Version No:

1

OG Status:

Fully open

Author Section:

Public Services Sector

Issue Date:

24.02.09

Review Date:

24.02.13

To:

FOD Inspectors

Summary

To improve health and safety outcomes – in particular better identification and management of risks to employees and the public to reduce incidence of injury and ill health in targeted HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency. These interventions will also assist HSE to develop a model approach to Central Government employers.

Aim

To improve health and safety outcomes – in particular better identification and management of risks to employees and the public to reduce incidence of injury and ill health in targeted HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency.

Justification

Limited FOD led central interventions were agreed following a recent Crown Censure of HMRC and because of the formation of the new UK Border Agency.  Provision of account directors/managers in FOD for these organisations should improve national coordination and management of both reactive and proactive work.

A central approach to selected Government Departments/Agencies is necessary because:

• FOD investigations over recent years have revealed poor levels of compliance;
• Ad hoc investigation of complaints can entail inefficiently going over the same policies and procedures, taking up excessive duty holder and HSE time;
• There are no mechanism for ensuring lessons learnt locally are shared across the duty holder’s organisation;
• FOD has the skill set to provide analytical support and advice on management systems, and to enforce where necessary.

Audience / Industry

Interventions are limited to HMRC and UK Border Agency.

Messages

Recent work with central government and agencies, following the agenda set by the Health Work and Wellbeing strategy, has attracted genuine top-level interest and support There is ongoing pressure to improve performance across Government Departments. 
HSE wishes to target the management of health, safety and well-being in general and on topics such as stress, violence and MSDs in particular, because of their impact on days lost, productivity and efficiency.

Activities required

Proactive interventions will be led by inspectors in the WSW and ESE Divisions – other Divisions and teams that are not directly involved are asked to inform the relevant lead inspector if they undertake any interventions with either of the organisations. It is important that this information is fed back as it allows for any national concerns / patterns to be identified which will inform discussions during these central interventions.

The anticipated approach for each intervention would be to make initial contact at senior level in the organisation to discuss progress with implementing guidance on The Well Managed Organisation [145KB].

Initial discussion should centre on the effectiveness of the health and safety management system and the underlying causes of days lost such as stress, violence and MSDs, together with the policies and arrangements for managing these. The results of this initial work should inform the development of an intervention plan to asses these policies through sample management inspection at representative regional offices.
These interventions are expected to lead to a set of recommendations for action and an improvement plan.  Public Services Sector will provide support to ensure that any improvement plan is effectively communicated with the wider organisations as necessary. In some instances, examples of good practice may also be identified for wider promulgation through cross Government health and safety networks.

Timing.

From April 2009 to March 2010.

Diversity

Inspectors should be aware of who (in terms of diversity e.g. men, women, disabled etc) is the target group in the sector they are dealing with. Give consideration to, and factor into the approach, any issues that may surround this audience such as literacy issues, English as a second language and disability (access needs).

The Diversity pages give more information on these areas.

For information

HSE led work to develop guidance with the Work Foundation on The Well Managed Organisation [145KB]. The focus of this approach is on reducing days lost though improved attendance management, including using data to identify causes, providing managers with the required skills and implementing the management standards for work-related stress.

If anyone would like feedback on progress with either of the interventions during the work year please contact the relevant inspector.

Contact

Public Services Sector Band 2 – David Bryant
Lead Inspector for HMRC – Dan Hutley, Plymouth 01752 276347.
Lead Inspector for UK Borders Agency – Andrew Saunders, Chelmsford.