Health and Safety FAQs

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

What do I need to do if I run a business in the City of Lisburn?

What do I do if a member of staff has an accident at work?

What is the maximum/minimum temperature in the workplace?

What  health and safety posters must be displayed in the workplace?

Do you have any information on how to compile a health and safety policy?

Am I entitled to an eyesight test if I work on a VDU?

How many toilets do I need to provide if I run a business?

I would like to get a tattoo – where should I go?

What do I need to do if I run a business in the City of Lisburn?

Depending on the nature of your business you may need to register your details with the Environmental Health Service under Health and Safety at Work legislation.  Please contact the Environmental Health Service for further advice and a free advisory information pack ‘Information for Smaller Businesses on Managing Health and Safety’. Click here to download a registration form (109.44KB).

What do I do if a member of staff has an accident at work?

RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (NI) 1997 and requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not to all incidents. For further information go to http://www.hseni.gov.uk/contact-us/report-an-incident.htm?ts=normal

What is the maximum/minimum temperature in the workplace?

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 lay down particular requirements for most aspects of the working environment. Regulation 7 of these deals specifically with the temperature in indoor workplaces and states that:

(1) During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.

However, the application of the regulation depends on the nature of the workplace, i.e. a bakery, a cold store, an office, a warehouse.

The associated Approved Code of Practise (ACOP) goes on to explain:

The temperature in workrooms should provide reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. Where such a temperature is impractical because of hot or cold processes, all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a temperature which is as close as possible to comfortable. 'Workroom' means a room where people normally work for more than short periods.

The temperature in workrooms should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius. These temperatures may not, however, ensure reasonable comfort, depending on other factors such as air movement and relative humidity.

HSE have produced a publication called Thermal Comfort in the Workplace HSG194, ISBN 0717624684, £3.50, which provides further guidance.

Although there is no maximum temperature stated in the regulations, the guidance states:

'An acceptable zone of thermal comfort for most people in the UK lies roughly between 13°C (56°F) and 30°C (86°F), with acceptable temperatures for more strenuous work activities concentrated towards the bottom end of the range, and more sedentary activities towards the higher end'.

What  health and safety posters must be displayed in the workplace?

A copy of the approved poster entitled Health and Safety Law in Northern Ireland should be displayed in the workroom, in a position where the workforce can read it easily. Alternatively employees may be given an approved leaflet containing the same information.

The poster and leaflet may be obtained from The Stationery Office (TSO), 16 Arthur Street Belfast. Telephone: 028 9023 8451.

(This is a requirement of the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations (NI) 1991).

Do you have any information on how to compile a health and safety policy?

By law (Health and Safety at Work (NI) Order 1978 section 2(3)), if you employ five or more people you must have a written health and safety policy. This contains a statement of general policy on health and safety at work, and the organisation and arrangements in place for putting that policy into practice.

Click here to download a policy template (282.45KB).

Am I entitled to an eyesight test if I work on a VDU?

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations came into force on 1st January 1993 (some minor changes were made in 2002).They seek to protect the health of workers by reducing risks from VDU work. Briefly, the Regulations require employers to:

• Analyse workstations to assess and reduce risks
• Ensure workstations meet specified minimum requirements
• Plan work activities so that they include breaks or changes of activity
• Provide eye and eyesight tests on request, and special spectacles if needed.
• Provide information and training.

The free downloadable leaflet Working with VDUs (INDG36) PDF (112.19KB)gives a good introduction to the Regulations.

For more detailed information you may wish to buy the following:

The law on VDUs: An easy guide: Making sure your office complies with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (as amended in 2002)

^[2]HSG90 HSE Books 200 ISBN 0 7 76 2602 4

How many toilets do I need to provide if I run a business?

Under the Worplace (health, safety & welfare) regulations (NI) 1993  the general guide for toilet provision for staff  is given in the form of the table below. Where separate toilets are provided for men and women a separate calculation should be doen for each group.

Where toilets are used only for men either the above table or the one below can be used.

A urinal may either be an individual urinal or a section of urinal space which is at least 600mm long.

There are no legal requirement for cafes to provide toilets for customer use.

I would like to get a tattoo – where should I go?

Always go to a registered tattooist. By law tattooists in the Lisburn City Council area must be registered with Lisburn City council and must display their registration certificate.

It is illegal for a person to tattoo a minor i.e. someone under the age of 18.