Health and Safety for Businesses

The health and safety service within Environmental Health and Consumer Protection works with the Health and Safety Executive and the seven other Councils in Dorset to help prevent death, injury and ill-health to those at work and those affected by work activities.

 We provide advice on health and safety law, investigate serious complaints and incidents that arise in the workplace and undertake targeted interventions of those businesses that present the highest risk to their employees or members of the public.

 We have signed a pledge with the Health and Safety Executive to demonstrate our commitment to managing health and safety risks sensibly.

Responsibility for enforcing health and safety at work is shared between the Health and Safety Executive and Environmental Health depending upon the type of work activity. Environmental Health and Consumer Protection at Bournemouth is responsible for enforcing health and safety in the following types of workplaces within the borough:-

1. Shops
2. Offices
3. Catering services
4. The provision of permanent or temporary residential accommodation (e.g. care homes, caravan sites)
5. Consumer services provided in a shop (with exceptions)
6. Coin-operated launderettes
7. Cosmetic and therapeutic services (including tattooing, body piercing, electrolysis, acupuncture, massage, nails bars, hairdressing, etc.)
8. The practice or presentation of the arts, sports, games, entertainment or other cultural or recreational activities (with exceptions)
9. The hiring out of pleasure craft for use on in-land waters
10. The care, treatment, accommodation or exhibition of animals (with exceptions)
11. The activities of an undertaker except embalming or making coffins
12. Church worship or religious meetings
13. The provision of childcare or playgroup or nursery facilities

 

The Health and Safety Executive enforce those types of work activity not listed above. You can contact them by calling the Infoline on 0845 345 0055.

 

Making a complaint about health and safety in the workplace

Each Environmental Health department in Dorset and the Health and Safety Executive operate the same policy for responding to complaints about poor health and safety practices in businesses. We have adopted a risk-based approach to complaint management and carry out an investigation when the incident in question is likely to cause serious or significant personal injury. This approach allows us to prioritise our response to incidents and direct our limited resources to situations where people are exposed to the greatest risk to their health or safety.

 

If you would like to make a complaint about health and safety please contact us. Our health and safety Complaints and incident investigation policy| can be found here.

 

Reporting an incident in the workplace

A guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 is available to download|.

A summary of the main duties under the regulations is available on pages 8-9 of this guide. Pages 22-25 explain the type of incidents that should be reported and by when.

 

Incidents can only be reported online using the website of the Health and Safety Executive. A RIDDOR report should be completed online| to report an incident at work.

 

If the incident has resulted in a death or major injury then you can report the incident by calling 0845 300 99 23 however this service is only available Monday to Friday 08:30 to 17:00 hours. The definition of a major injury can be found on page 37 of the RIDDOR guide|

 

For further information of health and safety at work please visit the website of theHealth and Safety Executive|