5 safety risk reduction tips

Places of worship have a legal and regulatory requirement to keep employees and visitors safe.

Remember these five essential areas to help reduce health and safety risks in your church.

 

  1. Keep clear
    Trips and slips accounted for 119,000 workplace injuries in 2015/16. Watch out for cabling across the floor, blocked fire exits, uneven carpets and unguarded heaters. Signpost internal risks and clear away clutter at all times.
  2. Watch out
    Remember you can be liable for accidents on your property, even if they are outside. Audit and correct external risks including inadequate lighting over footpaths, uneven or cracked paving slabs or steep paths without a handrail. In winter, grit car parks and grounds to prevent ice forming.
  3. Lift up
    Contact with moving machinery accounted for 44,000 cases in 2015/16. Regularly inspect lifts, including passenger lifts, platform lifts, stair lifts and dumbwaiters.
  4. Think ahead
    Under Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) 2005, places of worship must appoint a responsible person to monitor fire safety, carry out a risk assessment and ensure a fire could be detected, and people warned, in reasonable You must provide, check and maintain appropriate equipment and ensure people can escape safely.
  5. Write down
    To safeguard vulnerable people, including children, ensure you have a safety process in place when selecting volunteers or employees. Write down your child protection policy, including what to do if abuse is suspected, named contacts in the church to respond, and guidelines around recruitment and activities.