Keeping In Touch days during Maternity Leave This is a new idea introduced in the recent legislation and is a way in which employees who are on Maternity leave can keep involved in the business.  There is no obligation on the part of the employer or employee to offer or attend KIT days but it may be useful to involve your employees off on maternity leave in training sessions or team meetings as they prepare to return to work.  If it is agreed that a KIT day is to be arranged you should note that this is to be paid and you should be clear about what she is to do and what she will be paid for the KIT day.  During her Maternity leave a new mum can participate in up to 10 KIT days and apart from during the first 2 weeks after the birth (or 4 weeks if she works in a factory) the days can be at any point during the leave.  If you would like additional information about your obligations as an employer the DTi have produced a very useful booklet http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file34286.pdf

 

Risk Assessment ~ the new view of the HSE “The times they are a changing” sang Bob Dylan. Well the HSE are now singing this tune with their new approach to Risk Assessment.  They have a campaign running to dispel the ‘myths’ that surround health and safety and this months subject is Risk Assessment. It is a legal requirement for employers and the self employed to access the risks with what they are doing, eliminate them if possible or introduce control measures to minimise the risk. Most importantly the assessments should be bought to the attention of those affected by them.  So what are the HSE now saying?  ‘The reality’  On its own, paperwork never saved anyone. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself - action is what protects people. So risk assessments should be fit for purpose and acted upon.  OK, if you’re running an oil refinery you’re going to need a fair amount of paperwork. But for most, bullet points work very well indeed.’  We believe that risk management should be about practical steps to protect people from real harm and suffering - not bureaucratic back covering. If you believe some of the stories you hear, health and safety is all about stopping any activity that might possibly lead to harm. This is not our vision of sensible health and safety - we want to save lives, not stop them. Our approach is to seek a balance between the unachievable aim of absolute safety and the kind of poor management of risk that damages lives and the economy.    1. Sensible risk management is about:  Ensuring that workers and the public are properly protected  Providing overall benefit to society by balancing benefits and risks, with a focus on reducing real risks – both those which arise more often and those with serious consequences  Enabling innovation and learning not stifling them Ensuring that those who create risks manage them responsibly and understand that failure to manage real risks responsibly is likely to lead to robust action  Enabling individuals to understand that as well as the right to protection, they also have to exercise responsibility     2. Sensible risk management is not about:  Creating a totally risk free society  Generating useless paperwork mountains  Scaring people by exaggerating or publicising trivial risks  Stopping important recreational and learning activities for individuals where the risks are managed  Reducing protection of people from risks that cause real harm and suffering  Well this should make everyone’s life easier shouldn’t’ it? A note of caution; if you do have to produce your assessments or demonstrate how you have managed the risk and can’t I would suggest that it will much easier for the inspector to pursue a legal course of action against you.  After all they have tried to make it a lot easier for you and you failed to follow their advice!  For examples of the HSE’s new approach to risk assessments visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/examples.htm  Be safe  JB