Health and Safety

The main piece of health and safety legislation is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. This sets out the general duties which employers, the self employed and people in control of premises have towards their employees and others who could be affected by the work activities. It also gives employees the general duty to ensure the health and safety of themselves and each other.

Where an organisation has at least one paid employee anywhere in the organisation, it is considered to be an employer for the purposes of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Local Authority (LA) Environmental Health Department enforce the Act. To determine who the enforcing authority is for an event is dependant on who the event is organised by and what the event is. If the event is organized by the Local Authority, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is enforced by the HSE. If the event is organised by an organization other than the Local Authority then the LA Environmental Health Department will enforce the event. If the event is on open street then this will fall to the HSE for enforcement.

What do you need to do?
When planning any event, there should be a named organiser identified at the earliest opportunity. For larger events, good practice indicates that a detailed management structure should be drawn up formally identifying who is responsible for what.

Remember that the primary 'duty of care' for public safety rests with the organiser or the owners of the property or land. This 'duty of care' may also rest proportionately with any person connected with the event or providing advice or service to the organiser.

If the event is on the highway or road, the responsibility for public safety rests with the organiser.

Every functional area will have an element of health and safety to consider. It is essential that there is a common thread throughout all planning and preparation. Some of the issues to consider are:

What safety precautions do you need to take?
Have you made adequate security arrangements?
Do you have adequate emergency procedures in place?
Is emergency training required?
What first aid/emergency services do you need?
What information do you need to include in health and safety announcements?
Have you completed the necessary risk assessments?

Thus the best way to ensure that all the issues are considered and that they are approached in a common manner is to complete a safety policy document. Although this is time consuming in the first instance, it will become the basis of a document that can be reviewed and amended each time you repeat your event rather than you staring from scratch, and will pull together other items such as risk assessments etc. This can be approached in two ways:
a) a sole health and safety policy that can reference many different events and activities; or
b) it can become part of the operational and contingency plan for a one off event.

A health and safety policy is a document that demonstrates to others that the company or organisation to which it relates accepts that concern for health and safety is an integral part of its organisation at all levels, and that the highest management within the company mean to ensure that this concern will be translated into effective action. In other words, it is a way of letting others know your commitment to health and safety.

Safety policies should also contain details of the organisation, which show how the policy will be put into practice. This part will describe the roles and responsibilities of other people that have been given safety duties (but not ultimate responsibility as this cannot be delegated). The organization section of the safety policy should contain other matters eg a diagram showing the delegation of safety duties, the nomination of people with the authority and competence to monitor safety and the resources (in time and money) that are available for health and safety.

The arrangements cover the detailed matters such as:

the maintenance of a safe place of work
safe systems of work
safe access
provision of information
training and consultation with employees and volunteers.

It is a legal requirement for employers employing five or more people to produce a written health and safety policy. Further information on safety policies can be found in HSE's booklet Writing a safety policy statement: Advice for employers.

The event organiser may be a person or organisation that promotes and manages an event themselves, eg promoters, production companies or local authorities. If you fall into this category, it is likely that you will have more than five employees and are legally required to produce a safety policy for the event. If you have been hired to promote and manage an event on behalf of another company or organisation, eg a client, you may not actually be an employer or have any employees. However, it will still be necessary to establish who has the overall responsibility for complying with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) and to ensure that the responsibilities are recorded.

Some events may be organised by people or organisations where there is no actual employer, eg community events, so there will be no legal requirement to produce a safety policy. However, there is still the legal responsibility for the management of contractors and subcontractors on site, including performers. Producing a safety policy in these circumstances is recommended as it provides a framework around which you can manage health and safety at the event.

The health and safety policy could relate to a series of events if these are to be organised by the same event organiser. In this case it will need to be reviewed in terms of the organisation and arrangements for health and safety for each particular event. It is important that the safety policy details a management structure which defines the hierarchy of health and safety responsibility for the duration of the event, and that these details are recorded in the safety policy document. (The duration of the event starts at the beginning of the build-up through to the finish of the breakdown.)

If an event is to be staged in existing premises such as an arena or a sports stadium, the event organiser will need to liaise with the venue or ground management in relation to the existing arrangements for health and safety.

Planning for safety
Effective planning is concerned with prevention through identifying, eliminating and controlling hazards and risks. The amount of time that needs to be set aside for planning will be very much dependent upon the size, type and duration of the event. For large events, experience shows that 6-9 months beforehand is not too early to start.

The phases of an event
The planning issues for an event can be considered in separate parts:

the 'build-up' involves planning the venue design, selection of competent workers, selection of contractors and subcontractors, construction of the stages, marquees, fencing etc;
the 'load in' involves planning for the safe delivery and installation of equipment and services which will be used at the event, eg stage equipment used by the performers, lighting, public address (PA) systems etc;
the 'show' involves planning effective crowd management strategies, transport management strategies and welfare arrangements. Planning strategies for dealing with fire, first aid, contingencies and major incidents are important ;
the 'load out' requires planning for the safe removal of equipment and services;
the 'breakdown' includes planning to control risks once the event is over and the infrastructure being dismantled. Collection of rubbish and waste-water disposal present risks, and these aspects need to be planned and managed.

The event safety management plan and event safety team meetings

To provide a comprehensive overview to all these planning aspects it may be helpful to produce an event management plan. [see Festivals & Events Operational, Management and Contingency Plan template]

The constituent parts of an event management plan could include the following:

the event safety policy statement detailing the organisation chart and levels of safety responsibility;
the event risk assessment;
details of the event including venue design, structures, audience profile and capacity, duration, food, toilets, refuse, water, fire precautions, first aid, special effects, access and exits, music levels, etc;
the site safety plan detailing the site safety rules, site crew managers and safety coordinator, structural safety calculations and drawings;
the crowd management plan detailing the numbers and types of stewards, methods of working, chains of command;
the transport management plan detailing the parking arrangements, highway management issues and public transport arrangements;
the emergency plan detailing action to be taken by designated people in the event of a major incident or contingency;
the first-aid plan detailing procedures for administering first aid on site and arrangements with local hospitals.

Remember that the constituents of the event safety management plan are your working documents and will need to be reviewed and updated as new information is received either before or during the event. It is only necessary to produce this plan for the key members of your event safety team.

Ensure that there is full document control so that redundant or superseded documents are not mistaken for the final version.

Event safety planning meetings are an ideal way to ensure that the event safety management team members are updated on the content of the plan, as well as providing a mechanism for ensuring a flow of safety information on a regular basis. These meetings can be arranged in the weeks or days leading up to the event. If the event is to take place over a few days (eg festivals), meetings should take place at least once each day of the event.

The role of the safety co-ordinator
Event organisers must have access to competent help in applying the provisions of health and safety law, unless they are competent to devise and apply protective measures themselves.

A competent person is someone who has sufficient training, expertise, experience or knowledge and other qualities that enable that person to devise and apply protective measures.
Appoint a suitably competent safety co-ordinator to help you comply with health and safety legislation and ensure that the safety co-ordinator reports directly to you.

Safety co-ordinators can assist in the:

selection and monitoring of contractors;
liaison with contractors, self-employed people on site and the health and safety enforcement authority;
checking of safety method statements and risk assessments;
preparation and monitoring of site safety rules;
checking of appropriate certificates in respect of structures, electrical supplies etc;
communication of safety information to contractors on site;
monitoring and co-ordinating safety performance;
co-ordinating safety in response to a major incident.

To be effective, the safety co-ordinator needs to have access to the safety documentation supplied by the contractors. The safety co-ordinator also needs to be easily available to workers on site from the beginning of the build-up of the event through to the final breakdown. The safety co-ordinator should also be a member of your event safety management team.

NB It is not recommended that event organisers appoint themselves as the safety co-ordinator. To be effective the safety co-ordinator should not have other competing roles which would inevitably face an event organiser during the course of the event.

Carrying out a risk assessment
Finding out what risks to health and safety exist, assessing how big these risks are, and what steps can be taken to reduce them, will be the basis of your health and safety policy. Carrying out an assessment is not difficult, as long as you are systematic and examine your organisation and its activities carefully. One of the difficulties people often encounter during this process is knowing what to look for.

Basically, a risk assessment involves:

looking for hazards
identifying the hazards in the workplace or place where you are carrying out your activities
assessing the likelihood of harm resulting from them ie the risk the hazard presents.

See the Risk Assessment Information Sheet and Template

FURTHER INFORMATION

Information on Health and Safety
The Health and Safety Executive is your essential starting point.

See www.hse.gov.uk or contact them on their helpline: Tel: 08701 545500.

An introduction to health and safety INDG259(rev1)
Five steps to risk assessments INDG 163 (rev2)
The Good Practice Safety guide for small sporting events taking place in the highway, roads and public places
Riddor Explained HSE 31
Employers Liability(Compulsory Insurance) Act HSE 40
Health and Safety at Motor Sports Events HSG 112
Working together on Firework Displays HSG 123
Giving your own Firework Display HSG 124
The Charity and Voluntary Workers Guide HSG 192
The Event Safety Guide HSG 195
Managing crowds safely HSG154
Managing crowds safely INDG 142L
Manual Handling INDG 143
Reversing Vehicles INDG 148
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations INDG 174
First Aid at Work .Your questions answered INDG 214
Electrical Safety for Entertainers INDG 247
An introduction to Health and Safety INDG 259
The Safe use of Gas Cylinders INDG 308
Small scale use of LPG in cylinders CHIS 5
Basic Advice on first aid at work INDG 347
The Noise at Work Regulations INDG 75
Working at height - Heightsafe leaflet
The safe use and operation of play inflatables including bouncy castles ITIS 7
First Aid at Work Regulations L74

www.hsedirect.com
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the publisher Butterworths Tolley have jointly launched HSEdirect, an online health and safety information service, which is designed for anyone with responsibility for health and safety issues and management in the workplace. This has a subscription charge for the online database, at present £20 for a day visit, or £241+vat for an annual subscription. A free preview of some of this information is available on the site. The free area of the website includes daily news, HSE press releases, a conference diary and useful contact details.

email: enquiries@hsedirect.com HSEdirect information hotline T: 0845 300 3142 (charged at local rate)

Other Related Information Sheets

Risk Assessment for Event Organisers
Insurance