As an employer, you must (Management of Health & Safety at Work Regs 1999) appoint someone competent to help you meet your health & safety duties. A competent person is someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety.

You could appoint (one or a combination of):

+yourself

+one or more of your workers

+someone from outside your business

You probably manage most aspects of your business yourself, or with help from your staff. But if you are not confident of your ability to manage health & safety in-house, you may need some external help or advice. (this is where can step in by training your staff or offering help and advice)

I must point out that there are a number of different sources of advice- you must find the source that fits

These include:trade associations safety groups, trade unions, consultants registered on the Occupational Safety & Health Consultants Register (OSHCR), local councils, health & safety trainers, health & safety equipment suppliers

Deciding what help you need is very important. Unless you are clear about what you want, you probably won’t get the help you need!

Things to consider when using external help

*Make sure you clearly explain what you need & check that they understand you. *Ask them to explain what they understand the work to be & what they will do, when they will do it & what they will charge you.

*Check for evidence of relevant training/knowledge, such as formal qualifications or practical experience of providing advice in your industry/area of work.

*Can they explain why they are competent to advise you on your particular problem?

* Are they a member of OSHCR? check this at www.OSHCR.ORG this will prove their knowledge, that they will give proportionate advice, that they are insured and they abide by a professional code of conduct

RedCat Consultants are on the register! did you expect anything less! we are Chartered Practitioners and have always taken a pride in our knowledge and experience

Re Consultancy - We will take the time to get to know you & your business so we can offer you the right advice- we will also help you implement any requirements- we are ex- enforcement officers- we know what we are talking about! we do not offer off-the-shelf packages-our advice is bespoke to you

We do not employ sales staff- it is us that you will see

We do have a number of Audit options, which include a detailed report- we can also help you with training needs whether this is a formal accredited course or a bespoke session

We will not charge you a retainer (The HSE specifically states that this should not happen) when we quote & invoice we will give you breakdown of costs- we pride ourselves on our transparency

Once you are a client- phone calls which we can answer straight away - will not be charged for!

We are a local company working for local companies

Give us a call to chat through how we could help you take the worry out of Health and Safety!

www.redcat.gb.com