Advice With A Defined Role
Competent person health and safety support gives your business access to advice that matches its activities and risks. The aim is to help managers recognise the precautions needed and organise the work that follows. A name on a policy is not enough if the adviser has no useful knowledge of the operation.
We discuss the work, current management arrangements and the questions your internal team cannot confidently resolve. This could involve a Glasgow office business developing its first formal arrangements or a contractor needing support alongside an existing supervisor. The scope should explain the relationship between external advice and daily management.
What The Legal Duty Requires
Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to appoint competent assistance. Competence includes the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the tasks involved. The level of assistance should reflect the nature of the business and its risks.
You do not automatically need an external consultant. HSE advises employers to use competent internal help where available, with outside support where necessary. The employer keeps responsibility for managing health and safety even where advice and some supporting work are commissioned externally.
Agreeing A Useful Support Arrangement
Start by identifying who currently makes decisions about staff, premises, equipment and contractors. Your adviser needs a route to people who can authorise changes and provide accurate information. Agree who receives advice and who tracks any resulting actions.
An ongoing arrangement can include planned reviews, agreed document support and advice within a defined subject range. The agreement should state how enquiries are handled, what is excluded and how urgent issues are escalated. Do not assume that a general support package includes every specialist assessment or a particular response time.
Our Initial Review
We ask for a description of your activities and the main work locations. Existing policies, assessments and unresolved concerns help identify the starting position. We also discuss changes you expect, such as a new site, additional staff or a different service line.
We then agree priorities and a support plan. Immediate risks need action ahead of administrative improvements. Where the work requires specialist knowledge beyond the agreed remit, we explain the need for that input and the information that a specialist will need.
The plan should be reviewed as your operation changes. An adviser who only sees last year's documents may miss a new process or contractor arrangement. Managers need to tell the adviser about relevant changes and confirm that agreed precautions have been implemented.
Working Alongside Your Managers
External advice works best when someone inside the business owns the action list. Supervisors remain central to safe work because they see how tasks are performed and how conditions change. We can help explain findings and develop documents, but staff still need appropriate instruction and supervision.
Record decisions where advice has led to a change in working practice. This helps new managers understand why a precaution exists and what evidence supports it. It also provides a more useful basis for review than a folder that simply lists an adviser.
Support Costs And Scope
Cost depends on the activities, number of sites, planned attendance and amount of document work included. Higher-risk work or specialist questions may need separate commissions. A clear agreement should identify scheduled work, advice access and any limits on the service.
Send a summary of your business, locations and existing arrangements with your enquiry. Tell us whether a customer or contract asks for evidence of competent assistance. We can then discuss a scope that addresses the need without promising that an adviser appointment alone satisfies every contract or legal requirement.
Questions About Competent Person Support
Must We Use An External Competent Person?
An external competent person is not compulsory where suitable internal competence is available. Employers need assistance appropriate to their activities and risks. External support can help where skills or capacity are missing, but management must still provide resources, act on advice and keep day-to-day work under suitable control.
Can Competent Person Support Include Site Visits?
Competent person support can include site visits when they are part of the agreed arrangement. Attendance should match the risks and the questions to be answered. Confirm visit frequency, locations and reporting at the start, and agree how additional visits will be handled if your operation or circumstances change.
Connect This Work To Your Wider Arrangements
Our health and safety consultants Glasgow service can help identify how this task fits with your wider responsibilities. Discuss connected assessments, management documents and review needs when you enquire so the agreed scope addresses the full operational question.
For complementary support, explore health and safety policy writing or construction health and safety. We also support businesses throughout the Glasgow coverage area.