With a career background in advising the engineering sector on health and safety, Alex Black is well aware of the complex issues that employers face when trying to keep staff safe in the workplace.

Yet Alex, who is based in Aberdeen, finds that many small and medium sized employers are now benefiting from the free and confidential workplace visits offered by Healthy Working Lives.

Employers who have up to 250 staff can request a visit by phoning the free Adviceline, and Alex says he has visited dozens of organisations in all sorts of sectors, all over the north east of Scotland.

“I really enjoy meeting a variety of people,” he says. “One day we could be speaking to a farmer and the next the managing director of a large company.

“Once they have been in contact with the Adviceline requesting a visit, then we contact the client to arrange a time that’s convenient for them. It can be early morning, it can be evening, it can be weekends – it fits in with their business.”

During a visit, Alex will have a discussion with an employer before having a look round to identify any issues. “We have an initial sit-down with the client and explain what the service is all about, and reassure them that we have no enforcement powers and the service we provide is free and completely confidential,” he says.

“Then we make the request if it would be OK to see around their premises and ask them if there’s any specific topics they would like us to cover. We would then have the tour around their premises and chat about various things that we see.”

Following the visit, Alex will write up a report for the employer, flagging up any actions they need to consider taking, in an easy to follow ‘traffic light’ format of red, amber and green.

“We compile a bespoke report based on our visit. The red recommendations would be where it’s felt they’re not compliant with current legislation – it could be things like they don’t have a safety policy or first aiders or a fire risk assessment.

“Amber items don’t require immediate attention, but they should consider them as part of their ongoing business priorities. The green section is where we signpost the client to other organisations that might be of benefit to them.”

Employers can request a follow-up visit to help them digest the report and receive more advice, and Alex points out that ongoing support is always available from the Adviceline.
While the entire service is free, Alex recognises that employers may be concerned about the costs of improving health and safety, and he stresses that the approach is as pragmatic as possible.

“We assure employers that there are no charges. However there may be associated costs if we identify areas for improvement. What we try and do is give the employer best practice advice and some of that doesn’t involve cost. We don’t go into an organisation with the expectation that they will throw money at an issue that we identify.”

He adds that a good way for employers to focus their efforts is to consider signing up for the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme. “That gives them the structured framework for the initial health and safety elements we would be speaking about,” he says.

“If they’ve got good processes and procedures in place in terms of health and safety, we will use that to encourage them to expand on their achievements by following the structure of the Award Programme.”

Alex appreciates the challenges that many employers face when finding the time or resources to address health and safety issues.

“For quite a lot of employers, they know they have got to do something, but because there are so many pieces of legislation, they are not quite sure where to start,” he says.

“That’s where we take them through their current business set-up and identify the areas that are most applicable to them – without using jargon.

“It is really by visiting the employer that we can give them the advice as to how best to tackle their particular responsibilities.”