For a start you seem to be looking at this all back to front. You want to outline THEIR responsibilities. And you are surprised that THEY don't understand that they need to complete a risk assessment. You said that YOU are the employer and therefore YOU also have a duty to them and that includes YOU ensuring that risk assessments are carried out if required. If they weren't aware that they should have been carrying out risk assessments then that is your failing and not theirs. Further more YOU should be ensuring that they understand and are capable of carrying out those risk assessments. However, having said that. I visit different premises 3-4 days a week and don't carry out a risk assessment, except that in my own head. To do a formal risk assessment would make it impractical and to be honest is unnecessary. Have a generic site risk assessment with an understanding that staff are experienced and will carry out a dynamic risk assessment whilst on site (not necessarily written down but that depends on the circumstances) and that YOU have sufficient policies in place that cover issues such as personal safety, driving safety, aggression from third parties etc (hard to be more specific as you haven't given enough details). I think as the employer you really need to start looking a YOUR responsibilities to put those policies and procedures in place and stop blaming your employees if they don't understand what they are supposed to do.

King of Darkness Don't take the response to heart, you will miss the opportunity to gain valuable advice in the future, we all have own responses and approaches to posts. We have a document outlining the responsibilities for all levels within the organisation, including Board, Directors, managers etc and this is brought to the attention of staff at induction. I would recommend regular training and information and also introducing an audit programme to assess compliance with requirements with effective actions where non compliance is identified such as further training. Also the use of briefings before the start of day/team meetings and tool box talks can raise awareness. Another avenue is to engage with managers so that they understand their H&S supervisory role in ensuring that their staff are completing assessments etc Hope this helps Belinda

Belinda, Thanks for your post, all the items you have raised are in place, i undertaken an audit of the site visit files each month checking for complainc, hazard identification and risks. It just appears to me that some of long serving members of this forum go on the attack rather than being helpful a lot of the time, i have see other make the same comments. I know what my responsibilities are, on this occiasion i was looking for some back up, simple points of referral-caselaw, best practice etc. Getting the H&S message across in a ways that helps people understand why it needs to be done is hard enough sometimes without your peers slapping you down at every opportunity. Never mind i'll stick to observing as much as possible unless of course i can help others out, for which i will do without using such a forceful response. sledge hammer and nut come to mind. James

I will respond to a post in keeping with how that post came across. Being as Ray also interpreted the post in same way as myself (very much that it was all about the employees getting it wrong) perhaps, rather than just sulk about being given a telling off that you didn't deserve, you need to consider how you word things. Re-read your post. As a consultant I all too frequently come across employers refusing to accept responsibility and placing it all upon the shoulders of their employees. If that is not the case in these circumstances then my apologies for giving you a telling off but your original post very much implied that was the case, which is why perhaps others hadn't responded. I tell it like it is and people either love it or loathe it about me. However, don't accuse me of not being helpful as I frequently offer advice on this forum. However, if someone comes on the forum and plays high and mighty (as your post seemed to) then I'm also more than prepared to put that person in their place.

High and mighty, putting people in their place, sulk about being given a telling off - I am wondering who is being high and mighty. I have been moderated for less!

Jeez. The written word is open to interpretation. It would seem both Ray and I (plus others no doubt by the law of averages) interpreted the post in a negative way. Others obviously did not. If you read the second paragraph of my first post (#2) I did actually offer advice. If you read my second post you will see that I did actually apologise if I had misinterpreted the original post and explain my reasonings. Rather than get drawn into a tit for tat with some on this forum, I will leave it there and not get drawn in as some would want.

Seconds out, round 3 ding ding: Referee: no biting, no kicking, no gouging etc….Right, let’s box!! King of Darkness, please don’t draw a line under this topic, as I’ve just come on line after some work induced absence. My speciality is worker involvement, so: As you already have shown the relevance of the risk assessments to the employees and they are undertaking them, what does the feedback look like? If they can be encouraged to come forward there are two key things to be gained: 1 Feedback as to whether they have understood everything, are applying it and if they find it useful. This can help shape the future development of your ‘dynamic’ risk assessment process, and other policies/procedures. However whenever such feedback is sought I have found it most productive to try and facilitate employees to come forward with comments/ideas – something along the lines from you of asking how either they, you or your company can improve things. Asking how you can help them will – no doubt – bring some interesting answers but it puts the ball into their court. Nothing wrong with having a few ideas up your sleeve to spur things on, of course. The Chief Executive starting a session usually gets attention; especially from senior and middle managers not in the meeting!! This feedback should also reveal issues they come across in clients premises. In my experience this is not just health and safety. A chance to talk about work in an environment supportive of open feedback gets all sorts of information coming out. Employee centred group work is great for getting responses – starting with the proposition that they are in the best job, employed by the best employer, have the best manager/supervisor and the directors feel there are no health and safety issues can be a useful ice breaker. 2 Particularly when employees are out and about it is helpful if they can take a lead. The employer has to put certain policies, procedures etc in place + training etc but surely the aim is to provide the employees with the necessary support to protect others and themselves when visiting various premises. In this respect several organisations have actually put everything together. So the employees are the representatives of company: so their behaviour, interaction with clients, ability to do the job in hand etc all reflect in the client’s eyes what the company’s ‘values’ are in practice. In this respect, processes like risk assessment can actually help in other areas of employee interaction if people could see health and safety knowledge as part of the employee’s skill set rather than a bolt on extra when all the ‘important’ issues are covered elsewhere. Tools that practitioners use in day to day employee activity can actually be a major aid to improving ‘employee engagement’: its just H&S is normally pushed into a ‘legal compliance ghetto’ rather than a tool to help protect people and improve business or service performance. If you keep your current sessions going and move them - over time - into helping develop the skills needed to be effective in their work and discharge their tasks safely and without risks to health, then it should be seen as a positive move forward. Apologies if you have already done this or something similar. People support what they help create. Ding Ding: 'Break it up now – go to your corner'. Cheers. Nigel PS If you would like any further info a PM should find me.

James Happy to discuss further. I should also have said that the managers and supervisors need to be in the loop as well, as they will have their views and experience. Feedback could be through the normal meetings or facilitated group sessions with their peers, for example. Cheers. Nigel