Posted By Christopher Having resigned due to bullying as a result of identifying unsafe practices which the organisation I worked for refused to address. What is the legal responsibility of the health and safety advisor? In what circumstances would you resign from your post if you did not have a job lined up to go to?

Posted By Ian G Hutchings Christopher No business I have ever been involved in has been 100% safe. The challenge of this job is working with people and influencing changes in perception based on sound and reasoned arguments. If it is terrible and you still get nowhere, just make sure written records are kept and have a look round. What would you do if you then moved and found the same thing with your next employer? How long have you been there? I am not sure how I would view someone in interview who left for these reasons. If you are in the right financial position to survive with no income then you may be OK to leave immediately and blow the whistle - if there is imminent danger to people; obviously having warned them first. I'd be interested to hear how you get on. Ian

Posted By Robert. I would have kept on to my job mate. "Illegitimi et nil carborundum" May be your perception of risk differed from that of your employer. Were you given ample opportunuty to substantiate your claims of percieved poor safety. If it were me I would have recorded all my observations and identified and noted reasonable improvements,and time scales, forward to management with a bit of justifictaion. Advise the workforce of hazards and risks and notify management afterwards. Has any body been hurt or has there been any dangerous occurances Seems strange that a company employs a safety advisor but takes no notice of advice!

Posted By Scott Carlin I don't think anyone should resign from a company such as this. A competent, conscientious safety professional is exactly what an organisation such as this needs. If you resign the management will appoint someone who maybe doesn't care as much as you do. This will put the health of the employees at risk. It is up to health and safety professionals to try to change the views of "old style" company Directors who may see safety as a check box in tender returns and nothing more. After all, what is the point of a safety professional if not to change points of view, work culture and foster new ideas and ways of thinking?

Posted By William I think that if i was ever in a situation such as this i would keep a diary of all advice given and gather any evidence i could such as emails and memos to cover my own back, at the end of the day if you are employed as an advisor that is what you are there to do. If you give advice and it is not taken it is not you at fault when something goes wrong, but i would always cover my own back to prevent being made into a scapegoat in the event of an accident, perhaps it would be a good idea if IOSH provided an online service to members so they could record advice given to cover themselves.

Posted By Alexander Falconer It was interesting to hear some of the comments being made on this thread. We were not the first, nor will be be the last persons to resign from our roles as a result of organisations failing to heed our advice, support and guidance. As one respondant states, cover your "ass" (for the want of a better word - apologies to the moderators), by keeping copies of memos, emails, reports, diaries, etc of all your gadvice/guidance. It still saddens me to hear that many directors/company owners are still as ignorant with regards to H&S, seeing it as a burden costing them ££££'s. It is up to us as professionals, and with the support of IOSH, promote the ever increasing need for H&S, and convince our superiors of the benefits. Reduction in risk = less accidents/incidents = less claims = more money on the bottom line. H&S must be seen as a long term investment I dont mean to waver off slightly, but so many of us do get disillusioned with the support (or the lack of it from above) and admit defeat, moving onwards into another position where the chances of the same problems recurring are high. At the end of the day, it is all about whether you are a strong enough person to commit yourself into the role and do the job, if your advice is still being ignored, rephrase it from a different angle until you exhaust all your avenues. Have been there and done it, despite a difference of opinion with the MD of a previous company and eventually resulting in a parting of the ways, the company requested me to return some 13months later after firing my successor (funny how they never admitted they were in the wrong, and that my advice was sound in the first place). Needless to say I declined. Employers/company owners/directors will eventually understand H&S it will take time, and only by a concertined effort by all us H&S professionals will these attitudes change.

Posted By Crim I work as a self employed H & S advisor and have recently refused to undertake work for Clients that do not take any notice of my recommendations. As well as those who decide to muck about with fee payments. I just got fed up chasing people all the time and not getting anywhere. This means I have less work to do, less money coming in, but the bonuses are more time off work and a clear concience - not having to look over my shoulder at who's about to clobber me with a big stick! The Clients I do work for are following advice and attempting to conform with changes in legislation despite having their own work to do. I am aware that being an employee is a differnt kettle of fish but I would seriously consider resigning on a point of principle but do understand about mouths to feed etc. Tough one!

Posted By Simon Heesom I resigned from a Plant Hire Company and promptly made a Protected disclosure, not heard anything back yet. but it was satisfying to do. The director in question was stupid and buried his head about H&S and started to cut through my risk assessments with a big black marker. so I dumped them, don't be frightened to do the same, your professional credibility is also at steak protect an idiot and you may become one yourself!

Posted By Christopher Kelly I have walked out of 3 such companies. Thank ... I did, I finally ended up with a reputable company, who have their problems but are dedicated to working safely. The first firm I walked out of were prosecuted, before I finally left for an incident which was directly related to 3 letters, a number of heated arguments etc in which I advised them of the problem. Even after the serious accident they didn't spend the £400 required to put things right. After I left I found out that they had a similar incident 10 years previously so had prior knowledge and ignored it and me. After that I ended up selling my house and relocating. I have done everything I can to help the guy who was injured, providing evidence to the solicitor etc but am afraid to say that I became disillusioned with organisations like that - the employees / management are often unwilling to help themselves and, in the event of something going wrong everyone starts slinging mud at each other. Putting everything in writing does not always protect you, sometimes you have to decide to quit. A competent EHS professional within a fraudulent / corrupt organisation (there are a lot of them around) just helps them to cover their tracks and make everything look OK. There are lots of MDs out there who see people as a resource the same as timber or steel and are quite happy to take risks with them (...it's the way I learned to do it and I never got hurt...etc). I am sorry to say it but it is possible that your EHS professional has been supporting you and your resignation has left them in a weakened position. I sympathise having been in a similar position myself but I don't think it is possible to criticise your EHS, without knowing their side of the story. Regards,