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This Is the Health and Safety Policy Statement of Hambleton Foodshare
Our health and safety policy is to:
• Prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health by managing health and safety risks in the workplace
• Provide clear instructions and information, and adequate training, to ensure employees and volunteers are competent to do their work
• Maintain safe and healthy working conditions; provide and maintain equipment and machinery and ensure safe storage of food items and any hazardous substances.
• Provide any necessary personal protective equipment
• Engage and consult with employees and volunteers on matters affecting their health and safety
• Implement emergency procedures: e.g. evacuation in case of fire or other significant incidents
• Review and revise this policy at regular intervals (annually or if any changes occur).
Responsibilities
1. Overall and final responsibility for Health and Safety is that of the Chair and Trustees of Hambleton Foodshare. The Health and Safety Trustee will be appointed by the Trustees
and their name will be available from the Coordinator.)
2. Day-to-day responsibility for ensuring this policy is put into practice is delegated to the
Coordinator (and any other staff member employed by Hambleton Foodshare).
3. All employees must:
• co-operate with the Chair and Trustees on health and safety matters;
• take reasonable care of their own health and safety; and
• report all health and safety concerns to an appropriate person (as detailed in this
policy statement).
4. To ensure health and safety standards are maintained/improved, the folowign people have responsibility in the following areas
• Risk assessments will be undertaken by. Health and Safety Trustee and the
Coordinator following training.
• The findings of the risk assessments will be reported to the Chair of Trustees by
the Health and Safety Trustee
• Action required to remove/control risks will be approved by the Chair or in their
absence the most senior trustee available
• The Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring that any action required is
implemented.
• Health and safety risks and significant incidents will be reported regular1y at the
Trustees' meetings
Assessments will be reviewed every 12 months or when the work activity/ practices change, or
when new legislation is passed.
Consultation with employees and volunteers
Hambleton Foodshare will consult with employees and volunteers on the following:
• any new measure which may substantially affect their health and safety at work, for example
new equipment, new ways of working and new procedures
• arrangements for getting competent people to satisfy health and safety requirements
• information we provide to employees and volunteers on the risks to health and safety arising
from their work, measures to reduce or get rid of these risks and what they should do if they
are exposed to a risk, including emergency procedures
• planning and organising health and safety training
The information provided to employees and volunteers will be in a form that can be easily
understood.
Hambleton Foodshare will consult directly with employees and volunteers through regular
staff/team meetings and face-to-face discussions.
Hambleton Foodshare will allow enough time for employees and volunteers to consider the
issues and give informed responses. Employees and volunteers are encouraged to ask questions, raise concerns and make recommendations.
Hambleton Foodshare will take employees' and volunteers' views into account before a final
decision is made, respond to any concerns and questions raised and explain the final decision
and why it has been taken.
Safe Equipment
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will have overall responsibility for identifying all
equipment needing maintenance.
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will be responsible for ensuring effective maintenance procedures are drawn up.
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will be responsible for ensuring that all
identified maintenance is implemented.
Any problems found with equipment should be reported to the Coordinator and Health and
Safety Trustee or in their absence the most senior member of staff available immediately.
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will have responsibility for ensuring that new
equipment meets health and safety standards before it is purchased.
Safe handling and use of substances
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will have overall responsibility for checking that
new substances can be stored/distributed safely. Hambleton Foodshare do use/store substances which need a COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Risk Assessment.
Safe use of Visual Display equipment
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee will have overall responsibility for ensuring that
use of work stations is analysed and risks reduced including putting controls in place, providing
information and training to staff and volunteers, ensuring that eye and eyesight tests and special
spectacles are provided, if needed, to regular users of VD Us (Visual Display User) or DSE
(Display Screen Equipment) who use the equipment for more than an hour continuously. The
Health and Safety Trustee will ensure that VDU risk assessments are completed as necessary.
Manual handling
The Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee have responsibility for ensuring that hazardous
manual handling operations are avoided so far as is reasonably practicable. V\/hen necessary,
tasks will be redesigned to avoid moving the load or by automating or mechanising the process.
An assessment of the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot
be avoided will be made and any risk of injury from those operations will be reduced so far as is
reasonably practicable. Where possible mechanical assistance, e.g. a sack trolley, will be
provided. Where this is not reasonably practicable changes to the task, the load and the working
environment will be explored.
Information, Instruction and supervision
The Health and Safety Law poster is displayed at the Store
Health and safety advice is available from your line manager:
The Coordinator's Line Manager is a nominated Trustee.
The Volunteers' line manager is the Coordinator
Competency for tasks and training
• Induction will be provided, for all employees and volunteers, by the Coordinator.
• Job specific training is given where required for any jobs within Hambleton Foodshare.
• Training records, including health and safety training, will be kept for employees and
volunteers where appropriate
• Training will be identified, arranged and monitored by line managers. The Coordinator is
responsible for maintaining an overview of training undertaken and reporting on this to
trustees
Accidents, first aid and work-related ill health
• Health surveillance is not required in relation to any jobs at Hambleton Foodshare
• The First Aid box and Accident Book are kept at the office in the Store.
• All accidents and cases of work-related ill health are to be recorded in the accident book.
• The Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the reporting of relevant accidents, diseases
and dangerous occurrences to relevant external agencies and to trustees.
Monitoring
To check our working conditions, and ensure our safe working practices are being followed:
• We will carry out inspections and spot checks
• We will investigate any accidents or sickness absences that occur.
• The Health and Safety Trustee will ensure accidents are investigated
• The Line Manager will ensure work-related causes of sickness absence are investigated
• The Health and Safety Trustee will ensure action is taken on investigation findings to prevent a recurrence and that trustees are kept informed and consulted about action taken.
Emergency procedures - fire and evacuation
The Health and Safety Trustee is responsible for ensuring a fire risk assessment is undertaken,
implemented and regular1y reviewed. Furthermore:
• Escape routes are checked regular1y by Coordinator and Health and Safety Trustee
• Fire extinguishers are maintained and checked by North Yorkshire Council (NYC) every year.
• Alarms are tested by NYC every week.
• Emergency evacuation drills are not required as occupancy of the Store is limited in both staff/volunteer numbers and time. However, the procedure and Assembly point are on display at the Store
• At the Store, a Fire Drill Procedure may be carried out periodically by NYC and the procedure and evacuation point is on display.
• The evacuation assembly point is designated by NYC.
Advice from http://www.hse.gov.uk was used when writing this policy
Discussed at Trustees' Meeting on 21/01/2024
Agreed at Trustees' Meeting on 21/01/2024
Morag Joyce, Chair of Trustees
Review date: January 2025
