Posted By Karl Curtis I work for a large financial institution and the company have decided that it will now convey H&S information through its chosen reprsentatives. The "reps" will meet at the company's head office periodically and will then return to their offices and pass back the info. Whilst I applaud the company's efforts in getting staff involved in H&S I am concerned that they refer to THEIR chosen people as "safety reps". My understanding is that the term "safety Rep" has a legal definition as per legislation. Am I being a bit OTT in suggesting that they give the people another title which doesnt involve the term " safety rep" or "rep of employee safety" in it? I'd be delighted to hear what other people think Regards Andrew

Posted By Ken Taylor This is not an isolated practice and, whilst the title may be misunderstood, I believe it is quite legal as they are not called trade union safety reps. In my organisation we have appointed 'Health & Safety Co-ordinators' for each establishment to do the sort of thing that you describe. This is a very useful method of working within a multi-site organisation - but needs supplementing with health and safety committees, etc. If your employer has chosen not to recognise trades unions or if the trades unions have not appointed safety reps, there remains a duty to either consult all staff on health and safety matters or their elected representatives.