Health and safety policy

General Statement of Intent

Horse Rangers Association (Hampton Court) Limited believes that health and safety management is integral to success, a good health and safety record goes hand in hand with high productivity and quality standards.

People are the most important asset to the Charity, and therefore we are committed to ensuring their health, safety and welfare at all times.

From an economic point of view, the Charity believes that prevention is not only better, but also more cost effective than a cure. There is no necessary conflict between humanitarian and commercial considerations. In fact, we believe safety is good business.

From a legal perspective, the Charity is committed to ensuring that it complies with all relevant health and safety legislation. Where reasonably practicable, the Charity will strive to go beyond the requirements of legislation.

The Charity is committed to ongoing monitoring and review processes, so that continual improvement in the management of health and safety can be achieved.

Our general intentions are:

• To provide adequate control of the Health and Safety risks arising from our activities;
• To consult with employees on matters affecting Health & Safety;
• To provide and maintain safe equipment and handling procedures;
• To ensure safe handling and use of substances;
• To provide adequate information, instruction and supervision;
• To ensure all employees are competent and appropriately trained;
• To prevent accidents and work related ill health;
• Implement emergency procedures, including evacuation in case of fire or other significant incident;
• To maintain safe and healthy working conditions;
• To review and revise this policy.

Organisation

• Overall responsibility is held by the Chair of the Trustees: Gemma Ractliffe
• Day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the director: Laura Griffith

Employees’ Duties

All employees and volunteers are required to:

• Co-operate on health and safety matters;
• Not interfere with health and safety measures;
• Take reasonable care for themselves and others; and
• Report health and safety concerns to a responsible person (as detailed in this policy statement).

Non-compliance with health and safety rules and procedures may result in disciplinary action, including immediate dismissal if appropriate.

Organisational chart

H&S TrusteeConsultantsDirectorStable Manager

Arrangements for Implementation

All company policies and procedures in relation to health and safety are regarded as supplementary to this policy.

Risk Assessment

In accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the company will carry out risk assessments of all activities that present a risk to employees or others. These risk assessments will be carried out in line with Health & Safety Executive guidance, and the procedure for doing so is as follows:

1. 1.Identify hazards involved in our activity.
2. 2.Determine who may be harmed
3. 3.Evaluate the level of risk and implement necessary control measures
4. 4.Record the significant findings of the assessment.
5. 5.Review the assessment annually or when required.

Risk assessments will be undertaken by the director or the relevant manager.

Approval for the required action to remove or control risks will be given by the director.

Health & Safety Management System

The charity operates a documented health and safety management system supported by Citation (Health and Safety consultants, Citation). The system consists of monthly prioritised actions and a reference manual (kept in the office).

The health and safety management system is the responsibility of the Director.

Health & Safety Manual

The company has a health and safety reference manual, which contains advice on all key aspects of health and safety law.

The manual is provided by Citation support and is kept in the main admin office.

Consultation with Employees

The company will consult with its employees in accordance with the Safety Representative & Safety Committees Regulations 1977 and the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996.

Consultation with employees will take place through one-to-one meetings.

Safe Equipment

The company will ensure that all equipment is suitable and without risks to health and safety, in accordance with legislation such as the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

• Responsibility for identifying all equipment needing maintenance is that of the director.
• Responsibility for ensuring that effective maintenance procedures are drawn up is that of the director.
• Responsibility for ensuring that all identified maintenance is implemented is that of the director and/ or the stable manager.
• Any problems with plant or equipment should be reported to the director and/ or stable manager.
• Responsibility for checking that new plant and equipment meet health and safety standards before they are purchased is that of the director.

Safe Handling and Use of Substances

The company will assess and control health risks from exposure to hazardous substances in accordance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002. Responsibility for identifying all substances that need a COSHH assessment is that of the stable manager.

COSHH assessments will be carried out by the stable manager.

Approval for the required action to remove or control risks will be given by the director.

Information, Instruction and Supervision

The Health and Safety Law poster is displayed in the Indoor School (The Stockyard).

The company employs Citation to act as our competent advisors on health and safety issues. They can be contacted at any time for advice, but in the first instance please contact the trustee for health and safety, the director or the office administrator who are authorised to contact Citation support if necessary.

Supervision of young workers/ trainees will be arranged/ undertaken/ monitored by the stable manager and/ or the liaison manager and/ or development manager.

Training and Competency

• Induction training for all new employees is the responsibility of the director and the relevant manager.
• Job-specific training will be provided by each department lead.
• Training records are kept on our CRM system.

Accidents, First Aid and Work Related Ill-Health

First aid boxes are kept in the office, the Barn, the RDA shed and the vehicle.

All accidents and work-related ill-health are recorded in an accident book, which can be found in the Barn, RDA shed and in the main office.

Responsibility for reporting accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences to the enforcing Authority is that of the director.

Monitoring

To check our working conditions and ensure our safe working practices are being followed, we will conduct observations.

• Responsibility for investigating accidents is that of the director.
• Responsibility for investigating work-related causes of sickness absence is that of the director.
• Responsibility for acting on investigation findings to prevent a recurrence is that of the director.

Manual Handling

Arrangements for Securing the Health and Safety of Employees

Manual handling is one of the most common causes of injury in the workplace. An assessment of manual handling activities will be carried out by competent, trained personnel and any risks that are identified will be reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable. The following factors will be considered during the assessment.

The task

Items should ideally be lifted from no lower than knee height to no higher than shoulder height. Outside this range, lifting capacity is reduced and the risk of injury is increased.

The load

The load should be kept as near as possible to the body trunk to reduce strain and should not be of such size as to obscure vision. An indication of the weight of the load and the center of gravity should be provided where appropriate.

The individual

Consideration must be given to age, body weight and physical fitness. Regard must be given to personal limitation; employees must not attempt to handle loads, which are beyond their individual capability. Assistance must be sought where this is necessary.

The working environment

There must be adequate space to enable the activity to be conducted in safety and the transportation route must be free from obstruction.

Information and Training

Suitable information and training will be provided by the department heads

Slip, Trips and falls

Inadequate provision of workspace can lead to increased risks of slip, trip and falling injury. To minimise the possibility the following precautions will be followed.

• When planning new workplaces or when making alterations to existing ones, adequate pre-planning must take place.
• In offices, ensure that when estimating the space per employee, the space taken up by the office furniture is taken into account.
• As well as the simple space per employee, the layout of the workspace must be considered to ensure that no risks are created by the provision of inadequate access.
• Ensuring that all potential slip and trip hazards in the workplace are identified.
• The layout of the work area should be arranged to minimise the risks of trips and falls caused by obstructions.
• Cabling and wiring should be arranged in such a way as to eliminate, as far as possible, any potential trip hazards.
• Adequate provision should be made for storage within the work area to prevent the accumulation of obstructions.
• Regular workplace inspections should be carried out to ensure that good housekeeping standards are maintained.

Where necessary the appropriate risk assessments and risk reduction methods will be in place, this will be completed by the relevant manager (in charge of the activity).

Emergency Procedures, Fire and Evacuation

Responsibility for ensuring the fire risk assessment is undertaken and completed is that of the director.

• Escape routes are checked every day
• Fire extinguishers are maintained and checked by the contractor annually
• Emergency evacuation is tested every six months.

Equine Specific Safety Measures

Responsibility for ensuring the safety of the horses and equine related activities is the responsibility of the stable manager and director.

• All handling of animals to be supervised by trained and competent personnel
• Helmets, appropriate footwear and clothing are mandatory when working with or riding horses
• All riding activity to be agreed with the stable manager. All volunteer riders to be assessed by the stable manager
• Horses approved for use for each activity by the stable manager
• Horses are not permitted to ride on the roads and are permitted in the riding arena and Bushy Park only
• Emergency plans are in place to include horse related incidents

Signed

Position: DirectorDate: 05/03/2024Review date: 28/04/2026