HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

Ultima Skills Ltd is committed to maintaining high standards of health and safety for our employees and learners, both on our site and at that of any alternative classrooms or learner workplaces, and this statement recognises our obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It is our objective to minimise the number of instances of occupational accidents and illnesses, and ultimately, achieve a safe environment. To be effective, this policy requires the commitment and active involvement of all managers and staff in order that safety awareness and positive attitudes are fostered and continuous efforts made to maintain this.

Responsibilities

Our Responsibilities

Ultima recognises its responsibility to ensure that company equipment, materials and procedures are made as safe as is reasonably practicable through careful planning, effective organisation and continuous monitoring. Ultima’s responsibilities are to both employees and learners and will take the below actions to ensure this:

• Complete risk assessments of our premises, training areas, work duties (including additional arrangements for apprentices). From this, we will create safe systems of work (SSOW) and ensure all staff and learners are suitably trained with these to limit the adverse effects of the physical environment in which any activities are carried out.
• Carrying out a risk assessment at any new learner workplace, checking their policies for compliance and how they will manage health and safety arrangements. Through this, we provide relevant feedback to the employer to ensure a safe learning/working environment. During the initial process, before an apprentice commences their training, employers will commit to and understand their responsibilities through the commitment statement (located in ILP).
• Provide staff with all necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) making sure training is given on how to use, to ensure that employees stay free from harm.
• Ensure health and safety is embedded into learning to constantly give learners relevant knowledge and experience.
• Make all staff, visitors and learners aware of the health & safety policy and procedures, confirming that they adhere to these.
• To take responsibility for health and safety relating to our premises.
• Respond appropriately to any health and safety issues raised by a learner, employer or employee.
• Promote a health and safety culture throughout the organisation.
• Provide equipment that ensures minimum risk to employees, learners, visitors, etc.
• Continuously improving health, safety and welfare for all employees and learners.
• Ensure employees attend training sessions and fully co-operate with the policy.

Employee Responsibilities

 

• Recognise their own personal responsibility for following Ultima’s health and safety policy, rules and procedures.
• Attend training as and when required.
• To co-operate fully with the policy.
• To work in a safe manner, following company policies and procedures, ensuring they don’t put themselves, or others, at risk of harm.
• Constantly monitor health and safety risks to learners whilst out on site visits and report any concerns to the operations manager.

Employer Responsibilities

 

• To induct all learners into the company, supplying relevant training for their role and any equipment required.
• To supply relevant PPE for the learners’ protection, and give training on how to use this.
• Report any learner accidents and ill health to Ultima.
• To have prime responsibility for the learner’s welfare, ensuring relevant legislation requirements are met and adhered to.
• Have a health and safety policy that sets out clear commitment to keeping the learner safe from harm.
• Complete risk assessments and make learners aware of risks identified.
• Supply adequate and relevant support and have a clear reporting procedure for health and safety issues, concerns and incidents.
• Have valid insurance and to report any near misses or accidents to Ultima that the learner is involved in.

Learner Responsibilities

 

• To work in a safe manner, following company policies and procedures, ensuring not to put themselves, or others, at risk of harm.
• Adhere to rules and regulations set out by their employer.
• Communicate to the employer and Ultima any changes to personal health that could affect the severity of risks when completing their role.
• To report any issues, concerns or accidents to their employer and Ultima.

Our Duty of Care to Learners

Before placing any learners on site with an employer, will with complete our rigorous employer health and safety assessment. This is to confirm the employer has all the relevant policies and processes in place to guarantee the learner’s safety. Any issues identified will be documented on the risk assessment. The employer will be made aware of the improvements to be implemented and together, we will agree a timely target date for completion. If this is the case, no learner will be allowed to enter that employer’s workplace until the actions have been completed and Ultima are confident of our learners’ safety. During this period, Ultima will work with the employer to support them in completing the set actions and help them move forward with improving their health and safety.

During learning, Ultima staff will monitor the suitability of the employer and any learner concerns relating to health and safety. This will be done by checking fulfilment of the employer responsibilities detailed above.

Ultima will embed health and safety into every training visit and will cover during progress reviews. A health and safety questionnaire will be completed at each review and this will look at any issues, concerns, accidents or near misses the learners may have had.

 

Training

All new Ultima employees will complete an induction into the company that will explain the health and safety policy and procedures. Safe systems of work for duties they will undertake will be explained, and any training of equipment they will be using given.

Ongoing health and safety information and guidance will be issued to staff through team meetings and also through company notice boards.

All learners will receive health and safety training to provide them with relevant knowledge needed for the workplace. Training will be embedded into learning through the scheme of works and lesson plans throughout the whole duration of their course. Any health and safety issues or concerns will be discussed at every progress review, with the learner to ensure they are safe in their job.

Both employees and learners will be trained to spot potential hazards within the workplace and the procedure of how to report these.

 

First Aid and Accidents

Employees should check with their manager for local arrangements.

All accidents must be reported to the Directors or Operations Manager. They should be reported in writing and made either by the person involved in or a witness to the accident. All accidents or injuries will then be recorded in the site’s accident book.

Further steps may need to be taken due to ill health of a member of staff due to an accident, and in some cases may need to be reported to RIDDOR.

If an incident occurs whilst on alternative premises, this should be reported to the relevant person on that site, and then to senior management. Should a learner be involved in an accident, this must be reported immediately to Ultima’s Directors and Operations manager.

 

 

 

Fire Protection

Fire extinguishers and exit signs are identified. Extinguishers will be checked and maintained to ensure they are in date and in good working order.

It is every employee’s responsibility to familiarise themselves with the closest fire exits at their place of work.

All visitors should be signed in and made aware of their nearest fire exit, and the fire evacuation plans for any classroom should be made to known to those learners.

ANY HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS, RELATING TO EITHER EMPLOYEES OR LEARNERS, WHETHER CLASSROOM OR WORKPLACE BASED, SHOULD BE REPORTED TO ULTIMA’S DIRECTORS OR OPERATIONS MANAGER

 

 

Smoking

Ultima Skills Ltd is a non-smoking office and we therefore request that you do not smoke whilst on company premises. This also applies to learners and visitors, and therefore it is the duty of every employee to ensure vistors are aware of this policy.

We do understand that some members of staff are smokers and we would therefore ask these individuals to only smoke during lunch breaks outside the building and in the designated smoking area.