The Council accepts its responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all personnel who come directly or indirectly into contact with the Council or the consequences of its work activities. Visitors to our premises may include but are not limited to: members of the public, contractors, tradespeople, business partners, sales representatives, members of other local authorities, members of the emergency services and enforcement authorities, unauthorised visitors such as trespassers. It is our policy to do all that is reasonably practicable to protect the health and safety of these visitors

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of anyone who may be affected by the work being carried out. This duty extends to visitors.

The Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984 impose a duty of care to ensure visitors (including unlawful visitors) are reasonably safe whilst on the premises.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 we are also required to provide safety information to all those who require it, including visitors. In addition, these regulations require risk assessments to cover all persons affected by a hazard and any risks which are likely to be created by those persons.

All visitors will be asked to sign in on arrival and out on leaving. Visitors will normally be accompanied for most of the time. Where this is not going to be the case, the host member of staff is responsible for briefing them on the emergency procedures, including the sound of the alarm and location of the assembly point.
Visitors are issued with a badge so that our staff know that they are authorised visitors. The badge is handed back on leaving.

When arranging meetings, consideration should be taken to ensure emergency evacuation arrangements are in place/still valid for any visitor with any accessibility/disability issues.

Guidance on assistance dogs in the workplace is also available from the Cohesion and Equalities Team.

In the event of the alarm sounding, hosts must escort their visitor to the assembly point. Where the visitor has become separated from their host, the visitor is expected to follow the direction of other staff. No member of staff should travel further into the building in order to look for a visitor for whom they are responsible.

Fire evacuation procedures require that the receptionist takes the visitor log with them to the assembly point. This is then used to assist in checking that the building is clear.

 

So far as is reasonably practicable, routes and areas of the premises used by visitors are in a safe condition.

The Council ensures that access to areas which are hazardous such as plant rooms, are kept locked to restrict access to authorised persons. Where authorised persons such as engineers have access, it has been ensured that suitable warning signs and hazard information is provided. Contractors risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) must be provided and reviewed before any works commence and to refer to the Managing Contractors Policy for further guidance.  Access may be further controlled by a permit to work scheme and the host member of staff and those with control of contractors has responsibility for monitoring and informing and enforcing any systems in place.

Our risk assessments consider all those who may be exposed to hazards in our workplace, including visitors. All employees are instructed to take responsibility for their visitors and to notify Security where provided of anyone they consider to be an unauthorised visitor.  Where there is static manned security station the Security officers should be approached directly with this information.  Where these do not exist in a building, notification should be made to Facilities Management in corporate buildings. 

 

When we undertake general risk assessments of our work activities we take into account the risks to particular individuals, including visitors. We also ensure that risks which are likely to be introduced by visitors are included.

• Our fire safety risk assessment also considers the numbers and types of visitors we are likely to have on site at any one time. The meeting organiser must have a plan to evacuate disabled visitors, and if they are mobility impaired, prioritise the ground floor for meetings where possible.

Warning signs are displayed where visitors need to be forewarned of hazards or safety requirements. Safety signs include clear instructions and pictograms in accordance with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.

If our risk assessments have determined that visitors require PPE this will be required to be worn at all appropriate times.

In the event of an accident involving a visitor, first aid will be administered via our first aiders, if required. Accidents and near misses involving visitors must be reported promptly to the host employee who will investigate in the same way as incidents affecting our own employees.

Accidents which are caused by the design of our premises or the way in which we work, may be reportable under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). This will be the case if such incidents result in the individual being taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment for that injury.  Examinations and diagnostic tests do not constitute ‘treatment’ in such circumstances. It will be the responsibility of the host employee to ensure that such a report is completed via the Assessnet system and for notifying the details of the incident to our insurers.

In the usual manner, records must be kept of all associated investigations, communications and remedial action taken.