Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Policy

CITB aims to provide a healthy and safe working environment that contributes to the wellbeing of individuals and for the prevention of work-related injury and ill health.

CITB is committed to provide helpful and targeted support where issues do arise relevant to the context of the organisation or work-related incidents.

CITB is committed to complying with all applicable Health & Safety legislation, and relevant standards and regulations.

CITB aims to eliminate hazards and minimise occupational Health and Safety risks.

CITB is committed to the continuous improvement of its Health, Safety & Wellbeing management system.

CITB is committed to consultation and the participation of colleagues, learners, and colleague representatives in the management of Health, Safety & Wellbeing.

The management of Health, Safety & Wellbeing (HS&W) is embedded in CITB as a core element of our operations. This enables us to meet our objective of managing and conducting our work activities to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and wellbeing at work of all our colleagues, learners, and others who may be affected by our activities.

Furthermore, CITB is committed to encouraging fairness, inclusion, and respect when considering matters of health, safety, and wellbeing, and more generally amongst all colleagues, learners, and others who may be affected by its business activities.

This Policy aligns to CITB’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy. CITB’s objectives for HS&W are:

Health and Safety

a) No harm or ill health to CITB colleagues

b) No harm or ill health to learners and others on our sites and premises

c) Provision of a healthy and safe working environment that creates an excellent health and safety culture, and promotes the reporting of all incidents, accidents, unsafe acts, and near misses.

Wellbeing

d) A holistic approach to ensuring good personal health and wellbeing provision to all colleagues to improve their physical and mental health, wellbeing, and work-life balance.

e) Personal health and wellbeing policies implemented to improve colleagues’ personal health & wellbeing.

f) A programme of personal health and wellbeing activities and interventions to support all colleagues and others who may be affected by our business activities., and to help promote an inclusive and thriving workplace.

This Policy covers all activities conducted by CITB. This includes office activities, training activities, and mobile working at all CITB locations, external venues and/or sites, and activities contained within the physical boundaries of those locations. CITB colleagues and others who may be affected by our activities are duty bound to follow the requirements of this Policy, even when working at another’s premises.

This Policy does not cover the activities under the control of partnership organisations, colleges, and training providers (not limited) that CITB works with and/or has influence and involvement with.

This Policy applies to all people who work for CITB, including permanent, fixed term or temporary colleagues, learners, visitors, contractors, interim colleagues under contract, people on work experience, and agency workers.

CITB’s Board appoint the Chief Executive Officer who has ultimate accountability for Health and Safety. The Board delegate the oversight of Health, Safety & Wellbeing to the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC). Both the ARC and Board receive regular reports on HS&W and respectively endorse and approve this Policy.

HS&W is delegated by the Chief Executive Officer to the Chief Financial Officer, who is supported by the People Director on matters of Wellbeing. The CFO reports to the wider Executive Team on performance against HS&W objectives, the monitoring of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HS&W) management system, and ensures it is effectively maintained. The Executive Team receive a report on a quarterly basis.

The HS&W Management Group meets quarterly and supports the Chief Financial Officer in delivering the objectives stated in this Policy, monitoring performance against those objectives, and continually improving the HS&W policies and management system.

The Group’s membership includes:

• Chief Financial Officer (Chair)
• People Director
• Apprenticeships and Industry Training Director
• Health and Safety Manager
• Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Advisor
• Estates and Facilities lead.

People Director

The People Director is responsible for the management of employee wellbeing, including the development and implementation of action plans to address colleague wellbeing. Action plans will be developed as part of the organisational business planning process and set out in the People Strategy.

They are accountable for the management of Wellbeing risks and issues across CITB, ensuring that risks are identified, assessed, and managed in line with this Policy and the HS&W management system.

To achieve this, they are accountable for ensuring adequate resources, skills and capabilities exist within their team, escalating any concerns, issues recommendations to the HS&W Management Group. They are responsible for the monitoring of wellbeing issues and reporting of performance against objectives directly to the Executive Team, and on to the ARC and Board, through the performance hub and regular reporting.

Apprenticeships and Industry Training Director

The Apprenticeships and Industry Training Director is responsible for the management of Health, Safety & Wellbeing of colleagues and learners engaged with the NCC. They will escalate all HS&W concerns regarding the NCC to the HS&W Management Group. Their responsibility also extends to include the safeguarding of learners, and this is managed separately through the Apprenticeship’s governance structures.

They are accountable for the management of HS&W risks and issues within the NCC, ensuring that risks are identified, assessed, and managed in line with this Policy and the HS&W management system.

To achieve this, they are accountable for ensuring adequate resources, skills and capabilities exist within the NCC team, escalating any concerns, issues recommendations to the HS&W Management Group where these cannot be managed within the NCC.

Health and Safety Manager and Advisor

The Health and Safety Manager, with the support of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor, is responsible for the day-to-day management of HS&W management system across CITB. They are responsible for:

• Monitoring of changes in relevant HS&W legislation, regulation, standards, and other requirements
• Maintenance of the HS&W management system
• Communication of HS&W management system requirements to all colleagues, learners, and others who may be affected by our activities
• Ensuring adequate training provision is in place to support colleagues
• Coordinating a programme of self-assessment audits
• Coordinating BSI certification audits
• Monitoring and reporting to the HS&W Management Group, the Executive Team, the ARC and Board

Estates and Facilities Lead

The Estates and Facilities lead has responsibility for the oversight and management of the provision of our learner environment and wider estate. They are responsible for identifying HS&W risks related to the estate and for responding to matters brought to their attention, through remedial action or longer-term investment.

The Governance & Compliance Team are responsible for conducting periodic assurance activities to ensure the management of Health, Safety and Wellbeing within CITB is compliant with legal and other requirements, and the objectives of this Policy, including identifying HS&W risks and areas for improvement.

Proactive internal and external audits are undertaken to check compliance with legislation, applicable standards, and our own policies and procedures, and to identify areas of good practice alongside any weaknesses or areas for improvement. Audits are conducted independently by the Internal Audit team, or our outsourced provider.

CITB is certified to ISO45001 and establishes and implements a programme of self-assessment audits in line with the requirements of the standard. Assessment audits are planned in advance and conducted on a periodic basis, co-ordinated by the HS&W Advisor, with the frequency of audits dependent on the level of inherent risk. High risk activities are audited more frequently than low risk activities. Audits may be specific, to determine compliance with legislation or standard clauses, site/location based or across sites, or be general in their approach. Any non-conformity is raised as an action with the relevant line manager, together with a timescale for implementation, and reported to the Chief Financial Officer, and discussed at the HS&W Management Group.

Both planned and unplanned inspections are carried out to provide assurance that standards are always maintained. Inspections can be conducted by workplace, machinery, PPE, working behaviours or other thematic matter. If an inspection identifies a concern or issue, a non-conformity will be raised for the relevant line manager together with a timescale for implementation and reported to the Chief Financial Officer and discussed at the HS&W Management Group.

All individual managers, team leaders, and supervisors have responsibility for the day-to-day health, safety and wellbeing of their team and others they have responsibility for, in addition to the overall environment for their particular work area, function or location.

All colleagues are responsible for ensuring their own health, safety and wellbeing, and the safety of others that may be affected by their actions or omissions.

All colleagues are expected to follow the requirements of all applicable legislation, guidance, advice, and best practice and to complete all mandatory HS&W training requirements.

All colleagues must follow the requirements set out in CITB’s policies, procedures, work instructions and risk assessments, which includes the requirement to report all unsafe acts, and near misses or conditions to their line manager and via the HS&W management system.

All colleagues must report all accidents or incidents (however minor) to their line manager and on the HS&W management system.

All colleagues must challenge poor health and safety practices if they witness any.

Some colleagues have additional specific duties related to HS&W, and these include:

• Fire Marshals
• Incident Control Officers
• First Aiders (Physical & Mental Health)
• DSE Assessors
• HS&W Action Group representatives

Specific training is provided for these additional roles and line managers, team leaders and supervisors, will ensure time is allocated to allow the individual to carry out these duties.

CITB operates a HS&W Management System. The management system contains all relevant policies, procedures and reporting requirements, and is accessible to all colleagues.

Action Groups covering NCC and the Peterborough office & mobile colleagues are in place to facilitate the participation of colleagues in the management of HS&W. These groups meet monthly to consider matters of health, safety, and wellbeing as they affect colleagues, learners, and others in their area and make recommendations for improvements. The groups review all accidents, incidents, unsafe acts and near misses that have occurred in their areas of responsibility. They also monitor safety in their own workplace. The groups are chaired by an appointed manager, who may also invite other colleagues to attend meetings whom they feel may provide assistance and advice to the group. Relevant HS&W information arising from these groups is communicated to colleagues via several channels, and any matters which require escalation and sent to the HS&W Management Group.