HEALTH & SAFETY – RETAINER OF SERVICE

The most common question we get asked is: “how much will it cost for health and safety...because.... we only.... make ...... or do.....???”

(At this point I have an endless list of what people deem to be reasonable excuses for being exempt from Health & Safety!) 

IF YOU WANT TO DO YOUR OWN HEALTH & SAFETY THEN CONSIDER THIS:

·         Company owners are usually not Health and Safety experts

·         FACT - Health and Safety consultancy doesn’t present an immediate tangible return on investment, which may explain why a lot of companies fail to adopt an adequate health and safety culture.

·         All too often Company’s realise the value of health and safety after something has gone wrong, then the enforcement authorities get involved, and then it’s too late to reverse the problem.

·         Health and Safety law places a reverse burden of proof. Quite simply, a court will ask, was the incident avoidable? After which the company has to prove their innocence, by way of documented proof ... extremely difficult, if not adopting a health and safety culture.

MINIMUM RETAINER OF SERVICE – Monthly one half day on-site audit for a 12 month period

·         Half day per month, retainer to conduct on-site Health & Safety audits.

·         Every month, a half day visit, usually lasting 3 and half hours, to conduct an audit of health and safety compliance. If prior problem areas are highlighted, then those are prioritised.

·         Additional work resulting from the site audit, (if can’t be done on site) can either be paid for in addition to retainer agreement, or prioritised for the next monthly visit. Work done off site (time & materials) is accumulated, and subtracted from the half day retainer arrangement.

·         This minimum retainer is suitable for the small business which is low risk, and whilst it will not ensure immediate full compliance, it will demonstrate a willing on the company’s part to be pro-active in taking its legal responsibilities seriously.

·         Each audit is documented and itemised as to the work that has been conducted.

·         All too often company’s feel all they need is the minimum, in which case we will advise accordingly, but the responsibility remains with the company as to what degree of assistance they require and pay for.