
• first-aid provision for non-employees

If you need additional support to understand your needs within your workplace, get in touch with one of our training co-ordinators who will support you and explain the different types of courses on offer.

Connect Training Services 01429 55502

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

Is having Mental Health First Aiders a legal requirement? Having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace is a recommendation, not legislation, so there is no set date when workplaces must have sufficient mental health provision. Employers need to treat mental health in a similar way to physical health.

What are the requirements for a mental health first aider?

Course description

• an in depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing.
• practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental illness.
• an understanding of how to perform some physical first aid as part of their response to mental illness.

If you need additional support to understand your needs within your workplace, get in touch with one of our training co-ordinators who will support you and explain the different types of courses on offer.

Connect Training Services 01429 55502

MANUAL HANDLING RESPONSIBILITY

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 define manual handling as:

‘…any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force.’

Under the Manual Handling Regulations, if your workplace requires manual handling activities then it’s essential that everyone receives proper training and understands the associated risks.

first : avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably practicable; second : assess any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided; and. third: reduce the risk of injury so far as is reasonably practicable.

What are the 3 main legislation covering manual handling?

Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) (as amended 2002) The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

How often should employers offer manual handling training to staff?

There is no definite timeframe set down in law, but as a general rule of thumb refresher training as standard every 1-2 years is sensible. Outside of this, training should be refreshed if there are any changes to the legislation.

Why is Manual Handling Training Important?

In most workplaces, manual handling happens every day. Manual handling isn’t just confined to construction sites and carrying bricks. It also occurs in places like kitchens, where staff need to carry heavy pans and large boxes of food. Even offices require some form of manual handling.

Manual handling training is equally important in all environments where manual handling occurs.

There are two main reasons why it is important:

Reducing Injuries

Manual handling training ensures safety and reduces the risk of injury. This applies to everyone on site: employers, supervisors and managers, staff, and site visitors.

The most common injury from manual handling is musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The term MSD refers to any injury, damage, or disorder of the joints

or tissues in the upper or lower limbs or the back. The HSE report that 507,000 workers suffered from work-related MSDs in 2016/17 alone. Of this number, 45% (229,000) were MSDs in the upper limbs or neck.

Increasing Productivity

The HSE also report that 25.7 million working days were lost in 2016/17 due to work-related ill health. Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 35% of this number.

Such a large amount of lost days significantly impacts productivity and output, as employees simply aren’t in work to complete their jobs. Manual handling training is important for reducing this figure and improving overall productivity.

If you need additional support to understand your needs within your workplace, get in touch with one of our training co-ordinators who will support you and explain the different types of courses on offer.

Connect Training Services 01429 55502