Posted By Alexander Falconer
Try the following!
a) You will not look at the policies, however you will conduct a full HSE audit of the systems in place to get an overall picture of the current state of play (good way to get a feel for the culture at all levels too). From there, you will be in a better position to recommend the way forward, at this point, and only will you then look to reviewing and revising the necessary polices, whatever they may be, H&S/BS8800/OHSAS 18001/HSG 65, Env/ISO 14001/EMAS, QA/ISO 9000/QS 9000, etc, etc.
b) Draw on from your own previous experience in demonstrating what benefits you achieved with previous employers and what skills you can bring with you. Another good one is, spout Risk Management techniques from a profits viewpoint, et al (to gain £1K of profits, xy amounts of sales are required to be generated, whilst to gain £1K of profits, you reduce losses by £1K) etc, etc. In a nutshell to achieve this, by developing systems, increase in training, better supervision/management = reduction of accidents/claims more defendable = reduction in insurance premiums etc = Loss Reduction (too much info to highlight)
c) Ask potential employer what exactly they are looking for, an Enforcer or an Advisor - if an Enforcer, demand minimum £70K+ and shoulder the burden, otherwise as an Advisor remind them of their obligations under S37 (and S7) and advise them in meeting their obligations (at the end of the day, you cannot be held responsible for their shortcomings).
Also check the HSE prosecutions website, this will often give you an indication as to the culture of the company
Good Luck
Alex