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Health and safety training – types and requirements for UK businesses

training sessionThere are hundreds of different health and safety training courses available to UK businesses. Many are industry dependent, for example, building contractors that are required to carry out body-approved health and safety training for all workers, while others are generic.

Where legislation exists, businesses are required to maintain a frequent and provable system of health and safety education. This can be confusing, and some businesses can lose their way not through intention but simply by not knowing exactly what is required of them.

Some Institute based health and safety training can be legally required in relevant industries. For instance, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health runs courses in COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health) and manual handing. While the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health provides (through a network of licensed training providers) courses in working, managing and directing safely.

While none of the above courses may be specified in law, the subjects they cover are. In other words, while you don’t necessarily have a legal obligation to undertake a course in COSHH through the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, you as an employer, are required to give your employees some form of recognised health and safety training in the control of substances hazardous to health.

One of the easier ways to ensure that your training is up to date and carried out according to legal requirements, is to involve a third party training company. Training management companies can visit your place of work and deliver training either to groups of employees or to individuals, according to the requirements of the role and the law.

For example, a business is required to have a fire warden, but doesn’t have to have lots of them. So in this case, fire warden training is delivered one on one, or to just two or three people. On the other hand, COSHH training is mandatory for all staff in an industry or building where substances potentially hazardous to health are used and stored.

Industry or trade specific training related to health and safety may also be operated by a third party training organisation. These kinds of courses may include extremely specific ones, like the slinger banksman safety course, or the mobile aluminium scaffolding training course. These are nominated as general courses on health and safety, which have national certifications attached to them where it is appropriate. For instance, in construction related training qualifications necessary to complete NVQs in that trade are needed.

Health and safety is vital in all industries. Businesses have a duty of care to all employees, customers, clients and visitors indeed to any persons, whose wellbeing may be adversely affected by their presence, their actions or the operation of their property and equipment.

While the landscape of the law changes frequently, it can be difficult to keep up. Using a third party health and safety training partner can help cut through confusion and ensure that every business has properly fulfilled its health and safety duties.

Submitted on behalf of UKFireTraining.com

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