Any piece of paper can have the status of a ‘legal document’ if it is introduced as evidence in a court case.  But in most cases a document can be challenged but generally courts accept paperwork at face value. So for example if someone issued a Permit to Work signs and filled it in correctly and then used it in court to describe the controls that were being applied in a particular situation the court would accept that was truthful record of what happened unless there was evidence that it was ‘faked’.  In European countries some documents are always taken at face value unless there is evidence that it is not authentic (ie a ‘fake’). In the UK, courts have always preferred the original version of a document under the ‘best evidence rule’ but that is changing. They also like some conformation by a witness, for example in the PTW case, someone who will vouch that they filled in the PTW, signed it etc.

Hi,

It is the employers legal duty to provide training to their employees on the risks associated with the activities the employee undertakes on behalf of the employer.

In terms of a legal case being made against a trainer, if you can demonstrate you went through the necessary subject material by providing the following:

Lesson plan/course contents/trainer competence in the delivery of the subject material/attendance sheet/suitable course materials ie handouts etc./Q&A paper/feedback sheet/certificate of attendance signed off either by the trainer or the training company.

Then as soon as the individual leaves the training course they and their employer have a legal duty to follow the training provided.