Health and safety policy

1. Overview

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) has a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all our employees, other workers and visitors to our workplaces. We take this duty very seriously and will fulfil it by:

• Maintaining a safe place of work, including entry and exit arrangements, by controlling the health and safety risks at work.
• Involving employees on health and safety issues that affect them.
• Making sure that any equipment used by employees or other workers on KCS sites is safe.
• Making sure that dangerous substances are stored and used safely.
• Making sure employees, especially new employees, have relevant information and training on health and safety.
• Making sure that employees have the necessary training and support to carry out their jobs.
• Trying to stop accidents and work-related health problems.
• Regularly checking that working conditions are safe and healthy.
• Regularly reviewing at senior management level our health and safety record and this policy, and making changes if necessary.

This policy applies to all KCS employees across the KCS Group. Failure to comply with this policy may be considered a disciplinary offence and subject to penalties up to and including dismissal for gross misconduct.

Responsibility for ensuring the implementation of this policy across the whole of KCS is held by Ian Bendelow, CEO, supported by the executive and management teams. On a day-to-day basis, Health and Safety responsibility may be delegated to named individuals for each site –see country-specific employee handbook for further details.

This policy and Health and Safety reporting from those with delegated responsibility will be kept under regular review by the CEO and the Executive Team.

Any questions regarding this policy should be addressed to HR.

2. Management responsibilities

All managers and team leaders are responsible for ensuring that any health and safety risks in their departments are properly assessed and managed. This includes:

• Ensuring that any necessary risk assessments are completed and appropriate actions taken to mitigate any risks.
• Ensuring that employees are properly trained and employee workloads are managed, so that all employees can carry out their roles safely and without any injurious impact to health.
• Consulting with HR/Facilities as appropriate regarding any perceived risks or hazards.

3. Employee responsibilities

All employees have a responsibility to take reasonable care to maintain their own health and safety and that of other people at work. This includes:

• Not behaving in any way that could cause a risk to health and safety for themselves or anybody else working at or visiting KCS sites.
• Informing management immediately of any perceived health and safety hazards and risks.
• Familiarizing themselves with and following all safety and security precautions such as accident reporting and fire evacuation.
• Complying with all instructions from management or anybody with health and safety responsibility.
• Ensuring that any visitors to KCS sites are accompanied at all times.
• Keeping their workplaces tidy and hazard-free.

4. Responsibilities of employees/managers with specific Health and Safety duties

This can include Fire Marshals, First Aiders, Health and Safety employee representatives, managers with delegated responsibility for Health and Safety on a local basis, HR/Facilities staff. Responsibilities may include:

• Ensuring that they follow all training required to carry out their Health and Safety duties and repeat this training according to locally recommended timescales or as required (if more frequent).
• Ensuring that other employees receive any required Health and Safety training.
• Ensuring compliance with all local Health and Safety requirements.
• Ensuring that appropriate risk assessments are conducted and that all necessary actions are taken to mitigate risks.
• Ensuring that all KCS sites are maintained to a clean, tidy and safe standard.
• Ensuring that company policies address potential hazard or risk areas eg travel, driving on company business, lone workers, home workers, pregnant women, VDU usage, working hours.
• Ensuring that Health and Safety information is properly disseminated to employees and anybody else working at/visiting KCS sites.
• At least six-monthly reporting to the CEO and Executive Team on the above activities.