Health and Safety for Security Workers

This advice is reproduced courtesy of the GMB, Britain’s General Union which represents many thousands of members in security. www.gmb.org.uk

Your rights on health and safety at work

Your employer has a legal duty to safeguard your health, safety and welfare whist you are at work. Employers who fail to meet their duty to protect health and safety can be prosecuted and fined. They may also face compensation claims from employees who have been injured by their employers’ negligence.

Under health and safety law your employers must:

• Ensure that your environment and workplace are healthy and safe;
• Carry out an assessment of the risks to your health and safety at work and put measures in place to reduce the chances of an injury or illness happening to you;
• Ensure that a supply of drinking water and toilets are accessible to you;
• Provide you with personal protective equipment, free of charge, if the health and safety risks of your job cannot be controlled adequately by any other means;
• Provide you with information and instruction about health and safety hazards that you may be exposed to;
• Train you how to carry out your job safely including training in what to do when faced with violence or aggression;
• Consult with you and safety representatives about health and safety at work.

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