NEBOSH International General Certificate

Paper 1 Management of Health and Safety

Element 2 Setting Health & Safety Policy
1. (a) Outline the general content of the THREE sections of a health and safety
policy. (6)
(b) Explain why the health and safety policy should be signed by the most
senior person in an organization, such as a Managing Director or Chief
Executive Officer. (2)
Answer
(a) The three sections of a policy are the 'statement of intent', which both
demonstrates management's commitment to health and safety and sets goals
and objectives for the organization, then to the 'organization' section, the
purpose of which is to allocate health and safety responsibilities within the
company, to ensure effective control, competency, cooperation and to set up
lines of communication, and finally, to the 'arrangements' section which sets
out in detail the systems and procedures to implement the policy such as
controlling hazards, provision of PPE, emergency procedures, monitoring,
plant and equipment etc.
(b) The signature of the most senior person in the organization would demonstrate
management commitment, responsibility for health and safety in the
organization, to set, approve and review the policies and to ensure the
resources for effective implementation of health & safety.
2. (a) Explain the purpose of the 'statement of intent section of a health and safety
policy (2)
(b) Outline the circumstances that would require a health and safety policy to be
reviewed. (6)
Answer:
(a) The 'statement of intent' section of a health and safety policy is designed to
demonstrate management commitment to health and safety in terms of aims and
objectives, example, commitment to improve trainings, reduce the incidents etc.
(b) The circumstances to review the policy include significant changes in the
organization; after the introduction of new machinery or new processes or work
methods; following changes in key personnel; following changes in legislation;
following an accident, and after a sufficient period of time has elapsed.

3.

(a)

Outline why it is important for an organization to set health and safety targets.
(2)
(b) Identify health and safety targets that an organization could set. (6)

Answer
(a) It is important for organizations to set health and safety targets, to give
evidence of management commitment, to motivating staff by providing them with
goals and rewards; to act as an evidence during the audit and reviews and for
benchmarking against other similar organizations.
(c) Identified targets such as reductions in the number of accidents and defined
incidents; an improvement in the reporting of near miss incidents or minor
accidents and an improvement in inspection and audit scores; a reduction in
actions taken by the enforcement authorities and in the number of civil
claims; a reduction in sickness absence and absenteeism; reduced insurance
costs; an increase in the degree of worker involvement and additionally in the
number of workers trained in health and safety.
4.

(i) State the legal requirements whereby employers must prepare a written
statement of their health and safety policy.
(ii) Outline the various methods for communicating the contents of a health and
safety policy to a workforce.

Answer
(i) The law requires that the written health and safety policy should include the
following three sections: A health and safety policy statement of intent which
includes the health and safety aims and objectives of the organization; The
health and safety organization detailing the people with specific health and
safety responsibilities and their duties; The health and safety arrangements
in place in terms of systems and procedures, The law requires employers to
prepare and review the health and safety policy on a regular basis.
(ii) The methods to communicate the policy displaying the policy on
prominent notice boards throughout the workplace, through induction and
refresher training sessions, 'toolbox' talks which are conducted at the
workplace, directly by email, intranet, newsletters or booklets etc.