Safety Adviser

Also known as:

Health and Safety Officer
Occupational Safety Officer

Introduction

Safety advisers ensure that the organisation they work for follows safety and health regulations to create and maintain a safe working environment. They help managers to monitor and improve standards by giving advice, identifying hazards and providing training. If there is an accident, they carry out an investigation.

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Work Activities

Safety advisers are responsible for raising the profile of health and safety within their organisations, and making sure that a safe and healthy working environment exists for all employees.

They may work closely with managers, staff at all levels, trade unions, safety groups, health and safety inspectors and environmental health specialists, to ensure that workplace practices are safe and comply with legislation.

Safety advisers may visit sites regularly to become familiar with the work being done and to assess the safety standards in place. They may carry out routine inspections and risk assessments, providing managers with regular reports on safety performance. Safety advisers and managers can then work together to set priorities for making improvements.

Safety advisers check that employees are following safety procedures, and enforce safety and health requirements such as the use of protective clothing and equipment. They identify health hazards such as poorly designed equipment, inadequate lighting, high levels of fumes, dust or noise, or toxic material that is not stored away safely.

They also conduct accident investigations, for example, taking photographs and measurements, and interviewing witnesses. They keep records and statistics of all the circumstances of any accident, and write up a report, providing managers and staff with advice on how to avoid accidents in the future.

It is important that safety advisers keep up-to-date with new health and safety legislation and understand the implications this may have on company policy. They attend short training courses on all aspects of health and safety.

Many safety advisers are responsible for running safety training courses for managers and employees.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

As a safety adviser, you will need to demonstrate technical skills and a knowledge of science. You should also have keen interest in promoting health and safety in the workplace.

You need good communication skills, both spoken and written.

Advisers consult and negotiate with a wide range of people including employees, managers, other specialists, and official bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and environmental health departments. Advisers also have to make presentations and write reports on a regular basis and must keep up with developments in technology and legislation.

You will work within a team and need to show leadership skills. You should also have the ability to react quickly in a crisis. You need to be confident enough to make decisions that may be unpopular, and tactful to be able to explain them and get people to agree.

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Pay and Opportunities

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Safety advisers earn in the range of £19,500 - £26,000 a year, rising to around £31,500 - £38,000 a year. Higher earnings are possible for some.

Safety advisers usually work 37-40 hours a week from Monday to Friday. They may also be required to work shifts, overtime, and be available for call-out in emergencies.

Employers, throughout the UK, are sizeable organisations in industry and commerce, as well as the public utilities, local authorities and the Civil Service.

Some people work as self-employed consultants.

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Adult Opportunities

It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Applicants sometimes have a background in science, technology or management.

If you don't have the qualifications needed to enter your chosen degree or HND course, a college or university Access course, such as, Access to Science, could be the way in. These courses are designed for people who have not followed the usual routes into higher education. No formal qualifications are usually needed, but you should check this with individual colleges.

• 10% of safety advisers are self-employed.
• 15% work part-time.
• 30% have flexible hours.
• 1% of employees work on a temporary basis.

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