Health and Safety Advice and Assistance
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 set out a requirement for every employer to "appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with … the relevant statutory provisions."
Many employers find it cost effective to utilise an external competent person to discharge all or part of this requirement. The Guidance on the Regulations states that "if there is no relevant competent worker in the organisation or the level of competence is insufficient to assist the employer in complying with health and safety law, the employer should enlist an external service or person. In some circumstances a combination of internal and external competence might be appropriate, recognising the limitations of the internal competence."
At HASTAM, we specialise in working with your in-house personnel to ensure a competent approach to the management of health and safety issues. We have experience in working with a range of clients to provide external back-up to support in-house resources. The level of service is tailored to the needs of individual clients, typical examples are set out below.
Telephone Advice
We would provide a telephone advisory service with up to 12 free calls per annum. This service would be available to you between the hours of 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday, excluding Bank and public holidays and the days between Christmas and New Year. This service provides a search of readily available material including HSE publications, legislation, reported cases and British Standards.
Where appropriate, the service would include initial opinion and advice from a safety consultant but would not extend to cover any site work or extensive research. An initial response would be made on the day of the call and our aim would be to answer the query by the end of the following working day. The exception would be where we were awaiting material from, for example, the HSE.
On Site Consultancy
Subscribers to the service have the option of a HASTAM consultant spending one, two or four days a year on site, with further time report writing. We suggest that this is used for an annual, six monthly or quarterly external audit/review. You also have access to as many days of additional consultancy and training as you require, all at a reduced daily rate.
The cost for the three options outlined above would be £410, £650 or £1,140 per quarter plus VAT, payable in advance. However, should you wish to pay for a year in advance, the annual charge would be only £1,575, £2,500 or £4,400 plus VAT. Expenses and VAT are charged in addition, following all site visits.
As a subscriber to this service, you can purchase additional consultancy and training at a reduced daily rate.
All the above fees are subject to annual review.
