It is crucial to take health and safety in the workplace seriously. Under UK laws like the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, employers have a duty to provide information and training to employees about safety requirements and risks in the work environment. Regardless of organisation size, health and safety processes are a crucial consideration.
This is where health and safety consultancy comes in. Employers rarely have the time or expertise to manage health and safety internally, so it can be very helpful to outsource it. In this article, we will look at the ins and outs of health and safety consultancies to help you understand how they can be beneficial to businesses.
What is a health & safety consultant?
A health and safety consultant is a third-party professional that can offer expert advice and guidance to organisations and employers. They will typically have recognised health and safety qualifications, such as:
Their day-to-day work involves producing safety policies and procedures, auditing business processes, advising and training on health and safety practices, carrying out risk assessments and more.
They are knowledgeable experts that can adapt to a wide range of different industries, working across diverse sectors like charities, franchises, construction, manufacturing, retail and hospitality.
What does a health and safety consultant do?
The work of a health and safety consultant revolves around assisting organisations in reducing health and safety risks in the workplace. They also provide best practice consultancy to manage the process internally with greater efficiency.
Their work can be instrumental in businesses achieving health and safety compliance. If you feel you haven’t recently conducted a risk assessment, or established robust health and safety policies, you may want to work with a consultant to get you up-to-date. Remember that a Health & Safety Policy is a legal requirement if your business has 5 or more employees.
The services of health and safety consultants generally include:
- Auditing your existing processes, procedures and standards.
- Investigating where you may be liable from a statutory or civil perspective.
- Making recommendations to improve standards and ensure compliance with current health and safety regulations.
Why is health and safety important?
Workplace injuries and ill health have lasting implications for a business. They can disrupt your day-to-day operations, increase time spent investigating, and even result in fines and bad publicity which can harm your reputation.
The majority of these issues can easily be avoided with good health and safety management. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state that employers must appoint a competent person to manage health and safety. But it can be expensive to employ an individual full-time for this purpose, so many businesses turn to consultants to do the work.
5 Benefits of Healthy and Safety Consultancy
Professional health and safety consultants can offer an array of benefits to your organisation. Here are some of the biggest ones.
1. Up-to-date Knowledge of Requirements and Regulations
The latest knowledge of practice standards is essential for compliance. Health and safety consultants undergo CPD, completing various CPD courses, attending seminars and interacting with industry bodies to stay current on changes to safety practices and regulations. This kind of expertise is crucial for the businesses that consultants work with.
Health and safety consultants also tend to have experience working in a variety of sectors. This enables them to build a diverse set of skills and talents to contribute to your organisation. Their expertise and skill sets can help organisations in virtually any industry meet their health and safety requirements.
2. A Trustworthy Source of Analysis and Advice
Health and safety consultants can provide an objective assessment of your current status from a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) perspective. This means you will get an honest conclusion of your strengths and weaknesses, helping you to make decisions about how to proceed.
Workplace safety assessments are unbiased evaluations. The consultant will enter your organisation with a clean slate and provide in-depth advice based on the true state of your operations with no bias.
3. Creating a Positive Health & Safety Culture
If you have had challenges building a positive culture around health and safety, a consultant may be able to help. They can assist in implementing superior working practices and more active approaches to learning and development in this area.
By changing the mindset of leaders and employees, everyone can feel more involved in the process. This can help cultivate a positive, energetic atmosphere that facilitates the implementation of new measures that truly raise standards throughout the organisation.
4. Greater Consistency
Consultants aim to maintain exceptionally high standards and will implement them at all sites throughout your organisation. The expertise of the consultant will be instrumental in bringing your business up to standard with consistency across multiple areas for the best possible results.
5. Reduced Costs
Employing health and safety professionals within your business can be an expensive sunken cost, including considerations like annual leave and potential sickness and absence. Using an external health and consultancy provider can be far more cost effective, with the ability to take as much or as little as you need in terms of actual consultancy.
This isn’t always the case, and some high-risk businesses will certainly benefit from internal health and safety employees, however for many, outsourcing health and safety is a good option.
Do small businesses need a health and safety policy?
If your company hires fewer than 5 people, it is not legally required to have a written Health and Safety Policy. However, there are many benefits to considering workplace safety if you are a small organisation. With the help of a health & safety consultant, you could establish key information on:
- The responsibilities of key people.
- Emergency arrangements, such as swift access to first aid and fire equipment.
- Training in relevant H&S matters.
- The identification of potential risks within the company.
It is recommended to strengthen your position with regards to health and safety even if you are a small business. It will provide you with everything you need if your business grows so that you can establish a Health and Safety Policy in line with legal requirements. And it will ensure you and your employees are safe in the workplace, demonstrating that you care about the wellbeing of your people.
Final Thoughts on Health & Safety Consultants
A health and safety consult is an excellent option for businesses of all sizes that need to improve on their existing health and safety practices. They are third-party professionals who can offer their expertise without the need to hire a full-time member of staff, so can be a more affordable alternative for those wanting to strengthen their health and safety practices.
The input of these professionals offers a number of benefits for organisations to meet legal requirements and compliance. And, with the right qualifications and experience, they can bring a wealth of insights to the table, along with a fresh, unbiased perspective, to elevate your practices to new levels and keep your employees safe in the workplace.
Why choose PIP Services for your health and safety consultancy?
We’re dedicated to providing the highest level of advice on all Health and Safety related matters and will assist companies in meeting their obligations. We offer a wide range of Health & Safety Services for a variety of clients. We represent many companies and deal with all of their Health & Safety matters.
We’re also an accredited CITB, NEBOSH, IOSH, IWFM & CITB training provider, as well as a ProQual-approved NVQ centre.
We also offer a business partnership programme offering a NVQ Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety & NEBOSH General Certificate to help you become a health and safety consultant.
We are rated 4.9/5 on Trustpilot, and you can read our reviews here. If you would like to speak to us about your training needs, please get in touch using the button below.