The next step

Manager’s Health and Safety Induction

[Checklist]

Organisational Responsibilities Matrix

[Document]

How should safety be managed on a business acquisition?

A responsible start

Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of companies being prosecuted for incidents occurring within the first weeks or months after a business was purchased. Responsibilities start on day one whether the business is set up from scratch or purchased as a going concern.

Tip. Prior to acquisition, carry out a review of current health and safety standards. If you don’t have the expertise in-house, consider hiring a consultant to undertake an audit, especially if there are hazardous activities undertaken. Make sure you cover a range of checks including the condition of buildings and machinery, the extent of written procedures, the availability and quality of risk assessments and the status of staff training.

Scenario

In our subscriber’s case, the manager they’d appointed appeared to be experienced and had been allowed free rein to get the business working smoothly, and as soon as possible. However, after the accident it emerged that this “arm’s length” approach had been a mistake. The manager denied they had been informed about any of the policies and procedures for health and safety. Tip. Have a plan for the first day, week, month etc. after take over, including essential health and safety training. Treat this in the same way as any new employment contract, regardless of whether staff were in place under the previous owner.

Go over old ground

Even if there are records of staff induction, bear in mind that health and safety training should be refreshed periodically. The change to the business will also have altered reporting lines and had other knock-on effects, therefore repeating basic training is essential.

Tip. Include the health and safety policy in your training, especially those parts which describe staff responsibilities. Ensure these are clearly understood and then create a record of the training showing what was covered, who attended, the date and the result of any end of course assessment. For our Manager’s Health and Safety Induction Checklist , see The next step .

Tip. Ensure that those with management responsibilities receive additional instruction in their supervisory responsibilities, the standards you expect them to enforce, incident reporting, control of contractors and so on. Base it on our Organisational Responsibilities Matrix (see The next step ).

Focus on the big risks

There will be an overwhelming amount of work at the start of the takeover, with health and safety being just one small aspect. Tip. To avoid getting bogged down in trivia, carry out a “walk-through assessment” to identify high-risk activities and locations. These may include using mobile machinery, traffic management, work at height, hazardous chemicals, asbestos, flammable substances, to name a few. Ideally do this before acquisition, and use it to create a list of priority actions to implement on day one. Shut down anything that appears unsafe until you’ve had time to conduct a risk assessment and implement any significant findings.

For our Manager’s Health and Safety Induction Checklist and Organisational Responsibilities Matrix, visit https://www.tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 22 issue 15.