It’s simple, concise and easy to understand. Each month we represent a letter of the alphabet and associate a few words in health and safety requirements with that letter.
Competent Person
The Safety Health & Welfare Act 2005 defines a competent person as a person who possesses ‘sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken’. The concept of competence has been a long-standing requirement of earlier health and safety legislation but was never defined. The appointment of a competent person does not relieve an employer of responsibility for employees’ safety.
Contractors
Persons carrying out construction work are required to ensure, in so far as is reasonably practicable, that what is being built is constructed to be safe and without risk to health. Contractors are bound to co-operate with the project supervisor. A contractor who has 20 or more people working on a site or 30 people engaged in construction work must appoint one or more competent persons as safety officers.
Consultation
The obligation to consult with employees or their safety representative s is an important principle of health and safety law. An employer must consult in promoting and developing health and safety measures. Consultation should be in advance and in good time and concern matters, which affect workers’ health and safety, planning and organisation of work and the introduction of new technologies. The Act provides legal protection against penalisation to safety representatives and employees who make complaints or representations about health and safety issues or who at in accordance with or exercise rights permitted by statutory provisions.
