Competent Help With A Defined Remit
Competent person support gives an employer access to advice on recognising hazards and managing health and safety duties. We agree what assistance your London business needs, who will use it and how requests will be handled. The arrangement should connect advice with managers who have authority to make changes.
Competence is relevant to the work being advised on. Familiarity with a straightforward office does not automatically equip someone to assess complex chemical processes or structural risks. We establish the operational boundary at the start and identify where another specialist, formal examination or technical report may be needed.
Do You Need External Assistance?
HSE guidance says employers must appoint a competent person or people to help meet their health and safety duties. This can be the employer, a worker, an external adviser or a combination. Where appropriate competence exists within the workforce, HSE advises using that resource rather than looking outside the business.
External support can be useful where the organisation lacks suitable knowledge or needs help with complex risks. It can also support an internal manager who coordinates safety alongside another role. Appointing a consultant does not remove the employer’s legal responsibility or give the adviser day-to-day control of the workplace.
Agreeing A Practical Support Arrangement
Before agreeing an ongoing arrangement, we review your activities, locations and current management structure. We ask about contractors, work outside the main premises, previous concerns and the decisions your managers find difficult. An initial gap review can help distinguish immediate priorities from the support needed across a longer period.
The proposal should define the contact route, included meetings, site visits, document reviews and exclusions. Availability and any response arrangements need explicit agreement, rather than an assumed emergency service. It should also explain how advice is recorded, who receives it and what happens when a question falls outside the agreed expertise.
What Ongoing Support Can Cover
Support can help managers plan risk assessment reviews, understand policy responsibilities and decide when a change needs more detailed attention. It can include discussion of contractor arrangements, workplace checks and action progress where those activities are included in scope. The objective is to help the business make informed decisions and act on them.
A regular management discussion is most useful when it addresses live work and unresolved actions. New equipment, staffing changes and incidents can reveal gaps that a static annual document review would miss. Our health and safety audit service offers a more structured examination when management needs an evidence-based overview.
Keeping Ownership Inside The Business
A named internal lead should coordinate information and bring issues to the adviser. Operational managers still need to implement controls, supervise work and communicate changes. Workers should know how to report concerns without waiting for a scheduled consultancy visit, and managers need a route for decisions that require senior approval.
We help distinguish advice from implementation and make the action record clear enough to review. A health and safety policy can record those responsibilities. The arrangement works best when relevant information is shared promptly, the business explains operational changes and recommendations are checked against the work before they are adopted.
How Support Is Priced
The cost depends on your activities, risk profile, number of locations and the service included. An advice arrangement with scheduled reviews is different from a package including visits, assessment writing and board reporting. Agree whether travel, specialist input and additional project work sit inside or outside the proposed fee.
Tell us about your workplace, employee activities and current internal safety resource when enquiring. Include the type of assistance you expect and any client requirement for evidence of competent advice. A tender request for a name or letter should not substitute for an arrangement that genuinely provides the help your business needs.
Your Service Questions
Does Appointing A Competent Person Transfer Responsibility?
Appointing a competent person does not transfer the employer’s responsibility for managing health and safety. The adviser helps identify hazards and suitable measures, while your managers retain responsibility for decisions, implementation and supervision. An effective arrangement defines the advice available, the information you must provide and how actions will be owned inside the business.
Can An Employee Be Our Competent Person?
An employee can be your competent person if they have the skills, knowledge and experience appropriate to your activities and risks. HSE advises using suitable competence within the workforce where it exists. External advice may still help with specialist issues, but a certificate alone does not establish competence for every task your business undertakes.
Reference: HSE guidance relevant to this service.
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