Health and Safety Policy

Cotel Telecom (UK) Rental acknowledges and accepts its legal responsibilities for securing the health, safety and welfare of all its employees, including sub-contractors working on its behalf and all others affected by their activities.
It is the intent of Cotel Telecom (UK) Rental to provide safe and healthy working conditions for all our employees by:

• Providing and maintaining safe plant and equipment
• Providing safe systems of work
• Providing a safe place of work and safe access and egress
• Providing for the safe use, handling, storage and transport of all particles and substances
• Providing a safe working environment
• Providing adequate and sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision

It is also the intent of Cotel Telecom (UK) Rental to enlist the support of all employees towards achieving the safest possible working conditions and to encourage consultation on all health ans safety matters. Support, co-operations and consultation will also be sought from clients, other contractors and any other persons who might reasonably be expected to be included in such discussions. To this end, regular health and safety discussions will be held. By monitoring, reviewing and measuring performance targets, it is possible to learn and improve on the achievement of the past. To this end, there is a continuous cycle of improvement and development.
The Company accepts its responsibility for the health and safety of other people who may be affected by our activities including: clients, employees, other contractors and members of the public. The Company also accepts responsibility for any affects our activities may have on the environment.

The Allocation of duties for safety matters and the particular arrangements, which will be made to implement this policy, are set out on this page. This policy will be kept up to date particularly as regards any changes in activities or the nature or size of the business and will be reviewed at annual meetings.

Overall responsibility for health and safety rests firmly with the highest management within the business (Company Director). However, ALL individuals within the workforce have to accept a certain duty for health and safety towards themselves and others who might be affected by their acts or omissions. ALL health and safety matters will be communicated to ALL staff.

Head of Company

The Company Director has overall responsibility for health and safety within the company, and will:

• Ensure suitable financial provision is made for health and safety obligations
• Provide appropriate information and instruction to employees
• Ensure work is planned to take into account health and safety issues
• Ensure that staff at all levels receives appropriate training
• Monitor and access risk of health and safety
• Understand the company policy for health and safety and ensure it is readily available for employees
• Set a personal example when visiting site by wearing appropriate personal protective equipment
• Actively promote at all levels the company's commitment to effective health and safety management

Health and Safety Co-coordinator / Representative

The person responsible for H&S is the Company Director. Health and Safety Experience of the Company Director is monitored by regular H&S training attendance. The Health and Safety Co-Coordinator / Representative will undertake and be responsible for:

• Monitor the implementation of the health and safety policy throughout the company and reviewing its appropriateness by regular audits / inspection carried out in various workplaces
• Investigating accidents and implementing corrective action
• Reviewing health and safety legislation and implementing any new requirements pertaining to the company's undertaking
• Liaising with managers, employees, sub-contractors and specialists as and when appropriate
• Collating and reporting any accidents reportable under the Reporting, Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)

Employees

It shall be the duty of every employee while at work -

1. To take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work
2. As regards any duty or requirement imposed on their employer or any other person by or under of the relevant statutory provisions, to co-operate with themselves so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with. In order for all employees to comply with their legal duties, they will undertake and be responsible for:

• Reading and understanding the Company's health and safety policy and carry out their work safety and in accordance with its requirements
• Ensuring that all protective equipment provided under a legal requirement is properly used in relation to any instruction / training given and in accordance with this health and safety policy
• Reporting any defects to work equipment immediately to the Site Supervisor
• Reporting to management any incidents, which have led or might lead to injury or damage
• Reporting any accidents or near misses however minor to the Site Supervisor
• Using the correct tools and equipment for the job in hand and in accordance with training and instructions
• Co-Operating with any investigation, which may be undertaken with the objective of preventing reoccurrence of incidents

Health and Safety Executive: Lone Working

This is an extract from the Health and Safety Executive of which provides guidance on how to keep lone workers healthy and safe. It is aimed at anyone who employs or engages lone workers, and also at self-employed people who work alone. Following the guidance in the leaflet is not compulsory, but it should help employers understand what they need to do to comply with their legal duties towards lone workers under:

• the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
• the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

Is it legal to work alone and is it safe?

Working alone is not in itself against the law and it will often be safe to do so. However, the law requires employers to consider carefully, and then deal with, any health and safety risks for people working alone.
Employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all their workers. They also have responsibility for the health and safety of any contractors or self-employed people doing work for them.
These responsibilities cannot be transferred to any other person, including those people who work alone.
Workers have responsibilities to take reasonable care of themselves and other people affected by their work activities and to co-operate with their employers in meeting their legal obligations.

Who are lone workers and what jobs do they do?

Lone workers are those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision, for example:

In fixed establishments

• A person working alone in a small workshop, petrol station, kiosk or shop
• People who work from home other than in low-risk, office-type work (separate guidance covers homeworkers doing low-risk work - see the end of the leaflet for details)
• People working alone for long periods, eg in factories, warehouses, leisure centres or fairgrounds
• People working on their own outside normal hours, eg cleaners and security, maintenance or repair staff

As mobile workers working away from their fixed base

• Workers involved in construction, maintenance and repair, plant installation and cleaning work
• Agricultural and forestry workers
• Service workers, including postal staff, social and medical workers, engineers, estate agents, and sales or service representatives visiting domestic and commercial premises

How must employers control the risks?

Employers have a duty to assess risks to lone workers and take steps to avoid or control risks where necessary. This must include:

• involving workers when considering potential risks and measures to control them;
• taking steps to ensure risks are removed where possible, or putting in place control measures, eg carefully selecting work equipment to ensure the worker is able to perform the required tasks in safety;
• instruction, training and supervision;
• reviewing risk assessments periodically or when there has been a significant change in working practice.

This may include:

• being aware that some tasks may be too difficult or dangerous to be carried out by an unaccompanied worker;
• where a lone worker is working at another employer's workplace, informing that other employer of the risks and the required control measures;
• when a risk assessment shows it is not possible for the work to be conducted safely by a lone worker, addressing that risk by making arrangements to provide help or back-up.

Risk assessment should help employers decide on the right level of supervision. There are some high-risk activities where at least one other person may need to be present. Examples include:

• working in a confined space, where a supervisor may need to be present, along with someone dedicated to the rescue role;
• working at or near exposed live electricity conductors;
• working in the health and social care sector dealing with unpredictable client behaviour and situations.

Employers who have five or more employees must record the significant findings of all risk assessments.
Employers also need to be aware of any specific law that prohibits lone working applying in their industry. Examples include supervision in diving operations, vehicles carrying explosives and fumigation work.

What must employers consult on?

By law, employers must consult all their employees on health and safety matters.
Effective consultation will also help ensure that relevant hazards are identified, and appropriate and proportionate control measures are chosen.

Which particular problems affect lone workers?

Lone workers should not be put at more risk than other employees. Establishing a healthy and safe working environment for lone workers can be different from organising the health and safety of other employees. Some of the issues that need special attention when planning safe working arrangements are set out in the following pages, but your risk assessment process should identify the issues relevant to your circumstances.

Can one person adequately control the risks of the job?

Employers should take account of normal work and foreseeable emergencies, eg fire, equipment failure, illness and accidents. Employers should identify situations where people work alone and consider the following:

• Does the workplace present a specific risk to the lone worker, for example due to temporary access equipment, such as portable ladders or trestles that one person would have difficulty handling?
• Is there a safe way in and out for one person, eg for a lone person working out of hours where the workplace could be locked up?
• Is there machinery involved in the work that one person cannot operate safely?
• Are chemicals or hazardous substances being used that may pose a particular risk to the lone worker?
• Does the work involve lifting objects too large for one person?
• Is there a risk of violence and/or aggression?
• Are there any reasons why the individual might be more vulnerable than others and be particularly at risk if they work alone (for example if they are young, pregnant, disabled or a trainee)?
• If the lone worker's first language is not English, are suitable arrangements in place to ensure clear communications, especially in an emergency?

If a person has a medical condition, are they able to work alone?

Employers should seek medical advice if necessary. Consider both routine work and foreseeable emergencies that may impose additional physical and mental burdens on an individual.

Why is training particularly important for lone workers?

Training is particularly important where there is limited supervision to control, guide and help in uncertain situations.
Training may also be crucial in enabling people to cope in unexpected circumstances and with potential exposure to violence and aggression.
Lone workers are unable to ask more experienced colleagues for help, so extra training may be appropriate. They need to be sufficiently experienced and fully understand the risks and precautions involved in their work and the location that they work in.
Employers should set the limits to what can and cannot be done while working alone. They should ensure workers are competent to deal with the requirements of the job and are able to recognise when to seek advice from elsewhere.

How will the person be supervised?

The extent of supervision required depends on the risks involved and the ability of the lone worker to identify and handle health and safety issues.
The level of supervision needed is a management decision, which should be based on the findings of a risk assessment, ie the higher the risk, the greater the level of supervision required. It should not be left to individuals to decide whether they need assistance.

Where a worker is new to a job, undergoing training, doing a job that presents specific risks, or dealing with new situations, it may be advisable for them to be accompanied when they first take up the post.

Monitoring

Procedures must be put in place to monitor lone workers as effective means of communication are essential. These may include:

• supervisors periodically visiting and observing people working alone;
• pre-agreed intervals of regular contact between the lone worker and supervisor, using phones, radios or email, bearing in mind the worker's understanding of English;
• manually operated or automatic warning devices which trigger if specific signals are not received periodically from the lone worker, eg staff security systems;
• implementing robust system to ensure a lone worker has returned to their base or home once their task is completed.

What happens if a person becomes ill, has an accident, or there is an emergency?

Your assessment of the risks should identify foreseeable events. Emergency procedures should be established and employees trained in them.
Information regarding emergency procedures should be given to lone workers. Your risk assessment may indicate that mobile workers should carry first-aid kits and/or that lone workers need first-aid training. They should also have access to adequate first-aid facilities.

Find out more

hse.gov.uk

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