Health and Safety

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For District Health and Safety matters, please contact District Health and Safety Officer Andy Bottoms (Bretby)

General

The basis for Health and Safety in District 1220 is to be guided by the RGBI advice from the website, as in most cases, we do not need to duplicate information. The relevant forms can be obtained from the connections below (mostly word docs) or from the RGBI Website which are mostly in pdf format. The most important document (issued this year) is RGBI Health & Safety Guidance – July 2018, which gives specific advice, valuable to all involved with these vital tasks. I have inserted here the Introduction on page three by Peter King – Compliance Officer; Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland;

Introduction

Rotary clubs across these islands run a considerable number of events and activities. The vast majority are well organised, well managed and take place in a comfortable and reassuring atmosphere. These are activities where Health and Safety is seen as normal practice. Evidence of this can also be seen in published reports of activities and is supported by the very limited number of accident claims reported to Rotary International GB&I and the insurers.

The public perception of Health and Safety is not always good and far too often is based on misleading stories which owe more to a desire for circulation than promoting good practice. We need to be aware of this and to act or respond accordingly. This means ensuring that adequate risk assessments are carried out and followed through in order that Rotary maintains a positive image and that no participant, member of the public or any Rotarian suffers as the result of an accident, incident or illness caused by a badly run activity or event.

The main purposes of guidance are:

to interpret helping Rotarians to understand what the law says and the requirements under the Health and Safety at Work Act;
to help Rotarians comply with the law;
to give technical advice.

This guidance is not compulsory, and Rotarians are free to take other action. But if they do follow guidance they will normally be doing enough to comply with the law and Rotary Great Britain and Ireland Policies.

Please refer to www.rotarygbi.org (members section) for current policies and guidance for all compliance matters. In particular, insurance reference documents should be reviewed to ensure adequate cover for events.

Continue to organise and run the multitude of events that individual members, clubs and districts run every year, and please ensure that they continue to be safe. If in doubt seek advice – you know it makes sense.

Peter King

Compliance Officer – Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland

Guidance

In general, the same health and safety standards should be applied to voluntary workers as they would to employees, exposed to the same risks…

HSE considers it good practice for “a volunteer user to provide the same level of health and safety protection as they would in an employer/employee relationship, irrespective of whether there are strict legal duties.”

It is essential, therefore, that District 1220 and its member clubs comply with the RIBI Guidance.

RIBI’s insurers would look at the level of compliance with these when considering any claims made against District or an individual Club.

Duties and Responsibilities

District 1220

D1220 is accountable to the General Council of RIBI for the implementation of RIBI H&S Policy in their area. D1220 is responsible for the H&S of their appointed officers, members (whilst employed in Rotary activities) and members of the public affected by their activities.
D1220 is responsible for:

Completing and maintaining a District H&S Policy
Appointing a District Contact (the District H&S Officer)
Where appropriate, ensuring that District Risk Assessments (DRAs) are developed and implemented with Control Measures identified
Ensuring that such DRAs are reviewed annually and that the results of reviews are sent to the RIBI H&S Officer
Providing effective arrangements for communication and consultation with member Clubs and their members on H&S matters
Providing appropriate H&S Training for Clubs and their members in conjunction with the RIBI H&S Officer (RIBIHSO) and the District Contact.

District Contact (H&S Officer)

District H&S Officer (DHSO) is accountable to D1220 for the implementation of D1220 H&S Policy, and is responsible for:

Encouraging the appointment of Club H&S Officers (CHSOs) to consult with the DHSO and the RIBIHSO in matters relating to H&S
Encourage the completion and maintenance of Club H&S Policies
Encourage the development of Club Risk Assessments (CRAs), their implementation and the identification of control measures
Encourage such Club H&S Policies and CRAs to be reviewed annually and the results of the review sent, via the DHSO to the RIBIHSO
Providing guidance and assistance, where required, to Clubs within D1220
Ensuring that D1220 fulfils its responsibilities to RIBI

D1220 Member Clubs

Each Club within D1220 is accountable to District 1220 and is responsible, through the Club President and Council, for:

The H&S of their appointed officers, members (whilst employed in Club activities) and members of the public affected by their activities.
Appointing a member to be responsible for H&S within the Club (the Club H&S Officer – CHSO)
Preparing and approving a Club H&S Policy and ensuring that it is reviewed annually
Preparing and approving Risk Assessments for all activities organised by the Club that affect members and others affected by the activities
Reviewing annually any RA that is prepared for an event that is repetitive
Ensuring that all H&S Policies and Risk Assessments are forwarded to the DHSO for onward transmission to the RIBIHSO.
It is recommended that Club H&S Policies are prepared or reviewed and approved at the first meeting of a Club’s Council and, in any case, forwarded to the DHSO no later than the end of August each year.

Guidance and Assistance

The following documents are available for download to assist Clubs and Club H&S Officers, and to provide information about D1220 H&S matters.