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Officers of the Food Health and Safety Team of the Environmental Health Section carry out regular checks on offices, shops, warehouses, places used for leisure activities and other non-industrial premises.
These checks ensure that safe and healthy working conditions are provided for all employees, the self-employed and members of the public visiting these premises. Inspections are carried out on a routine basis without prior notification and the high risk premises are visited more frequently.
The Health and Safety Executive deal with factories and other industrial operations, more information can be found on their website: www.hse.gov.uk (opens in a new window).
During an inspection, officers will need to be satisfied that any hazards to peoples' health, safety and welfare, which arise out of or in connection with work have been identified and the associated risks adequately controlled.
They will look at the level of health and safety training of managers and employees to ensure that it is suitable. Checks will also be made on the adequacy of structural and environmental conditions and that plant and equipment are safe.
Where work practices or conditions fall short of what is regarded as satisfactory every attempt will be made to resolve the situation by informal means, but if this is not possible, or if the danger posed gives rise to a risk of serious personal injury, then officers will resort to formal action. This could involve either the service of a legal notice, prosecution, or in situations where serious personal injury could arise, a prohibition notice requiring immediate action.
More detailed information on the work of the Food Health and Safety can be found in the current FHS Service Plan, which can be downloaded from the related documents section.
In performing our duties we adhere to Central Government Codes of Practice and guidance issued by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC). We also follow our own internal quality procedures.
We have adopted an enforcement policy which explains how we make decisions when enforcing the law.
Health and Safety Complaint Investigation
Complaints about working conditions are always investigated sensitively and the complainant's confidentiality is assured. Such matters are usually resolved by giving advice to the employer, but as with accident investigation, if formal action is needed then this will be taken.
If you wish to report an issue regarding health and safety please contact:
Environmental Health Section
Merlin House
Merlin Way
Ilkeston
DE7 4RA
Tel: 0845 907 2244 ext 3820
Health and Safety Accident Investigation
The investigation of dangerous occurrences and accidents at work also forms an important part of the teams work.
The outcome of these enquiries usually involves the giving of advice to the employer. If a blatant breach of requirements is identified as the main reason for an accident happening, then formal action may result.
For more information on accident reporting go to the Accidents at Work page.
Related documents
The following documents are in Word format. You can download the Word software for free from the Word viewer page (opens in a new window) of the Microsoft website.
