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Dannyold  
#1 Posted : 03 February 2023 22:59:36(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
Dannyold

Hi All,

I've come across a bit of a situation in my workplace, where I have been filling out my RAMS as normal and listing the engineers in the workplace as being DBS checked and having current CSCS cards. Unknown to me, the company I work for not been keeping up to date and has let the CSCS cards expire (12-24 months ago) and not put certain employees through DBS check as they thought they never needed them.

As you can probably imagine, I've hit the roof today finding this out knowing that I have been sending out RAMS with misleading information. I am IOSH quaified amd know this is ultimately my responsibility to check, however, we have a H&S manager who is responsible for renewing these qualifications/accreditations and my trust was put in him to carry out his responsibilities correctly.

What I'm wondering is, should worst case scenario happen (it has in my company before - death of an employee), where would I stand from a legal point? I can only assume it would fall on me as the person writing the RAMS? Dos anybody knowing where I can find some further information online with the consequences of filling out these documents with misleading information, so I can use it as a reference in my workplace?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read the above and any correspodance you provide.

peter gotch  
#2 Posted : 04 February 2023 10:57:41(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
peter gotch

Hi Dannyold

One of the lesser well known parts of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 [Section 33(1)(l) or (m)]  says, amongst other things:

33 Offences
(1) It is an offence for a person—

(l) intentionally to make a false entry in any register, book, notice or other document required by or under any of the relevant statutory provisions to be kept, served or given or, with intent to deceive, to make use of any such entry which he knows to be false ; (m) with intent to deceive, to forge or use a document issued or authorised tobe issued under any of the relevant statutory provisions or required for anypurpose thereunder or to make or have in his possession a document so closely resembling any such document as to be calculated to deceive;

The "relevant statutory provisions" includes all Codes of Regulations made under HSWA inclusive of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations that require the recording of risk assessments by employers of 5 or more people.

But on the basis of what you have written you have not deliberately included inaccurate information in your RAMS.

But going forward you might do so if you continue to include such misinformation.

To be honest this is a scenario where the person allocated responsibility for keeping accreditations up to date is much more likely to be in the focus of an investigator than you.

So, time to raise the issue and let the organisation sort it out.

May be the people doing the work don't actually need DBS checks, whilst CSCS is not a legislative requirement but either might be a contractual requirement for doing business.

It might be that client contracts demand DBS and/or CSCS [or equivalent].

Might be that some client contracts demand DBS but not CSCS and vice versa.

So, it might be that your organisation has unnecessarily overegged the pudding by opting for both for all its staff, though that might have been a pragmatic decision to enable maximise flexibility of how people are sent out to do work.

But this is one for management to resolve - your responsbility is to highlight the discrepancy.

Good luck, Peter 

O'Donnell54548  
#3 Posted : 04 February 2023 19:54:59(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
O'Donnell54548

Unless your job description specifies that you are responsible for implementing, and monitoring, the controls you have identified in the RAMS then this does not fall under your remit. From the information you have proveded it appears that you are employed as a 'risk assessor', and not a 'risk manager'. 

Within the organisation of your company H&S Policy it should clearly state who is responsible for implementing your safety management system, and within this who is responsible for implementing the identified control measures within your RAMS. This is normally Departmental Managers, dependent on your structure.  

firesafety101  
#4 Posted : 15 February 2023 11:20:16(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
firesafety101

This ice comes to mind.  Whatever and whoever is responsible you evidently cannot trust everyone so why don't you make a record of who is qualified to work in your method statements and keep track yourself.  when one os out of date request the H&S manager to arrange fresh training, then log the training.

In our game I have come to learn we can't trust anyone and if a finger can be pointed it will be our direction.

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