Chapter 3.4 - Health and safety committees

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• Work Health and Safety Committee
• Radiation Safety Sub-Committee
• Genetic Modification and Biological Safety Committee
• Departmental Safety Committees

Work Health and Safety Committee

The Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC) has been established under the delegated authority of the President & Provost with the purpose of developing and managing UCL's safety policy and strategy. It is the focal point for health, safety, and fire safety compliance. It aims to support managers and ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach across departments.

The HSC is constituted in accordance with the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (1977) as amended by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1992) and the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations (1996).

Subject to any general or particular direction that may from time to time be given by the Council, the Health and Safety Committee is charged by Council to:

• Maintain an overall assessment of the key UCL health and safety risks from which priorities for action are set and reviewed annually
• Set objectives, standards and targets to improve health and safety management
• Approve policy, standards and strategy for the management of health and safety at work within UCL and compliance with health and safety legislation and other requirements
• Establish specific safety sub-committees and working groups as appropriate
• Provide a forum for consultation and discussion between UCL management and trade union safety representatives on health and safety matters 
• Receive items of significance from such specialist committees or other groups with responsibility for health and safety-related matters as HSC may set up and/or which operate under the aegis of the HSC
• Consider reports and factual information provided by inspectors of the enforcing authorities appointed under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
• Consider reports that trade union safety representatives may wish to submit
• Monitor progress against objectives, targets, plans and remedial actions, and determine actions necessary to address areas of non-compliance where there is a significant risk
• Monitor and review the adequacy and implementation of UCL arrangements, including training and safety and health communication and publicity within UCL
• Review safety performance indicators, investigations of significant failures, independent inspection and audit reports and associated remedial actions
• Submit an annual report to Council, summarising the Committee's work in terms of safety and occupational health
• Report to Council by submission to the Council officers of Minutes of each meeting of the Health and Safety Committee

> Membership of the Work Health and Safety Committee
> Terms of Reference of the Work Health and Safety Committee

Standing Advisers are responsible for providing guidance and assistance to members of the Health and Safety Committee in the formulation of policy and arrangements for the management of health and safety. Other Advisers (such as the Fire Safety Manager) are invited to attend meetings on an ad-hoc basis.

Stress and wellbeing is treated like any other health and safety risk and is considered in the wider context of health and safety risk management at the University. This ensures that a wider audience has the opportunity to consider and contribute to matters associated with stress and wellbeing at work, thereby improving the effectiveness of stress risk management. The HSC considers issues relating to the management of stress risk and wellbeing at UCL, including the:

• Review of UCL’s Policy on Managing Stress at Work and associated procedures to ensure its effectiveness and compliance with the Health and Safety Executive Standards for Managing Stress at Work
• Review of data (such as those resulting from employment policy monitoring, reports of Employee Assistance Programme take-up, sickness absence data and staff survey results) for indicators of stress risk and to formulate proposals to address areas of concern identified
• Development of proposals to ensure that staff are provided with appropriate support to build resilience and work effectively at times of pressure

Radiation Safety Sub-Committee

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Subject to any particular or general direction that may from time to time be given by the Work Health and Safety Committee (WHSC), the Radiation Safety Sub-Committee (RSSC) is charged by Council to:

• Advise Council, through the Work Health and Safety Committee, on all matters relating to work with Ionising Radiations in UCL 
• Implement, on behalf of Council, UCL policy with respect to work with Ionising Radiations in UCL
• To monitor, on behalf of Council, the use of ionising radiations in UCL
• Advise Council, through the WHSC and to monitor, on behalf of Council, work involving security rated radioactive materials in UCL
• Report to the WHSC any matters deemed significant by the Committee

> Membership of the Radiation Safety Sub-Committee

The governance arrangements for ionising radiation are shown in the diagram below:

Genetic Modification and Biological Safety Committee (GMBSSC)

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Subject to any specific direction that may be given by the Work Health and Safety Committee, the Genetic Modification and Biological Safety Committee is charged by Council to:

• Act as the Genetic Modification and Biological Safety Committee as required by Regulation 8 of the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2014
• Advise Council, through the Work Health and Safety Committee, on matters relating to genetic modification work in UCL
• Implement, on behalf of Council, UCL policy with respect to genetic modification work
• Monitor, on behalf of Council, the use of genetic modification in UCL
• Report to the Work Health and Safety Committee any matters deemed significant by Committee

The UCL GMBSSC also provides advice on GM risk assessments prepared by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Anthony Nolan Research Institute and The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in accordance with local written arrangements.

> Membership of the Genetic Modification and Biological Safety Committee

Departmental Safety Committees

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To assist and advise the Head of Department on planning, prioritisation and implementation of measures to manage the risks of departmental activities, the Head of Department should constitute a Departmental Safety Committee or management group whose size, representation and meeting frequency should be commensurate with the magnitude of the risk and complexity of departmental activity.

This information should be recorded in the committee's Terms of Reference that should be reviewed annually. Where appropriate, and especially in smaller departments, health and safety matters should be considered regularly at departmental management meetings. The role of the Departmental Safety Committee will cover the following:

• Ensuring significant risks are being managed effectively
• Developing actions to meet corporate and departmental safety objectives
• Developing a programme of active monitoring (visits, checks and inspections) and the recording of significant findings and improvement actions
• Establishing communication and consultation arrangements with staff, including where appropriate, local union safety representatives
• Establishing effective communication and co-operation arrangements with other parties in shared workplaces
• Monitor and review health and safety performance which should include:
  • progress against health and safety action plans
  • accidents and incidents trends, investigations and lessons learned
  • work-related ill-health statistics and trends
  • analysis from active monitoring including schedules, responsibilities, training and risk assessments
  • contractors and partners performance
  • key risks and issues
  • health and safety training needs and completion of courses
  • issues to be escalated to other forums
  • issues to be escalated to the UCL HSC for matters of UCL policy and standards or those affecting UCL more widely