Hi all,

With regards to the following job titles: Health & Safety Co-ordinator, Health & Safety Officer, Health & Safety Manager. - What is the difference in terms of status within the industry, culprability/liability, roles. 

It would be an interesting discussion

As the titles are decided by the employer primarily to set a level of remuneration they are willing to pay and not decreed by state regulation who carries what liability is a mute point.

Legislation is written to identify the employer or body corporate as having the duties i.e. liabilities.

Arrangements within an organisation are not dictated by statute but left to the organisations determination.

As to status again a moveable feast - would an H&S Director of a family firm be on a par with the H&S Director of a global corporation? Similarly in one sector or industry an H&S co-ordinator may carry more managerial clout than an actual H&S Manager in another sector or industry.

So long as the pay and conditions are right a title has little bearing.

The distinctions between Health & Safety (H&S) Coordinator, Officer, and Manager roles can vary depending on the organization, but there are general differences in terms of status, culpability/liability, and roles within the industry

Hello Sean

* The Coordinator role is focused on support and administration. (Entry to Mid Level Position)

*The Officer enforces safety protocols on the ground. (Mid Level Position)

*The Safety Manager oversees and leads the safety strategy within the company (Senior Position)

Sean - these and other titles mean different things in different organisations.

When I joined my last employer, we created the role of Office Health and Safety Coordinator a title that changed to Fixed Establishment Health and Safety Co-ordinator when we found ourselves running some laboratories and a training centre.

We didn't define any person specification whatsoever, other than that the person had to be interested in helping looking after themselves and their colleagues. The role was an add-on to their normal day job.

Some of our locations picked senior managers, some very junior staff. 

A more common debate than the one you have presented might be the relative influence or whatever between titles such as Officer, Manager, Director, Adviser and whether the more senior the title SOUNDS, the more likely it is that line managers think that it is up to the Safety Bod and not themselves to own H&S.

Edited by user 22 September 2024 15:31:05(UTC)  | Reason: Fingers out of sync with brain

The latest trend is H&S Business Partner, following in the steps of HR and a few other professions.

In my organisation "Business Partner" is a pseudonym for external consulant - someone conducting the task whilst not directly on the books..

Where I work the “business partner” is a representative of a department who are attached to another unit eg the HR person attached to a university faculty. Their main job seems to be explain why the ( computer, policy or AI-please choose)  says you can’t do what you really need to do!

I do not want to be a H&S business partner.