Hi All,
An incident that happened at work today has prompted me to ask this question.

What is the difference between H & S manager and H & S adviser in terms of responsibilities?
I am a health and safety adviser for two sites with a low pay of 35k with huge responsibilities.

I need the main difference between the two job titles

Regards

Good answer jake

I wouldn't say your salary was low. I would say you need to count your blessings you have a job considering the amount of out of work H&S professionals there are out there.

As for responsibilities, I would have thought the real question here is accountability. That's what you need to clarify with your employers. As a H&S adviser I imagine you are responsible for quite a lot, but as a manager you are accountable for much more. That's the difference between the two. If you're accountable, that's a whole different ball game, but as an adviser, I doubt you will be, in the end.

I suggest you get on with your job and refrain from thinking you've got it tough. There's plenty out there who would gladly take your place.

35K? I long to be on 35K!

I have a 175,000 sq ft warehouse and approximately 2000 peripatetic workers. I am an advisor and don't have any direct reports. Not even on 25K.

Glad to have a job- I am making progress- the company is expanding and I'm looking at the future. If things don't pan out I will be looking to move.

If I had direct reports then I would no doubt be on more than I am now, and called a Manager.

Andy

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses, covering the responses I am going to get on with the job.

Thanks again

I would say that a manager is likely to have people reporting to them and budget responsibilites, whereas an advisor is more likely to just convey advice, guidance and information to help an organisation to remain compliant.

Depends on the type / size / complexity of an organisation, in a large organisation (senior management and above usually), a H&S professional could have line management responsibility for various areas compliance / risk / quality assurance / governance. Companies like BP etc. often recruit for "advisors", "team leaders" etc. etc. when in fact they are quite senior poisitions that have line management responsibililites (maybe for the topics mentioned) that cover many departments, just the point that job title doesn't mean anything.



If you're not happy, or believe your worth more than your employer is paying for your services, look else where.

You are worth however much an employer (or client) will pay, test the market and see, you may find you can get a better offer else where :)

I am the Station H & S Officer for an RAF flying station with over 3000 personnel,at my last Station I was the Station H & S Adviser for 600 personnel. The job description is practically identical, just more responsibility at my present station. As has been mentioned, the job title is irrelevant,it is the job description and responsibilities that matter. My pay is frozen for two years, but I earn £30K and am happy to be employed at the moment (and enjoying my job). Many people would be happy to be in my position as there are not to many vacancies out there at the moment.

I am a H&S Manager on 26/27k and would love to be on 35k. I think its really just a sign of the current times that we are in that salaries have dropped so low. Although yes we can be thankful to be that we are in paid employment it is difficult not to wish that you were getting paid what you are worth. I will certainley be looking to move on to a better paid opportunity when one (if ever) should arise.

some of us cant even get the foot in the door, have spent the day waiting for a phone call after a two and a half hour interview on wed, not eveen the curtesy of a call, its tough, use your job to build up contacts,and experience and enjoy

It is all about circumstances and the organisation you work for. Prior to my current role I was working as a contractor through an agency, and earning up to a grand a week, but no paid sick, no paid holiday and no job security. One of the people I worked with during the agenda for change when that was happening in the NHS was on, and I am not joking, £1200 a day.That was a long time ago and was even more then. Silly, stupid money.
I now work in the NHS for an outside company which provides all of the non-medical services - porters, security, domestics, hostess, catering. I have health and safety, fire and training responsibility for 550, within a hostile client environment. I am paid nearly £43k which is less than I have previously earned, but having paid holiday etc offsets that. I feel that I am really lucky - previous employers paid for the general cert and the fire cert: I have just completed BOC medical gases train the trainer course, this week I am doing the CIEH train the trainer 'replacement' course, then am doing the level 4 food safety in catering course. And I have just accepted an unconditional offer to a H&S MSc, all of which has been paid for by my employer.
The point is that I yearned for and wanted all of this years ago but was in the same boat as others - either a low paid role or had to take a contract job to get better money but no job security. My point is - it will get better. I have had to wait a long time- many years - to find the job I have and again I know I am lucky, but it was a long time coming. Stick with it.
BOC - you should be ashamed of what you charge for that course. Nearly £900 quid for two days training per person? There were four of us. Come on....