Health and Safety Competent Person

We tailor our services to the scale and complexity of your business and help you secure compliance with the health & safety regulations applicable to your activities. Arthian provides outsourced health and safety competent person expertise in various sectors, including:

• Food and beverages
• Pharmaceutical
• Industrial
• Chemicals
• Aerospace
• Public Sector
• Research
• Local authorities

Our outsourced health and safety competent person services

The requirement to have a competent person(s) to support your organisation applies to all employers, regardless of size or sector. Although the regulations do encourage organisations (where practicable) to appoint a ‘competent advisor’ from within, this may not always be possible. For example:

• Due to ill health, parental leave, retirement or other circumstances where internal ‘competent persons’ are unavailable;
• To supplement the existing ‘competent person(s)’; and/or
• Where the existing ‘competent person(s)’ do not hold the relevant knowledge to advise on a specific aspect of health and safety.

What is a ‘competent person’?

By law, organisations require a ‘competent person’ to advise on steps required to comply with health and safety law aimed at keeping people safe from harm. Depending on the nature and complexity of the business, this will be one or more persons who have the ability to recognise the health and safety risks associated with your organisation and identify sensible and proportionate solutions. Arthian Health and Safety Consultants have a wealth of experience and we pride ourselves in providing flexible, responsive and solution focussed support to aid our clients’ continuous regulatory compliance.

Do I need a ‘Competent Person’ for health and safety?

The relevant requirement is found in Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 in Northern Ireland/Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, Part 2, Chapter 1 in ROI). This states that “every employer shall […], appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements.” Health and Safety Executive guidance on appointing a competent person.

Employers must comply with all relevant health & safety laws and regulations – a legal duty which cannot be delegated or transferred to anyone else. However, most business owners are not health and safety specialists, which is why the law requires employers to appoint somebody to assist them. The purpose of the competent person is to utilise their knowledge, skills and professional judgement to help you comply with relevant rules and regulations and ultimately ensure the health and safety of your workers, customers, visitors and anyone else who may be affected by your activities.