Posted By Eddie Newall I work for a university college and often teach on customers' premises at their request, usually NHS premises, as do many of my colleagues. Is my employer responsible for visiting these premises to conduct risk assessments to ensure my health and safety? Also, many of our students (about 15,000) are sponsored by their employer and college premises in effect become their workplace. Are their employers responsible for visiting college premises to conduct risk assessments for their employees? Some students travel hundreds of miles to attend the college, and many travel from abroad. This is what has been suggested to me should be happening, but this doesn't seem practical and the expense would be enormous.

Posted By John Donaldson Eddie, CVCP [now Universities UK (UUK)] and the Universities and Collages Employers Association (UCEA) working with the Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA) and others published guidance covering a number of the matters you refer to. The guidance is titled “Health and Safety Guidance for the Placement of HE Students” and is a priced publication from UCEA. There are some parts of the guidance which need updating and a working group is looking at revising the guidance. Details of this and other publications can be found on the USHA web pages www.usha.org.uk John

Posted By John Donaldson Eddie Yes we have got at cross purposes with regards to Students, now that I have re read your posting. However I do have concerns about members of staff who do at times work at other premises. This is a matter my University is addressing with the help of the Academics and Unions. John

Posted By Eddie Newall Thanks for your reply Stuart. In relation to university lecturers teaching off-site, the scale of the problem is enormous. In my faculty we have about 2,000 students on nursing, medical imaging and occupational therapy programmes, all with substantial requirements for workplace placements. In our case their placements are dispersed throughout Kent, in hundreds of different locations in NHS premises. Students also make home visits. Ignoring the health & safety aspects of students in placements (my original posting was in relation to university lecturers) lecturers are required to visit these students whilst they are in their placements. We are also required to teach off-site in NHS and other premises. There is also the education faculty with hundreds of student teachers who have to be visited by lecturers during teaching practice. Then three other faculties with varying degrees of workplace visits by lecturers. Some lecturers travel throughout the UK as part of their work, and in some instances outside the UK. A colleague of mine was recently in Australia, and we were warned about the dangers of visiting China and Canada recently due to SARS (although personally, 30 miles from base is about my limit). In relation to risk assessments on premises outside the university where lecturers are required to work, how would what is “reasonably practicable” in these circumstances be determined? Because of the number of premises involved, and their geographical locations, risk assessment of ALL premises would require a large team of full-time risk assessors. I assume that the high cost of this would not be regarded as reasonably practicable, if only on the grounds that it would render provision of these programmes by the university totally uneconomic. Would it be, for example, no risk assessments further than a 50 mile radius of the university, or none after £100,000 has been spent in any one year? Or would other criteria be used? Fortunately I am not personally responsible for what my employer does or doesn’t do in this matter - health & safety isn’t my responsibility in this context.

Posted By Boyd Wright I'd make this subject a simple part of student or lecturer training. Train them to be proactive at first visit / induction and request to be told what risks are (by whoever is in control of premises) and the control measures. Typically fire alsrms, evacuation routes and muster points as well as areas they are to work in and equipment they are to work with. Training should tell them what to expect and what a safe system of work / RA looks like. Give them a simple checklist. I'd put the requirement by the occupier to do this briefing in the documentation / contract that each location taking the student will exchange with you. Lecturer on first visit can check it has been done and he/she themselves will be 'safe' if they are accompanied by the occupier /student whilst on site. To visit and do a risk assessment everywhere is simply not practicable from what you say.