Hi Cal

So many variables to consider!

My first comment is that I am quite surprised that an organisation with only 100 employees has seen fit to give someone what seems to be a full time job.

BUT, it would depend on what is happening, and what the role of that H&S person is.

+ their qualifications + all their experience (not just in current role) + geography + how much is contracted out (for whatever reason) and so much more.

In terms of "role" taking into consideration what the risks are and whether any particular legislative requirements comes into play e.g. if there are "major hazards" or perhaps in transportation and a safety case or similar regime.

Suggest you provide a bit more information.

Staying with your current employer will rely upon what they consider the worth of the role to be.

Organisations tend to have a structure for salaries so any speculation here would be purely that.

It could be that for the locallity the average salary for the role would be £XX but if this sits above the salaries of senior site management it is doubtful you would be able to achieve the sum and stay put.

To try and gauge what you are worth you should scour the various professional job sites stacking the location, experience, qualifications and responsibilities. The ones you feel confident enough to apply for would be your bench mark for negotiation, and an escape route if your aspirations are frustrated.

Hi Cal

I am guessing that the eight bullets you set out might be in a job description but I am going to home in only three on them:

• Providing first aid or nursing duties if needed
• Investigating and reporting incidents and accidents
• Enforcing safety rules and providing safety coaching to staff

I am going to assume that with a background as a joiner (where it would not be uncommon for that role to be paid more than an H&S co-ordinator), you are not qualified as a nurse. You might be trained as a first aider but that wouldn't make you competent to do "nursing duties" - be wary of job descriptions!

In an organisation such as yours there shouldn't be that many "incidents and accidents" to investigate, so possibly your room to get experience on investigations may be limited, though you CAN try to promote reporting of the "near misses" (or whatever these might be called) and get more investigation expeience from those.

As for the last of these bullets this raises the question as to how your organisation views the management of H&S - is this the job of the Safety Bod (YOU! - not uncommon) or is H&S owned by people at all levels of the organisation as an integral part of the job function? If the latter, then it should be line managers doing the "enforcing" if needed.

My last comment today is to advise you not to place much reliance on an IOSH survey of median pay rates. The latest report is based on a very small number of respondents who by the nature of the survey are heavily skewed towards IOSH members. Lots of people doing H&S as part or all of their jobs completely out of the scope of the IOSH survey - and they are PROBABLY more representative of people like you than those covered by the survey - particularly until you have at least a Level 3 OSH qualification e.g. the NEBOSH General.

Hence I endorse what Roundtuit has suggested in terms of benchmarking what is out there.

At the end of the day a job is worth what the employer is willing to pay and what your prepared to accept. Its all well an good trying to make comparisons but as others have said there are so many variables. Nothing lost by asking for a pay rise - but if you dont get it see what else in available near to you, try applying for a few roles paid more and see what response you get. If offered a job may be able to use this as a means of getting a rise. Not suggesting you make it a threat - as thats a good way to part company with an employer.

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