Fact Service August 2013

Issue 31

Managing for health and safety advice

The comprehensively revised Managing for Health and Safety guidance (also known as HSG65), has been published online by the Health and Safety Executive.

The guidance is in three key sections: “Core elements of managing for health and safety”, “Are you doing what you need to do?”, “Delivering effective arrangements” and is accompanied by a wide selection of resources.

The third section will be particularly useful to those who need to put in place or oversee their organisation's arrangements for health and safety as well as workers and union representatives.

HSG65 forms the final part of what the HSE describes as “core guidance” designed to make it easier for businesses to understand what they need to do to comply with health and safety regulations.

The new guidance moves away from using a “Policy, Organising, Planning, Measuring performance, Auditing and Review” model of managing health and safety to a “Plan, Do, Check, Act” approach.

The guidance replaces an Approved Code of Practice — a decision criticised by unions.

The Labour Research Department’s new edition of its Health and safety law 2013 booklet, which is aimed at union safety reps, will be published this August and can be ordered online by following the link below.

www.lrd.org.uk/index.php

www.hse.gov.uk/managing/index.htm