Competent Person
Why do I need a ‘Competent Person'?
Who should I appoint as a ‘Competent Person'?
Why do I need a 'Competent Person'?
The law (Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations) says you must appoint ‘one or more competent persons’ to help you meet your health and safety duties.
What is meant by ‘Competent’
Being competent means having:-
- the relevant knowledge, skills and experience;
- the ability to apply these appropriately; and,
- the necessary training to help acquire and maintain this.
The Regulations do not always outline specific qualifications or how to achieve competence as it will depend on the area of work and the specialisms within. There is, however, detailed guidance for the construction industry under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM).
Who should I appoint as a ‘Competent Person'?
To meet your requirements under the law you could appoint (one or a combination of):
- yourself
- one or more of your workers
- someone from outside your business
You can probably deal with straight forward health and safety issues in-house, either yourself or by appointing one or more of your workers to assist you. From your experience of the job you may know many of the risks involved and how best to deal with these, but you should also look at published guidance from the HSE website and industry. You can request an onsite visit from a HSWNI adviser who will be happy to call at your premises to advise you on your health and safety requirements.
Complex work will obviously require higher levels of training, knowledge and experience as more in-depth understanding and problem solving will be required. There may be staff in your company who could deal with such situations if they had the relevant training. This is to be encouraged as the Regulations state that, where there is a competent person in-house, they should be appointed in preference to someone from outside the company. However if you do need to look outside your business for this, you should satisfy yourself that anyone you appoint has the necessary skills, knowledge and experience. Ask about their formal qualifications, their practical experience of your industry, are they a member of professional body etc.
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