Tel 01204 772977 or 07792 400 503
Comply at Work safety snippets & business bytes Upcoming Courses
P3
Contractor Management
P4
Alcohol P6 Should your employees have health surveillance? Green initiatives
P7 P8-9
No more TAX discs
P10
Communication concerns
P11
In the Spotlight
P12-13
July 2014
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts P2 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work UPCOMING COURSES Our popular ‘Pick
n Mix’ training session runs
Friday afternoon on 18th July.
This includes Manual Handling followed by Asbestos Awareness. Either or both courses can be booked and for groups or if attending both session, we can offer a discount. These sessions are very popular with Tradesmen who require the training and certification for CHAS and Safe contractor accreditations. Please are now limited, please let us know if you would like to book as soon as possible.
Fire Safety Awareness/Fire Marshall Training Wednesday 30 July 1 pm - 4 pm £75.00 + VAT per person Including Certification and hand-outs/templates Our next One day
Emergency First Aid Course runs on Thursday 7th August places are already going quickly so let us know as soon as you are able if you would like to make bookings. If you would like a FREE First Aid policy template document, with no obligation, please get in touch with your request and we will e-mail it on! Call us for further information and costings. Discounts are available for some of our courses. Don’t delay as places are taken quickly!
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P3
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
All businesses use contractors/ fixers and menders from timeto-time, especially schools and colleges which tend to use the holidays for construction projects. We recently encountered a contractor at one of our client sites working unsafely at height. This prompted us to think about how we may assist our contacts in this important issue.
Source: Indicator
P4 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Contractor management and FREE flow chart When using contractors you must ensure that health and safety issues are covered. Following our flow chart will ensure that you fulfil your obligations. Process In most instances the work which contractors undertake on your premises will introduce new risks - especially if they are completing construction-related tasks. Although you’re not responsible for telling them how to complete their job - after all, they are the experts in their field - you do need to ensure that they are not going to put themselves or your staff in danger. You can do this by following the steps in our Contractor Management Flow Chart which can be e-mailed over to you free of charge. How to use The document can either be included in your health and safety policy or kept separately with a cross reference in your policy. Either way, you should make it clear to your staff that this is the procedure which they should follow every time they are bringing contractors on to your premises. Pre-start The flow chart begins by identifying whether a contractor is required for the job. It then states that your staff should select a contractor that’s been through your competence assessment process. Further down, it requires that the contractor should be re-sent your site rules as well as information on any site-specific risks that they need to be aware of. It then prompts your staff to ask the contractor for a method statement and risk assessment which covers the tasks. On site The final stages of the document describe how your staff should manage the contractor once they start on site. This includes appointing an individual to oversee the work, arranging a prestart meeting, inducting the contractor’s staff and monitoring progress. It finishes by requiring an end of project review.
To request your free Contractor Management flow chart and related guidance, please give us a call on 01204 772977. e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P5
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts
Alcohol Q&A - is alcohol banned in the workplace? Q. We’ve heard that health and safety legislation prohibits us from having alcohol in our workplace. Is this true? A. No, it’s not. If, for example, you want to have a few drinks for a celebration, there’s nothing in health and safety legislation that will stop you from doing so. However, if staff have had a drink, they must not be asked to complete any tasks which could put themselves, or others, at risk. There’s no health and safety legislation that bans alcohol in the workplace. However, if staff have had a drink, they must not be asked to complete tasks which could put themselves or others at risk.
P6 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Should your employees have health surveillance? Formal health surveillance is legally required if work undertaken by a worker or group of workers has the potential to cause specific disease and the following three factors all apply: • it is likely that certain disease(s) will occur under the work conditions • there is a valid way to detect the disease • health surveillance will benefit the employee(s). Health surveillance uses systematic checks on workers to identify occupational disease early, This empowers dutyholders to improve worker health by identifying, controlling or removing existing health risks. The employer or duty holder should act on the results of health surveillance. This will inform reviews of the risk assessment and control measures that are in place and how they must be improved. The HS results are part of the risk management cycle.
At Comply at Work, we have trusted partners who can deal with all your Occupational Health requirements. Please let us know how we can help.
Source: Indicator
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Safety Snippets | P7
Bu By sin te ess s P8 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Green initiatives The new Green Deal The first round of the government’s flagship Green Deal scheme didn’t take off at all. So will a major relaunch, which now offers grants to those making energy-saving improvements, tempt you to investigate further? Abject failure
New plan
When the government launched the Green Deal in 2011 it was hailed as a scheme that would help property owners to install a full range of energysaving products, such as solar panels and heat pumps. However, although the government seemed confident in its scheme, it quickly became apparent that property owners didn’t take the same view.
The new scheme, which launched in June 2014, offers to reimburse up to 75% of the cost of qualifying improvements provided certain conditions are met. Under the new deal homeowners can receive up to: • £1,000 for installing two measures from an approved list; and/or
Note. To recap, the deal offered a financing structure to enable property owners to install certain measures by way of a pay-as-you-save arrangement.
• £6,000 for installing solid wall insulation; and
What happened?
Note. We expect a similar relaunch of the business Green Deal at some point.
In the domestic sector - the focus of much of the scheme - take-up was far below what the government had hoped for. By the end of October 2013 only 1,173 households had committed to take part, and just 219 homes had work completed - a tiny fraction of the 10,000 properties hoped for. Numbers concerning businesses haven’t been made public; however, it’s widely accepted that the deal has failed to garner much interest here either. Hence the relaunch The government has realised that most property owners need more than an offer of a loan to convince them to go green. With this in mind it has launched the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (see The next step ). This offers homeowners and landlords the opportunity to get cash back when they pay for energy-saving improvements to their properties.
• £100 refunded for their Green Deal Assessment.
What’s involved? Tip. As before, to get a green deal you must first obtain an assessment report on your property (see The next step). If you can provide an energy performance certificate that is less than two years old, you won’t need to have a new assessment. Note. The work must be completed by a registered Green Deal installer. Should you bother? If you’re looking to invest in energy-saving measures - especially solid wall insulation - this deal looks much better than its predecessor, as such, it’s definitely worth a look. The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, available to homeowners and landlords, will fund energy-saving improvements with grants. If you’re installing solid wall insulation, up to £6,000 of installation costs can be reimbursed.
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Business Bytes | P9
Bu By sin te ess s
Did you know.... From 1st October 2014, the paper tax disc will no longer need to be displayed on a vehicle windscreen. WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU..... to drive or keep a vehicle on the road you will still need to get vehicle tax and DVLA will still send you a renewal reminder when your vehicle tax is due to expire. This applies to all types of vehicles including those that are exempt from payment of vehicle tax. BUYING A VEHICLE..... From 1st October, when you buy a vehicle, the vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. You will need to get new vehicle tax before you can use the vehicle. You can tax the vehicle using the New Keeper Supplement (V5C/2) part of the vehicle registration certificate (V5C) online or by phone. Alternatively, you may wish to visit a post office branch. SELLING A VEHICLE.... If you sell a vehicle after 1st October and you have notified DVLA, you will automatically get a refund for any full calendar months left on the vehicle tax. You can apply online to tax or SORN your vehicle using your 16 digit reference number from your vehicle tax renewal reminder (V11) or 11 digit reference number from your log book (V5C). Information supplied by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, for further information please visit www.gov.uk/government/news/ vehicle-tax-changes Source: Associated Credits Ltd
P10 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Here are five very common communication concerns, with three quick ways to improve at each… Empty your inbox
The three steps of creating an Elevator Pitch
1. Lots of emails in your inbox will be replies to yours. So send less. Pick up the phone more
• Subject – ‘I…’
2. Never open, read, close then leave an email in your inbox. Do this, and it stays in your inbox! Instead:
• AFTERs – why the recipient is better-off AFTERwards – ‘…people communicate better than they dreamed possible’
• act on it – either now or drag it into your diary to do later, and then…
• Verb – ‘…help…’
• …move it – either to a folder or the bin
[Note: this approach works for describing other things too. For example:
3. When you get long emails (or “FYI”), reply with ‘Thanks for this. What would you like me to do with it?’
• Communications – ‘(1) This presentation (2) will show us (3) how to ensure we do better next month than we did last’
Improve meetings (PAL)
• Departments – ‘(1) The Marketing Department (2) generates (3) new opportunities for our Sales team’]
1. Purpose – your first consideration: what do you want the attendees to do as a result of being there? 2. Agenda – identify the main decisions to be made not topics to be discussed - to ensure they can do it 3. Limit the time – ‘this will take a maximum of 45 minutes’, not ‘it will definitely take 60’ Persuade someone to do something 1. Know what you want them to do 2. Identify why they will want to do it (how they benefit by doing so); and why they won’t (their concerns) 3. Speak in this order: • benefits – ‘Here’s something that will help you do X’ • your content – ‘XXX’ • concerns – ‘don’t worry about X because of X’ • the ‘do’ – ‘so, please can you do X’
Three things to prepare before going to a networking event 1. Know your goals. This could be one/more of many things. For example: reviewing the Guest List and identifying who you want to speak to; having a target number of business cards you want to get; or a number of strangers you want to speak with… whatever’s right for you 2. Know good questions to ask, to uncover useful information about others 3. Write your Elevator Pitch (use the above pointers to help), and practise it beforehand so it feels natural to say Action point (again three quick wins) 1. Today, use the above tips that will give you the quickest wins 2. If they work, keep using them. If they don’t, adjust to suit your circumstances; then try them again until they do Hit ‘Reply’, and tell me what other topics you would like ‘quick wins’ for
e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
Business Bytes | P11
Comply at Work
spotlight
The hiring of our facilities and our training room is increasing, please see the comments below received form one of our satisfied customers and give us a call to discuss your requirements: Sue I would like to thank you for the care and attention you give to ensure that John and the rest of the guys who attend our RWC course feel comfortable at your Training facilities. The response we receive from those who attend the 2 day course indicates that the rooms and services provided are of a very high standard(including the buffet lunch). We look forward to working with you in regard to all our future courses. Dave Batty Director BNDT
All delegates on our Emergency First Aid course held on 24 April have passed the course once again – well done to all. Our next course runs on Thursday 7 August. We have been assisting several clients once again with accreditations such as CHAS and SMAS, please let us know if we can assits your company. We have recently started to support Manchester-based Aim Plastering Ltd as a retained client and assisted them with their documentation for a new-build site. We have completed several Health and Safety and Fire risk assessments for property portfolios, including a new client A&K Property Management (Wigan) Limited. Finally, we have assisted in the risk assessment of a new product recently brought to market within the Photography industry, with excellent feedback.
Sn Saf ip ety pe ts I selected Ladder Log because it is easy to use, is clearly visible and seems the most appropriate asset management system for the retail environment. Sarah Winterburn, Facilities Manager
Pre-fitting Ladderlog had other benefits: ✔ The fashion retailer did not need to order a tagging system from another source. ✔ It did not have to rely on store staff to remember to fit it. ✔ The ladder was ready for use on receipt, which avoided any delay in its availability for use. ✔ Any risk to staff safety was immediately minimised. ✔ Helps reflect your business image and status ✔ It was a sensible cost efficient solution
P14 | Safety Snippets
Tel 01204 77 29 77 mobile 07792 400 503
Comply at Work
Fashion Retailer Takes Steps A leading multi-branded fashion retailer, needed to find the most suitable steps for its retail stores as well as a simple and highly visible asset management system. The solution... Individual store delivery of platform step ladders and mobile safety steps which were pre-fitted with Ladderstore’s ladder tagging system, Ladderlog Finding a supplier of ladder and access equipment, capable of giving knowledgeable advice on a wide range of products and across many different manufacturers, is no easy task. Sara Winterburn, Facilities Manager needed to find a suitable supplier to resolve two different issues; first she needed someone easy to talk to about her company’s requirements and whose recommendations she could trust. Second, she needed the ladders to comply with Working at Height Regulations from the moment of delivery. Ladder Log Ladder Inspection Checklist Jacky at Ladderstore was appointed as the retailer's dedicated Account Manager, she advised Sara on the most suitable ladders for the retail environment and together they agreed on the Blue Seal Steps. Blue Seal steps were recommended largely because of their deep tread and double hand-rails, both features that are important in store room situations when personnel are carrying stock and using them regularly. But this was only half the solution. The Training Manager at the fashion retailer was reviewing the training offered to store staff at all levels in the business. Working closely with Sara, it was agreed they would launch a ladder tagging system at the same time as the new training initiative, as this would better gain the support of store managers.
Sara needed a simple system that would tie-in with the company’s own stores’ health and safety audits. More importantly it needed to provide the fashion retailer's Head Office with the reassurance that any steps being delivered complied with the Working at Height Regulations with immediate effect. After researching the options Sara settled on Ladderlog; I selected the Ladderlog system because it is easy to use, is clearly visible and seems the most appropriate asset management system for the retail environment. It is also extremely helpful that Ladderstore fits them to the steps prior to store delivery, not only does this mean we know they are ready to use on receipt, but it is also more cost efficient.
Ladderstore prides itself on listening to its customers’ needs, offering a personal and professional service and building relationships founded on going that extra-mile. Its quality of service doesn’t stop once the order is taken, fulfilling the order is every bit as important. Getting everything right results in great testimonials from its customers; Sara comments
The Authority in Access Ladder Log Safety Inspection System Ensure you meet current Working at Height (WAHR 2005) regulations with our adhesive stickers, tags, holders and business packs
Working At Height Training Ladder Association certified training available nationwide e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk including Safe Use, Inspection
Safety Snippets | P15
Comply at Work
adve r tise with us for unde r ÂŁ10 pe r month
ALFA JOINERY LTD COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC QUALITY SERVICE AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE
Tel 01204 77 29 77
CONTACT RICK SCOTT ON
mobile 07792 400 503 e-mail info@complyatwork.co.uk www.complyatwork.co.uk
07808 162098 e-mail:enquiries@alfajoinery.co.uk
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The Authority in Access Ladder Log Safety Inspection System Ensure you meet current Working at Height (WAHR 2005) regulations with our adhesive stickers, tags, holders and business packs
Working At Height Training Ladder Association certified training available nationwide including Safe Use, Inspection and Working with Steps courses
Visit Ladderstore.com or call our team on 01204 590 232