You may be using a handy man or a company with a prestigious reputation but if you use any contractor at all then you have a very clear responsibility to ensure the contractor is working safely, a lesson that Lincoln College have just learnt.
Recently, Lincoln College has been fined £1,500 after a window cleaner working at the college fell from a roof. The window cleaner suffered broken ribs and a serious back injury as a result of the accident and can now only perform “restricted duties” in his job after months off work.
Lincoln College pleaded guilty to not carrying out a sufficient risk assessment during a hearing at the city’s Magistrates Court.
The HSE stated that the institution had failed in its legal duty to its contractors had not implemented proper procedures. Organisations have a joint responsibility to carry out checks and “ensure the safety of all staff who work on site”.
What about the window cleaners employer?
The employer of the window cleaner – A Nicoll & Son Ltd, was prosecuted in October 2009 by the HSE, after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety regarding the incident. The company was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,948.20.
So although the window cleaner was working for a ‘reputable employer’ the College still failed in their duty of care in the eyes of the law.
What can you do?
In simple terms whenever you use a contractor be it a gardener, window cleaner or someone performing a specialist ‘high risk’ job for you, your organisation has a duty of care to manage the contractor.
The HSE give guidance in this document
But in summary here are 6 things you can do to avoid a fine…
1. Recognise that you and the contractor are responsible for any work in your organisation. Even if the contractor has a good reputation or is doing highly specialised work for you – you need to get involved before the contractor starts work.
2. Identify the job that is being done – quite often this be provided by the contractor and can take the form of a method statement which clearly spells out the extent and scope of the job.
3. Select the Contractor – make sure the contractor and the individual is competent and ask to see proof! Competency will differ from job to job but try and find out what qualification is needed and then seek proof of qualification.
Make sure you keep this relevant – for instance in the case of the window cleaner you are probably not too interested if the cleaner is a ‘Member of the Institute of Chamois Leather Purveyors’ but more importantly – has the individual that is being sent to clean windows been trained in using ladders/working from height.
4. Make sure there is a ‘suitable and sufficient’ risk assessment. Again you might not be the expert on this but you should always ask the contractor for a risk assessment or method statement before work starts.
5. Provide information & training – This is a difficult one because you probably expect the contractor to know all this. In this case your duty of care is to tell the contractor anything about your organisation that might affect their job.
6. Manage and supervise – No you don’t have to watch your window cleaner doing the job but you do have a duty to check the method statement is being adhered to.
This may seem a long list for someone who you are paying to do something for you, but a few simple steps will avoid a costly day out in court.