Guidance for Heads of Department on Managing Health and Safety

The University aims to establish a positive health and safety culture that includes awareness and understanding; effective processes; and positive behaviour by staff at all levels and by students and contractors and visitors.

The University's Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy Statement sets out the responsibilities, including your own, within your department - please ensure that you are familiar with this document.

The University expects health and safety risk management to be proportionate to the nature of the hazard and risks present. Information on specific topics is available on the Topic Guidance pages.

As Head of Department you are responsible for the health and safety performance of your Department by reviewing performance, setting objectives, formalising arrangements, and ensuring that necessary actions by your Department are completed. Health and safety should be an integral part of the general management of the Department.

The attached guidance document provides more detail about the standards that the University expects Departments to achieve in terms of their management of significant health and safety related risks:

• Direct Risk Management
• Engagement
• Learning from Events
• Leadership and Planning

In addition, there are specific guidance on School of Life Science, School of Engineering, WMG, Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics and Warwick Medical School as departments with laboratories and research facilities that have specific hazards and potentially significant risk activities.

The University also uses these standards as the framework for reviews and audits of the performance of Departments.

For Health and Safety enquiries that require additional professional advice please visit the Contacts page.