Health and safety manager

Your role in the Management Standards
Your role with individuals

This page is for those with responsibility for health and safety management.

Health and safety professionals can play a key role in the prevention of work related ill-health through their expertise in organisational health and safety management systems, the principles and practice of risk assessment and the legal framework.

Key messages

Recognise work related stress as a legitimate health and safety topic. In terms of prevention, work related stress can be dealt with like any other health and safety risk.
Many health and safety managers have successfully championed the Management Standards process within their organisation.
You will be familiar with the basis of the risk assessment process it uses and can probably adapt or utilise some of your existing procedures and techniques.
Work related stress will impact on other health and safety outcomes.
Experience suggests that the process runs smoother when there is co-operation between health and safety, human resources and occupational health specialists.

Find out how work related stress affected Molly and how her employer helped her;

See how employers have dealt with stress in their organisation

Your role in the Management Standards

Act as a champion for the process.
You have an important role in data collection and analysis.
Document the process as evidence for when you are contacted by an inspector.
Work closely with human resource and occupational health advisers.
Engage and communicate with employees and particularly employee or trade union representatives.
Providing a focus for expertise on undertaking risk assessments.
Contributing towards training for managers.

The HSE has developed a number of useful aids to help you with these tasks, including a tool that line managers can use to assess their management competencies. Access these tools.

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