CREATING A SAFETY FIRST CULTURE IN THE CLOSE PROTECTION INDUSTRYBy Tom Richmond As providers of risk management to business executives, high profile people and private clients, those working in the close protection industry can often see their own health and safety as second to that of those they are employed to provide security and safety too.However, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, both employers and close protection operatives have a legal duty to manage health and safety for those that they employ, or for anyone that could come into contact with them whilst conducting the close protection role.Minimum legal requirements From an employer’s perspective, if you employ five or more people, as a minimum you must have a written health and safety policy and you should have general risk assessments for every different type of task that you are employed to conduct for your clients. The risk assessment must identify potential risk for not just your principal, but also for the close protection operatives that you employ or members of the public who may come into contact with your work. Importantly though, you should ensure that every close protection operative that works for you, whether they are full time with your company or self employed completing just a one day short task, has had sight of the risk assessment or pertinent points from it relating to their role and as an employer you have written confirmation that the operative has read it, understood it, and you confirm with them whether they have identified any additional risk that is not recorded on the general risk assessment.“ The risk assessment must identify potential risk for not just your principal, but also for the close protection operatives that you employ or members of the public who may come into contact with your work.  Health and Safety competent personTo manage health and safety for the close protection company, the employee responsible for doing this must have the relevant qualifications and / or experience for them to competently assess and manage the potential risks. Plus, have the ability to competently consult with the close protection operatives on their role in managing and reducing risk whilst employed by the company. In the event of an incident, the company may have to prove the competency of their health and safety manager as part of a subsequent investigation into an incident. This legal requirement can be sub-contracted out to a health and safety professional to do on behalf of the company, but overall responsibility for health and safety sits with the company owner and directors.Penalties and reputational damage The penalties of not managing health and safety correctly go much further than what might be the obvious criminal offences that may lead to fines and or imprisonment for company owners and directors. A health and safety legislation breach or incident that could have been avoided with better health and safety management could result in destroying a company’s reputation that may have taken years to develop and be key to the businesses ongoing success.The responsibilities of the close protection operator For the deployed close protection operator, there is a legal duty of care to ensure that you take care of your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your work, which includes members of the public. Therefore, if you see unsafe behaviour or risks that have not been identified in the general risk assessment, you must raise these with your employer at the earliest opportunity. In addition, conducting unsafe behaviour like stopping traffic to allow your principal to enter a vehicle which causes a road traffic collision or being unnecessarily heavy handed with someone who comes too near to your principal which results in injury, can also lead to the operator being fined and / or imprisoned for a health and safety legislation breach.However, underpinning an employee’s responsibility should be a company that sets the conditions for the close protection operator to work in a safe environment and makes it very clear that proactively managing health and safety risk is an integral part of the close protection role where they expect the operator to form a key part of their health and safety risk management process.Creating a safety first cultureCreating a safety first culture though is not just about completing the minimum legal requirements to avoid a potential legislative breach and subsequent penalties or reputational damage. A safety first culture is about creating a positive, transparent and inclusive environment where close protection operatives consistently understand the high level of importance that the company places on health and safety management. It is setting working conditions where operatives are empowered to take ownership of proactively identifying and mitigating all aspects of risk and not just the potential hostile risk to the principal. Where their feedback is listened too and acted upon by their employer. With both the company and operative working collaboratively to put health and safety at the heart of everything they do and not just as an afterthought or box ticking exercise.A safety first culture reduces the potential risks of having a health and safety incident. It supports the company to retain good operatives as they feel confident that the company is working hard to ensure their safety. It therefore promotes a positive working environment for close protection operatives and this in turn encourages them to also ensure that they always work to the highest standards on behalf of the company. Importantly, a safety first culture can be a really positive differentiator and selling point for a company to support them to win new contracts,Total Security and Safety Solutions supports security industry businesses to develop their safety first culture and works with them to build their business and profits whilst doing so with real focus on developing consistently safe working environments. For further details, please contact Managing Director Tom Richmond onsupport@totalsecurityandsafetysolutions.co.uk