Roles and responsibilities of the Charity Trustees
Members of the Charity Trustees are responsible for ensuring that all premises under their control, whether or not they are workplaces, are kept as safe as reasonably practicable. They are also responsible for ensuring that no person using or entering the Church buildings are exposed to avoidable hazards and risks that could cause them harm.
We recommend that, for practical and administrative purposes, a health and safety person(s) should be appointed by the Charity Trustees where the role cannot be fulfilled by a trustee member. The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of the local Health and Safety initiatives and administration of the health and safety at your church. This will undoubtedly include close collaboration with others to ensure that risk assessments are reflective of the roles and activities taking place at the church and that any building safety reports or identified risks are immediately brought to the attention of the Charity Trustees. In larger congregations the Charity Trustees may decide to appoint more than one person to ensure that volunteers can suitably manage the deliverables of the role.
The Health and Safety administrator role should involve:
- Being the recognised person for health and safety matters within the congregation
- Promoting safe working practices by providing information on health and safety to employees, volunteers, members of the public and anyone else who might use church properties
- Working with the Congregational Property Convenor, Presbytery Property Convenor, and Presbytery Health and Safety Coordinator to ensure that all health and safety issues are addressed appropriately
- Coordinating the completion and maintenance of the health and safety records, including risk assessments, utility services inspection records, accident records, food safety and hygiene records and training records
- Liaising with individuals and organisations responsible for lets and hires to ensure that health and safety has been considered for the activities undertaken in church property and that congregational health and safety policies are followed
- Reporting to every meeting of the Charity Trustees on health and safety matters so that they are assured that there is a suitable system for health and safety in place
- Seeking advice, help, and support from the General Trustees and presbytery health and safety teams when required to ensure that the role of Congregational Health and Safety Administrator is fulfilled to the best of their abilities.
The Charity Trustees should consider any hazards identified and suitably agree on any mitigations and control methods identified to immediately reduce the risks.
It is recommended that health and safety should be a permanent agenda item for the Charity Trustee meetings and any highlighted health and safety concerns should be fully considered during meetings with a collaborative approach to any mitigations or control measures to be actioned. Inviting the health and safety person to the scheduled meetings is considered good practice to ensure collaboration and an overall agreed approach to the hazards and risks identified.