The staff within college have to comply with this Act as they have a duty of care for their students, they have general responsibilities to be able to ensure this.
This Act is amended as and when it has been updated with new legislation. When the Act is updated staff need to be aware of this so meetings are held to inform them of this so they can understand the changes and acknowledge them.
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
The college must be able to provide a good working environment for staff and students to work in. The college must have adequate ventilation throughout and not be too hot or too cold. A heating system and an air conditioning system should be installed to make sure they can do this. The lighting in the college should be in full working order so that staff and students can see where they are going and to be able to work and study, without adequate lighting they could not do this and it would not be suitable for them. There must be a place for the staff and students to go to sit down for breaks and somewhere for them to eat and purchase food. The refectory has to be clean and inviting with waste materials such as bins available. The college has toilets throughout for staff and students to use, these should be kept clean and tidy as hygiene standards are to be met. Within the ladies toilets sanitary bins must be provided for sanitary waste as it cannot be put into the normal bins.
In the class rooms the college must make sure that there are suitable workstations and seating for everyone to use to be able to work effectively and safely.
All of the college should be properly maintained and everything checked on a regular basis. This means that all sockets are to be checked and not faulty, smoke alarms are checked to ensure they are definitely working because if not the staff and students could be at risk if a fire was to break out and they have no warning for the alarm.
All of the doors within the college are fire doors, this means that they have a self-closer, they have metal inside and they weigh more than a normal door. They are made like this so that if a fire broke out the door would enable staff and students to have more time to exit the building because the doors will hold back the fire for a bit.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
The Reporting on Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations are in place for the safety of staff and students. It helps for when the college undertake risk assessments. It is also a legal requirement as it helps the HSE gather information about why and how risks happen and for more serious incidents they can then investigate them.
Injuries and diseases must be reported to an enforcing authority without delay if the staff member or student is off work for more than 3 consecutive days. This is done on an online reporting system that is accessed through the HSE website, it cannot be reported by telephone. For deaths and dangerous injuries these are to be reported no later than 10 days after it has occurred and can be reported by telephone to the HSE. Diseases are to be reported as soon as a doctor confirms of a work related disease. RIDDOR reports are to be kept for a minimum of 3 years but 6 years is recommended.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 1994 (COSHH)
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations are in place to provide the framework for using substances and prevent harm to staff and students. COSHH has step by step precautions for using substances to prevent accidents and injury. Within the hairdressing department the chemicals used such as the nail polishes and acetone but be kept in a metal cupboard and stored correctly. Within college the cleaners cleaning products must also be stored away from staff and students to avoid any harm that could be caused by them being left out. The college have to make sure they have a COSHH sheet filled out for each product which will give details of what is in the product and how to use it correctly. Staff that use these products must have the correct training of how to use them and store them. All chemicals used must be stored correctly in order to reduce the risk of exposure to staff and students.
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
All of the electrical equipment within the college must be correctly fitted by a qualified electrician, it also must be checked regularly and be PAT tested, this is done so that staff and students are not harmed when they use any of the electrical equipment preventing accidents that could occur due to faulty equipment. PAT testing is carried out in accordance with the college’s code of practice. As there are different types of voltage within the college it is essential that only qualified electricians deal with anything electrical. There is high voltage for high powered things such as the electrical server box and normal voltage for things such as plug sockets and light switches.
Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992
As staff and students need to use the computers within the college, sometimes for long periods of time so there need to be safety measures in place so they do not end up having problems such as a bad back, a bad neck and headaches. Display screen equipment regulations state that if you are using a computer for a long period of time then safety measures must be followed, this means that the college should be providing regular breaks for staff and students, the chair that they are using should be adjustable for height and the back rest, a foot rest and a wrist rest should be available and a screen filter to prevent any glare. If the college felt it was necessary then they should pay for staff to have their eyes checked regularly and even contribute to the cost of glasses. This may be included within the staff’s contract.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
Manual handling regulations are in place to prevent staff from injury. The college must provide the correct training for staff so that they can lift correctly preventing any incidents. The training will cover, lifting, pulling, supporting, carrying and pushing. There is also a limit on the amount that one person can lift. Students should not be lifting heavy equipment as they are not trained to be able to do so. Staff should make sure students are not doing this and they do it as they are the ones trained.