Close
Find out more about the identification of potential health hazards affecting staff, including screening students for risks associated with placements where occupational hazards exist.
On this page
- Occupational Health Hazard Identification Process
- Vaccination Service
- Health Surveillance
- Research Passports for Placements within NHS
- Drivers Health Screening
- Night Worker Health Screening
For guidance on working with ionising radiation, please refer to UCL Safety Services.
For guidance on management referral and self-referral for assessment and advice, eyecare or physiotherapy, please visit our main webpage listing Occupational Health Services for Staff.
Occupational Health Hazard Identification Process
From an occupational health perspective, health hazard identification focuses on recognising factors that may cause long-term illness, chronic health conditions, or subtle, cumulative harm, rather than just immediate, traumatic accidents. While safety hazards (e.g., slips, machinery) are often immediate, health hazards (e.g., dust, chemicals) may take years to manifest, making proactive identification crucial for maintaining employee health and preventing occupational diseases.
Health Hazard Examples
- Exposure to animal allergens (inc. maintenance work)
- Latex
- Human blood / fluids / tissue / infectious agents
- Working directly with hepatitis B virus (inc. cleaning and waste services staff who handle hazardous waste)
- Working directly with diphtheria toxin
- Chemicals labelled H334
- Wood dust
- Raw sewage
- Low oxygen environment
- Regular night shifts
- Safety-critical environments (where the role involves tasks where sudden illness or incapacity cause serious injury to self or others, e.g., working at heights or in cat. 3 laboratories)
- Vocational driving (where required to drive Group 1 or Group 2 vehicles as part of UCL role, and where this is laid down in job description. Or, where driving a Group 2 vehicle or minibus voluntarily on UCL business)
- NHS research (if the role requires access to NHS facilities for data collection or patient contact, a research passport may be required)
- Overseas travel on UCL business
Chargeable Service Advice
Occupational Health Hazard Identification service is free of charge to UCL employees and UCL PhD students. All other groups may be required to make a payment before their referral can be processed. We will advise if a fee is due and confirm the amount. Payments should not be made before we request them. Once advised by us, payments must be made by card via UCL Online Store. Please see our current price list for reference. New users of UCL Online Store must register for an account. We strongly recommend that referred students and staff register using their UCL email address (where applicable), as this allows us to identify payments more quickly. It is at the discretion of the referring department to reimburse any fees.
Referral Process: Instructions for Supervisors
Managers / Supervisors or designated departmental contacts (for example, lab managers) should complete the Health Hazard Identification form to request to include their staff, students and visitors in Occupational Health screening programmes (health surveillance and/or immunisation programmes) for specific workplace health risks.
IMPORTANT: Work with respiratory sensitisers (animal allergens and latex) / vocational driving must not commence before Baseline Health Surveillance / drivers screening has been completed and the outcome confirmed.
A Health Hazard Identification form should be completed in the following circumstances:
- New employees to UCL where a health hazard is present
- If an existing UCL employee is changing roles where a health hazard is present
- If an existing UCL employee’s tasks and responsibilities change and therefore presenting health hazards change
- UCL staff, students or visitors undertaking a placement (as part of their work or study at UCL) where a risk is present.
The completed Health Hazard Identification form should be submitted to UCL Workplace Health as per instructions on the form. Once received (and any required payments have been made, if applicable) the Workplace Health team will contact the referred person to advise on the next steps, which may include completing a health questionnaire and/or booking an appointment. The outcome letter will be sent by email to the referred person and their supervisor.
Vaccination Service
Hepatitis B work-related immunisation
Staff who handle pathogens or potentially infected specimens as part of their work at UCL could be accidentally exposed to biological agents and at risk of infection with Hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B is a blood borne virus spread through contact with human blood or tissue. It is the only blood borne virus for which vaccine is available.
Anyone who is exposed to a potential source of the virus should be offered vaccination. Vaccination consists of three injections over the course of a six-month period.
Please complete the Health Hazard Identification form if the above applies to your member of staff.
Overseas travel on UCL business
Workplace Health can advise staff on all aspects of work-related travel health.
To help you get vaccines for work-related travelling purposes:
- You must attend a face-to-face consultation with an Occupational Health Adviser (OHA).
- Your manager must complete a Health Hazard Identification form. Once received Workplace Health will contact you to arrange an appointment.
- Arrange your appointment at least two months in advance of your departure.
Please bring the following to your appointment:
- Details of your travel plans, including dates of travel, countries visiting on route, destinations and type of accommodation.
- Previous vaccinations records with you to your appointment.
Immunisations may need to be given over a period of time as some take time to become effective.
During periods of peak activity, we may not be able to offer travel consultations. In such instances you may wish to contact your own GP or a private travel health clinic and claim any costs back from your department.
If you require prescribed medicines while abroad, please discuss this with your GP.
Health Surveillance
Health surveillance is a system of ongoing health checks. The aim of health surveillance is to protect the health of employees, by identifying early signs of ill health relating to workplace exposure.
Routine on-employment health surveillance is undertaken on the following UCL staff groups:
- Laboratory staff (including maintenance staff)
- Clinical academics
- Clinical researchers
- All employees who drive on UCL business
- General maintenance staff
- Those who work with human blood, tissues or bodily fluids
- Those who work with animal allergens, latex, genetically modified organisms or dangerous pathogens
Health Surveillance under COSHH Regulations 2002
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), require employers to prevent, or if this is not reasonably practicable, control employees’ exposure to hazardous substances. In addition, regulation 11 of COSHH states that health surveillance is considered appropriate where:
- The exposure of the employee to a substance hazardous to health is such that identifiable disease or adverse health effect may be related to the exposure;
- There is a reasonable likelihood that the disease or effect may occur under the conditions of the work;
- There are valid techniques for detecting indications of the disease or effect.
We provide a health surveillance programme for relevant occupational groups at UCL. The occupational groups currently identified work with respiratory sensitisers and in particular laboratory animal allergens (LAA) and latex.
Advice from Safety Services considers the organisational aspects of managing the risks associated with laboratory allergens.
To refer someone for Health Surveillance please complete the Health Hazard Identification form.
Please note we can offer this service to BSc and MSc students at cost to the department.
Research Passports for Placements within NHS
A Research Passport is an application form that a researcher, not employed by an NHS organisation, completes to inform an NHS Trust of the research activity that is intended to be conducted within an individual Trust.
Staff
Staff with patient contact will also require occupational health clearance from the relevant NHS Trust to ensure compliance with the Trust's infection control policies and associated health-screening procedures and may require a 'research passport'. The employee’s supervisor or line manager will decide if this is required. Please refer to the HR guidance on research passports for staff.
Students
Instructions for students:
- Ask your supervisor to complete the Health Hazard Identification Form and submit to Workplace Health.
- With regards to Research Passports and any immunisations that might be needed, please be advised that this is a chargeable service for Undergraduate or Master students:
- All payments will be made via UCL Online Store. For this reason, we recommend registering with UCL Online Store (using your UCL email address), in advance of your appointment, to speed up the process.
- On receipt of the Health Hazard Identification form, we will request an initial payment before it is processed. The cost is usually reimbursed by the students' home/research department, but we advise confirming this with your department in advance (Workplace Health is not involved with reimbursing expenses).
- On receipt of the payment, we will process the form and advise on the additional documentation that you will need to send through. - Our clinicians will review your documentation and wherever possible will sign off your research passport (this may require a brief phone call) without the need for an appointment. However, if you do require a follow-up appointment and any immunisations (at additional cost if you are an Undergraduate or Master student) we will contact you and let you know.
- Students and supervisors should refer to this research passport guidance.
Drivers health screening
We provide baseline (pre-placement/assignment) and appropriate subsequent health screening for drivers of Group 2 vehicles (vehicles of 3.5 tonnes laden weight or more, or passenger carrying vehicles having 9 seats or more). To refer someone for a Driver’s Health Screening please complete the Health Hazard Identification form.
Health assessments for UCL drivers
UCL staff that require a health assessment by Occupational Health, in line with UCL policy are:
- UCL staff who are required to drive Group 1 or Group 2 vehicles as part of their UCL role, and where this is laid down in their job description. The health assessment will form part of the job application process and will be assessed against the Group 2 standards for all drivers where driving is part of their job description. The health check will be repeated at 5 yearly intervals from age 45 and annually from age 65 in line with the Health and Safety Executive Medical Standards for Drivers
- UCL staff who drive a Group 2 vehicle voluntarily on UCL business. The health assessment will be repeated at 5 yearly intervals from age 45 and annually from age 65, if the requirement to drive on UCL business continues. The staff member and manager are responsible for ensuring this is completed.
- UCL staff who drive a minibus on UCL business
Following the initial baseline health assessment, the health assessment is repeated every 5 years after the age of 45, until the age of 65. After the age of 65 the medical is repeated annually.
The medical standards are aligned to DVLA Group 2 standards. The health assessment includes a health history questionnaire, and a face-to-face consultation.
In order to arrange the health assessment, the Health Hazard Identification Form should be completed and submitted to Workplace Health.
Night workers
The Working Time Regulations 1998 define night time as the period between 11pm and 6am. A night worker is defined as someone who normally works at least three hours a night on a regular basis.
Managers have a responsibility to:
- notify Workplace Health (WH) of employees who meet the definition of ‘night worker’ by submitting a Health Hazard Identification form.
- consider reasonable adjustments to work (including opportunities for redeployment) as advised by WH where night work is found to have an adverse effect on employee’s health, or where an underlying health condition is exacerbated by night work.
Employees have a responsibility to:
- indicate whether or not they wish to take up the opportunity for a health assessment when offered by Workplace Health
Occupational health services has a responsibility to:
- offer staff identified by managers as night workers the opportunity for health assessment
- provide an outcome report, with the employee’s consent, and advise on adjustments to work as appropriate
