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YJHR  
#1 Posted : 26 April 2024 15:04:12(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
YJHR

Are there any requirements for publishing an organisation’s h&s policy externally (e.g to their external facing website)? My gut instinct is no, so long as all employees have access internally (under HSWA 1974, MHSW Regs 1999 etc.)
Kate  
#2 Posted : 26 April 2024 15:13:15(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kate

You're right.  It has to be brought to the attention of employees and you can do that in whatever way works for you.

If I remember correctly, ISO 45001 (should you claim to follow it) requires you to provide the H&S policy to external interested parties, which you could do on request, but is easier to do by putting it on your website.

Those of us who evaluate suppliers may well look at your website to find your policies, especially if you are not enthusiastic about filling in a questionnaire that we send you.

thanks 1 user thanked Kate for this useful post.
HSSnail on 29/04/2024(UTC)
firesafety101  
#3 Posted : 28 April 2024 13:20:57(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
firesafety101

I would post your Statements (H&S, Environment etc.) on the website and let others have the full policy on request.

HSSnail  
#4 Posted : 29 April 2024 11:39:59(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
HSSnail

Originally Posted by: firesafety101 Go to Quoted Post

I would post your Statements (H&S, Environment etc.) on the website and let others have the full policy on request.

Why?

A Kurdziel  
#5 Posted : 29 April 2024 12:09:17(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

There is no legal requirement to publish anything unless you are a public sector organisation, where the Freedom of information Act applies. If you are(and the definition of “public sector” is wider than just owned by the government -local or national) in the public sector will be expected to provide any reasonable information about your activities unless there is good reason not to do so. So a H&S policy would probably come under that. Of course it is not as simple as that simply publishing everything and anything. We don’t just have H&S policy but multiple policies  covering every aspect of our work, some of which we might not want  to share with Joe Public. If for example, we ran a business printing money( we don’t!) we would not be expected to publish documents about our procedures that might make it easier for someone to gain access to that lovely cash. There also requirements under other legislation not to disclose information such a Data Protection law or even the Official Secrets Act.  

Most organisations have a great deal of discretion about what they can publish, and some do, often as by doing this it promotes them as open organisations that believe in transparency. If you are doing that then it should really be something that is carefully considered as part of the company’s brand management, not just an info dump onto the internet.

achrn  
#6 Posted : 29 April 2024 12:25:04(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
achrn

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post

There is no legal requirement to publish anything unless you are a public sector organisation,

You mean '...anything about Health and Safety policy or procedures".  There are various things that many companies are required to publish about various topics - modern slavery statement and gender pay gap for example.

Having said which, we publish our H&S policy on the web site (along with various others - equal opportunities, sustainability, etc., and docs like carbon reporting).  We don't publish any procedures for any of this, however.

thanks 1 user thanked achrn for this useful post.
A Kurdziel on 29/04/2024(UTC)
kbirdir  
#7 Posted : 13 May 2024 10:21:38(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
kbirdir

Hi,

I see there are valuable information already shared here for the question. 

We build an airport and need to work closely with certain local authorities. While the local regulations do not dictate the communication of OHS policy externally, the management system we follow recommends that. We communicated our OHS policy with the client, municipality (I do not know whether they ever read it), local emergency services along with other related work procedures, including our HR Policy. In line with the roles and responsibilities distribution for stakeholder engagement, our client disemminates the OHS policy during stakeholder enagement meetings from time to time.

As mentioned in previous replies, this is a requirement of the ISO 45001. 

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