Competence

It’s essential that the people appointed to help you meet your health and safety duties are ‘competent’. this means that they must have the necessary skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience to manage health and safety correctly. They also need to have the ability to undertake responsibilities and perform activities to a recognised standard on a regular basis.

Employers can appoint one or more competent people to help them comply with their legal requirements. These people could be team members, a manager, a leader or an external consultant, but the key is that they are qualified, knowledgeable and experienced enough to identify and react to the risks within your organisation.

If you run a low risk business, then it is more appropriate for the competent person to be yourself or one of your workers. If you run a more high-risk business, however, then it may be more suitable to ask for external help.