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• Health and Safety Policies are a legal requirement in many countries.
Any business employing more than 5 employees are legally required to
follow a health and safety policy.
• The policy usually consist of risk assessment criteria's, statement of
intent identify the duties and responsibilities of employers and
employees, details of operations being done in the premises,
workplace safety guidelines, etc.

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• The intense competition, fragmentation of the industry,
inexperienced personnel, outsourced staff, budget cuts, consolidation,
increased layoffs have now increased the importance of health and
safety policies in the food business.
• Health and safety cannot be compromised at the thought of profits.
Every employer has a legal obligation towards maintaining and
updating a comprehensive H&S policy to suit his business operations.
Because he is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of all those who
work for him. Even outsourced staff and contract staff.
• Having a well stipulated policy will assist the development of training
programs, recruitment process, risk assessment process, in handling
accidents and work incidents, steps to be taken at a time of injury,
helps comply to local and State law enforcement, etc.

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• It necessitates minimum physical and welfare standards for place of
work.
• It requires the business to carry out risk assessments within the
workplace. (Risk is the likelihood or possibility that a hazard will
actually result in injury or accident. Hazard is anything that has the
capability to cause harm).
• Risk assessments helps identify probable hazards and provides safety
protocols to prevent hazards (as far as practically possible).
• The Workplace Health Safety and Welfare Regulation 1992 applies to
all new workplaces,
• And according to this regulations ‘Workplace’ is defined as, “Any
premises or part of premises that are not domestic premises and are
made available to any person as a place of work, and includes:

•Any place within the premises to which such person

has access while at work; and
• Any room, lobby staircase, corridor, road or other
place used as a means of access to or egress from the
workplace or where facilities are provided for the use in
connection with the workplace, other than a public
road.”

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• The HSE has significant power over enforcing laws relating to
workplace safety. They have the power to issue improvement and
prohibition notices.
• The are an independent governing organisation set up for the
betterment of workplace activities. Primary goal being reducing work
related deaths and injuries.
• HSE is responsible for workplaces that include: factories, farms,
building sites, nuclear installations, mines, schools and colleges,
fairgrounds, gas, electricity and water systems, hospitals and nursing
homes, central and local government offices and offshore installations.

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• Enforcement support to better target businesses, who are either in
need of HSE’s assistance or pose risks to people, and initiate HSE
strategy to prevent threats at workplace.
• The six factors of good enforcement is an initiative taken to help both
HSE enforcers do their job without much trouble from business
owners and make it easier for proprietors to comply.
• Standards relate to good performance standards provided by HSE
officers.
• Openness of information provision.
• Helpfulness, by giving advice and supporting compliance.
• Complaints: convenience and accessibility in placing complaints.
• Proportionality deals with counter-actions being fair and
proportionate to the complexity of the risk.
• Consistency regulations and codes of practices. No favourations.

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• HSE can come for random ‘spot check’, routine inspections or when
following complaints. Refusal to corporate they will take the support of
local police.
• Usually HSE visits the businesses with highest level of risk and
hazardous industries such as nuclear installations, hospitals, chemicals
and explosives manufacturing plants, etc.
• HSE follows number of Primary and Secondary legislations. Primary
legislations being Acts of Parliament, secondary are statutory
instruments also knows as “Regulation”.

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• Equipment safety;
• Equipment provided must be ‘fit for purpose’.
• Related training and instructions must be given.
• Equipments must be examined on a routine basis.
• Maintenance and upgrade.
• Risk assessments of equipment
• Electrical Safety;
• All staff must be trained to use electronic appliances.
• Injury preventive techniques/ controls.
• Documenting all electrical equipment for regulatory use:
‘Register’ (Electricity at Work Regulation 1989).
• Maintenance and inspection programs.
• Premises Design and Layout;
• Buildings must be constructed safely and risk free for continued
operations.
• Must comply with space requirements and in-built safety systems
(fire escapes, staircases, ventilation systems).
• Right use of raw material for construction.
• Comply with ‘Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations,
•PPE;
• Employers must provide extra protection wear for hazardous
work.
• Must be suitable for the work done and person using it.
• Must be in high-quality.
• Do not work without it if the work requires it.
• has to be used properly.

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• Employers, owners and managers have a legal obligation towards the
health and safety of their staff at work and others who visit the
business like customers, contract staff, outsourced staff, health
inspectors, messengers and etc.
• Even if there are no legal requirements proprietors are morally and
ethically bind to make their business a safe place to work in.
• When it comes to food and hospitality industry the pressure of it is
even more, because it is visited by guests probably from all over the
world. And customers expect a certain level of standard, some even
more than others.
• on the other hand it being a service industry the employees play a
pivotal role in securing customers. E.g. even if the head Chef may not
directly service the customers his food will make all the difference. As
a result the health and safety and welfare of the employees must be
secured to ensure their mind is at ease when working, keeping them
happy.

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• Maintaining a comprehensive H&S Policy is a legal binding. It assists
the management to prevent health risks and have control procedure at
times of occurrence. All such incidents must be documented so that
when inspectors arrive they will know in detail what happened, how,
when and why it happened making it easier for the business to
comply.
• By Having proper records on incidents, they can evaluate the
‘Incident Rate’ (IR, describes the total number of recordable incidents
in the workplace per 100 full-time employees at a given time frame.)
• Recordable Incidents are; work related deaths, injuries, ill-health that
required immediate medical attention. RI also result in lost of
consciousness, restraint from work or a transfer of job.
• In 2010 reports (UK) 2 million workers believed their current work or
previous job caused them to suffer ill health or made a previous illness
worse.

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• Poor or No safety control systems can result in severe financial and
legal implications. This mostly depends on the level of risk and type of
accident, but after minor accidents happen if employers show
negligence it can lead to major incidents and even to death.
• A total of 34million workdays were lost because of work related
accidents or illnesses. In this 6 million were due to workplace injuries
and 28 million were work related ill-health (in 2010, UK).
•This increases the need for a good H&S Policy for the workplace to
suit the work being done. E.g. securing all electrical and fire related
work, safety of machinery used, premises design to withstand
operations, safety protocols at times of fire or electrical outbreak,
sourcing of quality material and food items etc.
• And most importantly the policy must cover Training needs,
Instruction on how to do certain work, Supervision with regard to
employees protection.
• ‘Risk Assessments’ are now mandated by the local law enforcing
authorities to be included in the policy. Risk assessments must be
carried out in all parts of the business operations. E.g. electrical safety,
fire safety, risk of food contamination, work related incidents,
workplace hazards, employee misbehavior etc.

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• Employees also have a responsibility toward ‘duty of care’
(requirement of taking reasonable care when performing actions that
may affect others)

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• Hazard is anything that has potential to cause harm to the health and
safety of people.. E.g. even a ladder is hazard if not used properly.
•The potential of hazards at workplace must be measured and
evaluated in order to minimise future occurrence. Especially if it is the
same hazard occurring over and over again.
• Hazards can be identified through effective risk assessment and
monitoring system. Hazard identification is identifying all possible
events and operations that could cause harm to health.
• Inability to prevent hazards causes near-misses, injuries, disabilities
and even death. This leads to legal investigations and a lot more
trouble if the business was not complying to the demanded standards
(fines, bad publicity, compensations, imprisonment, even business
closure).

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• Hazards are very common in the food industry. They range from
psychological breakdowns to bacterial infections.
• one of the most important elements is food contamination. Food
handlers must take extra caution to ensure food being prepared and
served are not contaminated and hazardous to the consumer.
• There are 5 main types of hazards identified within the food industry;
• Physical hazards: very common in any workplace. But when it comes
to food there are specific types of hazards, for instance personal
hygiene of the Chef is a direct hazard to the food he prepares, insects
in food preparation areas, damaged utensils, unsafe packaging
material etc.
• Mechanical and Electrical hazards relate to all the electrical items
used for food preparation. E.g. electric burners, microwaves, food
processors, power sources, cables and wires etc.
• Chemical spills, pest bait, cleaning spray being mixed with foods,
fumes, acids etc.
• Biological hazards are one of the most common. Pathogenic bacteria,
raw cooked food, spoiled food, carriers of bacteria (wet and moist
floors and tables) infections of food handlers, pest infections etc.
• Psychological trauma, for instance work pressure creating stress,
sleeplessness, personal worries,

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• There are number of cost effective ways to identify day today
hazards. One of the best ways is being on alert and mindful of what's
happening around you. This is a responsibility of all proprietors,
employees, customers and visitors
• other than that as mentioned above, by reviewing past records,
employee records, inspection reports, hotel logs and documents,
customer complaints and suggestions, can assist identification of
hazards.

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• Risk assessment is the process of estimating and evaluating the
likelihood of a harmful event occurring, its affect on people and what
needs to be done to prevent such from happening in future.
• When considering risk assessment you must always know that
‘hazard’ is anything that could cause harm, ‘risk’ is the chance that
somebody could get harmed.

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• An employer must strive towards;
• Identifying and gathering information about hazards,
• Knowing the people exposed to it,
• Estimate the duration of the different types of hazards
(e.g. fire),
• Know the types of injuries caused by various hazards,
• Understanding the legal consequences,
• and Using Risk assessment techniques.
• The FAO/WHO and many other legal organisations have set specific
rules with regard to hazard control. And one of the modern
approaches to preventing and minimising risk at work is the use and
implementation of ‘Risk Assessment’ programs.

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1. Identify the hazard: ask yourself, “How can people at my workplace get
harmed?”. Do a survey, analyse previous records, identify trends, ask the
visitors, ask health officers, so on.
2. Decide who might get hurt and how: identify different groups of people
at risk rather than each and everyone. Kitchen staff, waiters, food
handlers, distributors and vehicle drivers, suppliers, cleaning staff, new
recruits and interns, pregnant mother and children, the elderly,
differently able etc.
3. Evaluate risk and use precaution: for this purpose employers can use
regulation guidelines, best practices in the industry, local law
enforcement officers advice, experts opinion, use PPE, training and
instruction etc. one must do everything practically possible to ensure
safety working practices.
4. Record the findings: when writing down what was discovered, it must be
kept simple and should be easily understood by all. Because its good to
communicate the information sought with staff members. Since local law
enforcers do check these records it must be accurate and correct. You
cant slip by recording nonsense.
5. Review the assessment and update: keeping a good risk assessment
system is an asset for the business. Therefore it is necessary to review
and upgrade the program to suit new changes in proceedings and
equipment used. Do not keep the system outdated. It must change as the
workforce change, new equipment is brought in, refurbishments and
structural additions are made.

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• Business risk assessment systems and other health safety systems
should not be out dated or legacy systems. They must be upgraded to
suit current working conditions and staff members.
• Usually law requires periodical reviews of the systems to ensure
safety. Especially if there were any work related accidents or complaint
made by customers and public.
• The hotel manager or proprietor needs to authorise whatever
changes that maybe made in the documentation after review and
upgrade.
• In the hospitality industry it is common for five star hotels to
employee separate team or outsource the Risk assessment and safety
system functions, so that there are experts committed to the task.

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• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, requires all staff members to
record incidents, accidents and potential risks at the work
environment. E.g. report damages to buildings, equipment, people,
unsafe work practices, co-workers misconduct and so on.
• The Risk Assessment process, H&S Policies and safety system
procedures mandate documentation of potential risks and hazards.
• It is and important part of monitoring and review process.

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• Systematic reporting and documentation helps businesses review,
monitor, upgrade and provide information to legal authorities and
other relevant parties effectively.
• Mentioned are some of the information recorded in these reports on
a daily basis. It includes loots more information depending on the type
and nature of business. For example in hotels there are separate log
books for guests in rooms t write down their complaints and
suggestions. Kitchen staff has separate documentation for accidents
related to the kitchen area, cleaning staff must report their incidents
on a daily basis.

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• Employees must have the training and instruction given to them, so
they know what to do in case of an accident.
• In the event of an accident a objective and official investigation has
to be carried out to find out the causes, why it was not prevented and
how to prevent it in future. Also due care and attention must be given
to the people affected.
• Accident book includes information such as; name & address of
injured person, date & time of incident, place of accident, cause and
nature of it, witnesses, their names & addresses. (note: not every
accident is worth investigating, only the reportable one’s. other must
just be reported and relevant parties taken care of)

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• RIDDOR is enforced by the local authorities and HSE to effectively
regulate the reporting format of work related accidents, so that
nothing (as intended) is overlooked when it comes to the health and
safety of the community.
• But not all incidents are report worthy. Only reportable incidents
(accidents that have considerable impact on a persons health) should
be reported and documented for further reference.

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• Reporting makes life easier. When health inspectors visit the
premises the proper documentation will help the inspection process. If
the premises is maintaining an impressive form of reporting structure
it will speed up the inspection saving more time and legal trouble.
• It is possible to manipulate reporting procedures but with HSE,
RIDDOR and local authorities watching you, any suspicion will lead to
legal problems.
• Maintaining reports on incidents can also assist the employers
identify critical points, high risk areas and prevent future risks.

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• Deaths: someone being killed at work.
• Major injury: amputation (memory loss, disability), loss of sight, loss
on consciousness.
• Over three-day injuries: where employees are unable to attend to
work three straight days because of the work-related accident. E.g.
Cuts and burns.
• Gas accidents: when someone gets injured or die due to gas
substances. E.g. gas fitters, gas suppliers and importers, gas
transporters etc everyone involved in gas related work must report
incidents (gas spills, flammable gas incidents etc).
• Diseases: diseases suspected to be caught at work. E.g. fever, cough,
rashes etc.
• Injuries to public: whoever that is not an employee or contracted
employee, injured at premises.

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• Fire hazards are the most deadly of all hazards. It spreads fast with
the help of ignition, oxygen and fuel.
• Ignition: fryers, burners, electronic appliances,
cigarettes,.
• Fuel: wood, curtains and clothing items, oil, chemicals,
rubbish, anything easily flammable.
• All working staff needs to be alert on fire sources, potential areas of
fire, fire hazards and have the appropriate training and instructions to
either prevent or deal with fire incidents.

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• Fire alarms help call the fire fighter and rescue on time, it also is an
early warning system so that guests, staff and other visitors can
evacuate the premises in advance.
• Fire alarms can range from a basic alarm (sound) to a complex
electrical system implemented at each part of the premises.

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• Employers as well as employees using electrical appliances utensils
and machinery has a legal obligation towards quality properly
maintaining and using them.
• Periodical reviews must be carried out to check the premises and
equipment of possible damages that may be hazardous and lead to fire
accidents. E.g. check the building wiring system, check cables that
maybe compromised, safety of electrical equipment used in the
kitchen (fryers, burner, heaters, grills etc). All electricity and fire
related machinery and equipment must be ‘fit for purpose’.
• Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), Risk Assessments are mandatory
requirements for businesses to assess fire hazards and control possible
fire risks (Mandated by HSE, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
2005, local law enforcers, Workplace Health and Safety Act).

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• The employer or proprietor has a legal responsibility towards
securing possible fire risks. This included proper equipment
maintenance and control, have in place fire safety protocols built-in to
the premises, carry out PAT’s and risk assessments on equipment and
machinery that could cause fires, areas that use fire and gas and other
flammable substances must be secured from rest of the areas
(kitchen), PPE requirements, training and instruction for staff etc.
• Employees in the other hand has the responsibility of using the
equipment safely and correctly, get help and instruction in case if they
don’t know how to use electrical equipment or do certain work, be
mindful of fire hazards and report probable cases, due diligence and
care must be taken when serving customers (lighting a cigarette, live
cooking, use of electrical items in the room), be aware of co-workers
actions and risks, etc.

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• It is a legal prerequisite that businesses big or small have fire
prevention techniques and controls in place. This mandates the need
for fire fighting equipments to be placed in conveniently accessible
locations both inside and outside premises, so that staff members
trained to handle fire situations can use them effectively to prevent
fire.
• E.g. Fire fighting equipments are commonly used in kitchens as it is
the most likeliest of places to start a fire, hence there must be water
sprinklers in the ceiling, fire extinguishers around the kitchen and
outside, fire alarms inside the kitchen.

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• Equipment used by professional fire fighters

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• There are different types of fire extinguishers for fires caused by
different sources.
• The incorrect use of fire extinguishers it will not reduce the fire
rather spread it faster. E.g. using water on fat fryers will create
combustion.
• in UK all extinguishers are generally red (according to the law), but
they must have formal definitions of what it should be used on and
how.
• This is the same for businesses, employees must be informed and
educated about these matters.

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