Hi all without giving all the details I work in a high risk area and we employ up to 400 people, however, we have a H+S manager but are considering a future SHE advisor, with such a large amount of employees do you think an advisor should be diploma level, or certificate does anyone have any firm guidance around this? Needless to say relevant experience etc Cheers

Ray is correct always assuming the H&S manager has higher than the Cert. I've always considered "the Sainsbury case" as the guidance as to why the Cert would not be good enough.

Has anybody got a link or info with regard this "Sainsbury's Case" please?

I was told the following on a safety course: Sainsbury's was fined £425,000 after the death of a warehouse worker at Houndmills Road depot, Basingstoke, Hants in December 1996. Sainsbury's admitted failing to ensure the health and safety of employees under Section Two of the Act, plus five other related offences, at an earlier hearing. The judge, the honourable Mr Justice Kay, commented: "The story that has been revealed to us is a picture of working procedures that date back to the dark ages of work safety." There were no adequate management systems in place. A safety switch on the truck had been deliberately disconnected on more than half of the reach trucks. There was no set maintenance schedule or a procedure for reporting defects. There was no competent adviser on health and safety. The only employee at the site responsible for health and safety measures safety measures, was an occupational nurse with no technical knowledge of forklift trucks. Staff at the depot were encouraged to work as quickly as possible under a "work and finish" regime.

There is a difference between the Cert and Diploma - about £3000....

In what context?