I'm new to this forum & hoping that some of you guys will be able to sense check me.

We are a medium sized charity & we regularly organise events for other charities who set up an information stand (leaflets, pull up banners etc) & their staff are available to talk to the public about their services. Sometimes these events are on our premises, sometimes not.

It has taken me a few years to get all the managers and staff to do RA's for all activities that we do, and also to ask the external organisations involved in these events to provide their own RA and PLI, which we file alongside our own RA. Some venue's ask for copies of these, some don't.

A new manager has started & decided that external organisations do not have to provide RA, as they will be covered by our own. I disagree, but it has made me question myself. Am I being too strict? Am I putting too much 'red tape' in the way?

My main reasoning for getting RA's from them is that by getting these other charities to think about their H&S at these events, will likely reduce the risk of an incident / accident happening in the first place, and also it will go someway to mitigating our liability should an incident / accident occur, particularly if the incident is because one of these charities didn't follow their own RA.

What are your thoughts? I am ready to hear that I am giving our managers the wrong advice! Should we be getting RA from external organisations who are setting up an information stand at one of our events?

TIA

Karen

Karen,

If we remove the term charity we get to either control of contactor or shared working spaces, depending on how you look at it. Eitherway, their is a duty on all parties to ensure they 'employees' do not put themselves or others at risk, and that their 'employees' are not put at risk from other 'employers' working in the space. To achieve this there has to be 'cooperation and coordination' between all parties. 

It seems perfectly obvious to me that both parties are required to do they own RAs for the 'event' and these should consider risks to their own staff and the risks they could pose to others. They should then 'share' those findings with each other, so they can coordinate the interaction to manage those risks.

Just because the specific example appears to be relatively low risk, doesn't mean that the 'cooperation and coordination' requirement can be ignored. How can you be sure there are no unacceptable risks if you don't ask. What if one of the charities decides to bring in a fire breather to attract attention to their information station?

Requesting a RA is perfectly reasonable imho.

I have had this before and a 'elf and safety gone mad' conversation ensued...violence was offered at various points ...(joke)

You are right to ask and get the RA, he is wrong - you have joint responsibility which will limit your liability should anything go wrong, otherwise your suppliers can just walk away and leave you holding the can for the full cost of any claim/ incident..as we know people are strange beasts in event scenarios and can do the stangest things..is he competent to make such a decision?

Hi Karen,

I too feel your pain in the challenges you face to have others get on board with what is ultimately their responsibility too. I would certainly suggest managers undertake IOSH Managing Safely as it drives home their accountability and responsibility as they have direct reports. Even then you may find that some don't quite take things as seriously as they should because after all - you (or I) are the safety manager. Good times.

In saying that, things have improved due to the overall safety culture improving but that takes time, effort, persistence and some awkward conversations. It is worth it when you get traction.

Good luck.