Health and Safety policies are required to be documented to demonstrate that the top management is concerned about its employees protection and safety and to make clear what preventive measures it will implement. This documentation is necessary to generate a climate of trust and care as well as assist in the actual implementation.
Hence, the 3 declarations mandatory in such a policy are-
- Declaration of intent
- Declaration of means to realise the intent
- Declaration of guidelines to implement the policy
The declaration of intent is a general policy statement to safeguard the health & safety of employees. It consists of 4 main points-
- Safety of employees and of all those associated with the organization’s produce/working is of paramount importance
- Safety takes precedence over expediency
- Involvement of employees across various levels of hierarchy will be made as much as possible to develop and implement the health & safety processes
- The policy will be implemented as much in law as in spirit
The declaration of the means to realise the intent and implement the policy describes the health & safety organization throughout the company by which standards are set and achieved. Such a statement defines the responsibility of the top management, key result areas for performance and accountabilities for safety of various employees, role of the safety commitee, specialist, safety officers, medical officers etc
