Health and safety at work - general advice

An overview of what the health and safety team do, how and what we investigate and what you can expect.

The Health and Safety Team's Enforcement Policy is available to view, giving information about how we ensure businesses are achieving compliance with the law.

The Health and Safety at Work Etc, Act 1974

'The Act' provides the legislative framework to promote and encourage high standards of health and safety at work. It places duties on the employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees and anyone who may be affected by work activities. Duties are also placed on employees to follow any guidelines given to them by their employer.

Tell me more about the Act

What we do

Enforcement Responsibility

The responsibility for enforcing legislation covering health and safety of employees at work is split between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities. Generally, Local Authorities are responsible for a range of non-industrial premises, some examples being shops, offices, warehouses, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, cinemas and places of entertainment (please note this is not an exhaustive list).

The HSE is responsible for other premises, and also undertakes research on significant health and safety issues.

Our Aims

Many businesses are unaware of their duties under health and safety legislation and do not know where to seek advice and information. The onus lies with the business, however, to familiarise themselves with their responsibilities.

We aim to ensure that all employers, employees and the self-employed understand and comply with the requirements of the Act, and associated legislation. Our work falls into the following areas:

Pro-active Inspections

All premises throughout the Borough for which we have enforcement powers are inspected or contacted at regular intervals. The frequency of inspection is based on a hazard classification allocated to them. We target our attention to those premises with the highest rating first, therefore resources are aimed at those premises posing the greatest risk.

Complaints and Enquiries

We investigate complaints relating to dangerous working practices or unsatisfactory conditions at work. We also deal with enquiries and are always available to provide advice and assistance to employers, employees and members of the public in matters relating to workplace safety.

The response we give will depend on the individual circumstances of each complaint, and may include:

• advice to the complainant on what they can do;
• a telephone call to the company to gain further information;
• requesting written information from the company;
• a visit to the premises.

We ask you for as much information as possible e.g. times/dates, location of incident, people you have spoken to, witnesses, etc. Whilst we request that you give us your contact details, we will not divulge these details to the company during the normal course of our investigation.

Accidents

Employers have a duty to report certain health and safety incidents and accidents to their Local Authority. Once we have been notified about an accident, we will investigate further where this is considered appropriate. You may receive a telephone call, or a visit to the premises following an accident.

How we ensure you are complying with the law

We aim to secure compliance with health and safety legislation through a process of:

• Education and advice;
• Letters notifying of items that must be complied with;
• Service of formal Notices;
• Formal Cautions and Prosecutions

We will

• visit all premises due for inspection
• respond to complaints concerning health and safety or workplace conditions within 5 working days.
• respond immediately to fatalities in the workplace.
• carry out 4 'Basic Health and Safety' training courses at regular intervals throughout the year.

You can help us by:

• co-operating with any request for information to progress an investigation.
• be prepared to allow time to discuss the outcome and recommendation arising from a premises inspection.

If you are having construction or refurbishment work done, you may need to notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and you may have other duties as well - find out more on the HSE website.

Contact Details

For more information please contact Health & Safety
Telephone:0121 704 8383
Email: safety@solihull.gov.uk