Health and safety
From the Good Practice BankThe main organisation for health and safety related matters is the Health and Safety Executive. The HSE provides guidance for organisations and individuals on all aspects of health and safety. The HSE has a number of pages providing specific advice for voluntary organisations and volunteers.
The Information Sheet below has been written for organisations that involve volunteers. It’s not a full account of their duties and responsibilities, but is intended to help organisations think them through.
- Member only information sheet Health and safety for volunteers
(97.2Kb) - Template Health and safety statement (25.9Kb)
- Example Mencap health and safety guidelines (30.8Kb)
Risk assessment
A key element of managing health and safety is risk assessment, a technique for identifying and mitigating potential hazards involved with any activity. The HSE provides detailed guidance on risk assessment, including example risk assessments.
- Template Risk assessment
(35Kb) - Example CSV North Nottinghamshire Mental Health Volunteering Project risk assessment guidelines (51.4Kb)
Further information
- Free publication Volunteers and the Law
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
- Running Sports tips on health and safety for sports organisations
Volunteering England and the organisations that contribute example documents to the Good Practice Bank accept no responsibility for how they are used. They are presented as examples of good practice, but it is every volunteer-involving organisation's responsibility to ensure that their volunteers are safe, and that policies and procedures meet legal requirements.
