do I have muppet written on my forehead?

[Galaxsea]

The problem with this is that you don't need any formal qualification to call yourself Health and Safety Advisor or Manager.
All the legislation requires is for an individual to show a "competance".
All the time this is the case then company's can get away with not having a fully qualified Health and Safety individual.
A "competance" in Health and Safety can mean as little as a one day course in the basics and buying a subscription to Croner's or a similar publication.
The re-writing of the Management Regs (1999) was supposed to address this but just made it more complicated.

Sorry for the length of this bit but the easiest way to let you see was to lift this from the reg.


Health and safety assistance
7. - (1) Every employer shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.

(2) Where an employer appoints persons in accordance with paragraph (1), he shall make arrangements for ensuring adequate co-operation between them.

(3) The employer shall ensure that the number of persons appointed under paragraph (1), the time available for them to fulfil their functions and the means at their disposal are adequate having regard to the size of his undertaking, the risks to which his employees are exposed and the distribution of those risks throughout the undertaking.

(4) The employer shall ensure that -

(a) any person appointed by him in accordance with paragraph (1) who is not in his employment -


(i) is informed of the factors known by him to affect, or suspected by him of affecting, the health and safety of any other person who may be affected by the conduct of his undertaking, and

(ii) has access to the information referred to in regulation 10; and


(b) any person appointed by him in accordance with paragraph (1) is given such information about any person working in his undertaking who is -

(i) employed by him under a fixed-term contract of employment, or

(ii) employed in an employment business,


as is necessary to enable that person properly to carry out the function specified in that paragraph.



(5) A person shall be regarded as competent for the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (:face-thinks: where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to assist in undertaking the measures referred to in paragraph (1).

(6) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a self-employed employer who is not in partnership with any other person where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities properly to undertake the measures referred to in that paragraph himself.

(7) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individuals who are employers and who are together carrying on business in partnership where at least one of the individuals concerned has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities -

(a) properly to undertake the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions; and

(b) properly to assist his fellow partners in undertaking the measures they need to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon them by or under the relevant statutory provisions.


(:face-thinks: Where there is a competent person in the employer's employment, that person shall be appointed for the purposes of paragraph (1) in preference to a competent person not in his employment.




Galaxsea - Proud to be the illegitimate son of Troll.