“Grean Leaf Services” is a trading name of Brownleaf Services ltd and commits to operating in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, The Management of Health & Safety Regulations 1999 and all other applicable regulations. Grean Leaf Services recognises and accepts its responsibilities as an employer to provide and maintain a safe and healthy environment for all of its employees, temporary staff, visitors, or others affected by our activities and operations. Grean Leaf Services will take all necessary steps, so far as reasonably practicable, to meet these responsibilities, paying particular attention to:

• Provision and maintenance of plant, equipment and systems of work that are safe, Portable Appliance Tested (PAT tested) and without risk to health.
• Arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risk to health in connection with use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
• Providing any such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary.
• Maintenance of any place of work in conditions that are safe and without risk to health, as far as reasonably practical.
• Providing appropriate training, safety devices and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as is necessary to safeguard the Health, Safety and Welfare of our employees.

To ensure the policy is observed Grean Leaf Services requires the co-operation of all its employees. All employees have a legal duty to take reasonable care to ensure their own safety and that of their colleagues and persons whom may be affected by their activities.

Disciplinary action will be taken against any employee, regardless of status, whom wilfully or deliberately disregard or is consistently negligent in conforming to Grean Leaf Services’ Health and Safety policy.

The general statement of policy and responsibilities will be available to all employees and displayed on the notice boards.

The Manager will take prime responsibility for Health and Safety and annual review of this policy.

Specific Responsibilities

The Manager at Grean Leaf Services is responsible for:

• Ensuring that the premises provide a healthy and safe working environment for staff, clients and other persons that might be affected by its operation by way of regular Risk Assessments.
• Monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Health and Safety Policy.
• Reviewing the Health and Safety Policy annually.
• Providing appropriate health and safety training for staff.
• Ensuring that clients receive relevant health and safety information.
• Making appropriate funds available for the implementation of the Health and Safety Policy.
• Ensure that an effective policy exists together with a suitable organisational structure through which it can be implemented.
• Ensure that the policy and organisational structure are regularly reviewed to reflect changes in Grean Leaf Services and statutory requirements.
• Positively promote the policy and its implementation, ensuring that it receives a high profile within the company.
• Within budget responsibility, determine the funding allocation for health and safety matters.
• Report on health and safety matters to the relevant bodies.

Staff are responsible for:

• Be responsible for the health and safety of the client’s premises in their charge.
• Maintain the products for which they are responsible in a clean, tidy and safe condition.
• Bring matters of health and safety that they cannot resolve themselves to the attention of their supervisor or Manager.
• Promote a positive approach to health and safety amongst clients and colleagues.
• Implement emergency evacuation procedures when necessary, exercising effective supervision of both themselves and colleagues in their charge.
• Keep abreast of health and safety legislation and directives.
• Assist, as required, in safety inspections and the process of risk assessment associated with their area of work.

Monitoring

The policy will be monitored to establish implementation and effectiveness.

The Manager will establish that:

• Risk assessments are being carried out and regularly reviewed.
• Health and safety inspections are being carried out and findings reported and acted upon.
• Safe Working Practices and Procedures have been produced and are in operation.
• Appropriate Health and Safety information is available and is being effectively communicated to staff and clients.
• Relevant training is being carried out for staff.
• Health and safety material is being appropriately reviewed, to reflect changes in legislation or Hub requirements.

Evacuation

All Locations must have a published procedure for evacuation of the premises, in case of fire or other reasons.

All staff should familiarise themselves with the evacuation procedure, which should be displayed in all public and work areas, and ensure that it is brought to the attention of visitors.

Unless previously notified of a test, when the evacuation warning is given the premises should be vacated immediately.

General Risk Assessment

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require that a written assessment of risks with the workplace is carried out. This is a simple assessment that should be carried out on six-monthly or a more frequent basis. The assessment identified hazards to do with the working environment including those associated with housekeeping, equipment, space, access/evacuation and staff. It is also used to identify immediate hazards, potential risks requirements for further training and requirements for specific risk assessments that need to be carried out.

Safety Inspections

General Safety Inspections are a week-by-week check designed to improve general levels of health and safety by identifying “shorter-lived” risks such as tables left temporarily blocking a fire escape. All risks are calculated using the Health and Safety Risk Assessment Matrix Table, and will be available to all employees.

We have no kitchens or equipment requiring specialist inspections such as, for example, machine-specific safety inspections or Food Hygiene Safety Inspections. If our clients are involved in the use of such machinery or in handling food, it is the responsibility of the company site. Staff should nevertheless encourage safe practice.

Safe Working Methods

Safe Working Methods are written methods of work available to all staff covering a particularly hazardous or high risk task for example using a ladder or using heavy machinery. Grean Leaf Services staff will need to follow any Safe Working methods required at client sites.

The working method includes a safe procedure for carrying out the work including measures such as, for example, isolating power supplies, wearing specific personal protective equipment and notifying other members of staff/learners. It is important to follow safe working methods when carrying and transporting heavy & bulky kit to site.

Manual Handling Assessments

All tasks involving manual handling should be assessed and all staff likely to be involved in manual handling require training

Manual Handling tasks include all significant lifting, pushing and pulling of objects. Assessments should be reviewed on an annual basis or sooner where a task is altered in some way. A detailed manual handling guide from the HSE is available in O:\Company\Policies\Health Safety and Welfare\Health and safety materials folder.

 Personal Protective Equipment Assessments

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is any protective clothing (e.g. overalls, gloves, aprons, face masks and eye protection) required to allow a person to safely carry out a task. The assessment for the requirement of PPE means looking at tasks carried out and general job functions to decide on the necessary PPE for each person.

All PPE allocated to staff will be documented in the PPE register. Once provided, there is a legal obligation to maintain the allocated PPE. Maintenance can range from simple cleaning of eye goggles to replacement of filters in masks.

COSHH Assessments

COSHH stands for “Control of Substances Hazardous to Health”. All potentially hazardous chemicals require assessment. The Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet (as supplied with the chemical) is not the same as a COSHH Assessment. Integral to a COSHH assessment are both the circumstances and the way in which that chemical will be used within the organisation.

COSHH Assessments are safety reference documents and should be made available at all times to all people using the chemicals. They contain information on hazards, personal protective equipment, first aid and much more.

COSHH Assessments should be reviewed annually or more often if changes in the chemicals or legislation dictate.

Special Circumstances

Occasionally, there may be a requirement for additional assessment. For example, risk assessment procedures for expectant mothers.

Electrical Safety

The landlord is responsible for all matters relating to the electrical circuitry in the building.

Emergency Procedures

EVACUATION

All Locations must have a published procedure for evacuation of the premises, in case of fire or other reasons.

All staff should familiarise themselves with the evacuation procedure, which should be displayed in all public and work areas, and ensure that it is brought to the attention of visitors.

Unless previously notified of a test, when the evacuation warning is given the premises should be vacated immediately.

FIRST AID

All Locations should have a published procedure for the action to be taken in the case of an accident. The location of first aid boxes and guidance on the action to be taken in case of an accident, must be displayed in all public and work areas. A list of first aiders is kept on site.

All staff should familiarise themselves with this guidance.

Manual Handling Assessment

Introduction

Grean Leaf Services, in accordance with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, intends to protect its employees against the risk of injury from manual handling tasks which involve human, rather than mechanical, effort to move a load (including lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling or carrying).

Grean Leaf Services endeavours to eliminate manual handling tasks, identified as having a significant risk, from the workplace. However, where it is not reasonably practical to do this, the tasks are assessed and the risks are reduced by implementing safe working procedures and providing information to employees on safe handling methods.

THE ASSESSMENT OF MANUAL HANDLING TASKS

A risk assessment of manual handling takes into account:

• The task
• The load
• The working environment
• Individual capability/personal factors

EMPLOYEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

All employees must:

• Inform their Manager if they have any existing condition or pre-disposition to injury e.g. if pregnant or if they have suffered a previous back injury
• Ensure you have understood the requirements of the task at hand and signed the Manual Handling Risk Assessment Checklist
• Follow any safe working procedure put in place by their Company to reduce the risk of injury during manual handling