The Security Benevolent Helpline
The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals

Health & Safety

This advice is reproduced courtesy of the GMB, Britain’s General Union which represents many thousands of members in security. http://www.gmb.org.uk/

Your rights on health and safety at work

Your employer has a legal duty to safeguard your health, safety and welfare whist you are at work. Employers who fail to meet their duty to protect health and safety can be prosecuted and fined. They may also face compensation claims from employees who have been injured by their employers’ negligence.

Under health and safety law your employers must:

  • Ensure that your environment and workplace are healthy and safe;
  • Carry out an assessment of the risks to your health and safety at work and put measures in place to reduce the chances of an injury or illness happening to you;
  • Ensure that a supply of drinking water and toilets are accessible to you;
  • Provide you with personal protective equipment, free of charge, if the health and safety risks of your job cannot be controlled adequately by any other means;
  • Provide you with information and instruction about health and safety hazards that you may be exposed to;
  • Train you how to carry out your job safely including training in what to do when faced with violence or aggression;
  • Consult with you and safety representatives about health and safety at work.

Health and safety issues for security workers

Poor health and safety conditions mean that many security workers suffer from high levels of work-related stress. Working in isolation, the risk of violence or threats, long working hours and inadequate rest and hygiene facilities can all contribute towards stress amongst security workers. The key to improving working conditions and reducing stress levels is to identify the causes and then for employers to take steps, as outlined below, to eliminate or control the health and safety risks faced by security workers.

Manual handling

Lifting and handling heavy or awkward loads, such as cash boxes and cash bags, can lead to back and other strain injuries. Employers have a legal duty to avoid the need for manual handling where possible, but when it cannot be avoided, they must assess the risks from manual handing and take steps to reduce the risk of injury.

Preventative measures can include:

  • Providing handling and lifting aids;
  • Making sure that equipment is properly maintained;
  • Ensuring that loads (e.g. cash boxes, cash bags etc.) do not exceed agreed weight limits;
  • Taking individual capability into account when planning work;
  • Storing loads where they can be reached and handled safely.

Violence and aggression

Security workers are often at daily risk of threats, abuse and assault. Many security workers mistakenly see violence as ‘part of the job’ rather than a crime and are therefore less likely to report it than other workers. The GMB offers free legal advice and assistance to members who have been assaulted at work, or who have had allegations of assault made against them.

Employers must carry out a risk assessment and take measures to protect security staff from violence. These could include:

  • Improving the working environment – for example, by providing adequate lighting or securing items of furniture to the ground so that they cannot be used as weapons;
  • Ensuring sufficient numbers of staff are on duty in high-risk situations;
  • Issuing personal protective equipment, such as safety helmets with visors, where the risk of violence cannot be eliminated;
  • Providing training in how to respond appropriately to violent incidents.

Lone and remote locations

Working alone or in a remote location can increase health and safety risks. For example, violence may be more likely to occur when a worker is isolated, and the risk of back strain increases if heavy loads have to be handled alone. If an accident or emergency occurs, it may be difficult to summon help. The law states that lone workers should not be at greater risk than any other worker.

The GMB recommends that employers:

  • Provide a procedure for communicating back to base by telephone or radio;
  • Provide devices or systems to raise the alarm in the event of an emergency or non-contact from a lone worker;
  • Check that the worker has returned to their base on finishing the job;
  • Provide access to adequate first aid provision.

Lack of welfare facilities

Many security workers act as guards on the premises of other companies when the normal work has ceased for the day and normal welfare facilities many be unavailable. Night security staff are often expected to work long shifts and may be forbidden to leave the site.

  • Security staff are entitled to adequate welfare facilities including;
  • Accessible toilets, washing facilities and drinking water;
  • A warm comfortable rest room (if a suitable office is not available);
  • Facilities for making hot drinks and warming food, if they cannot leave the premises.

Exposure to adverse weather conditions

Security staff required to work outdoors in all weathers can be exposed to extreme cold or hot weather conditions. Employers must take reasonable steps to protect such workers from suffering health problems.

Where employees are expected to work outdoors in adverse weather conditions, protective measures can include:

  • The provision of suitable protective clothing;
  • Facilities for drying and storing clothing;
  • Adequate rest breaks in comfortable surrounding;
  • Access to the welfare facilities described above.

Prolonged standing or sitting

Having to work in a static standing or sitting for long periods at a time can contribute to back and other muscular problems. Long periods of immobility are also a recognised risk factor for deep vein thrombosis.

Employers must provide suitable seating where work can be done sitting down. The GMB also recommends that security work should be arranged so that workers can take regular short breaks from standing or sitting in order to walk around.

Display screen equipment

Many security worker use screen based equipment in their work. They may spend long periods looking at CCTV screens, or work in Alarm Receiving Centres, which rely on computers. Work with display screen equipment can contribute to a range of health problems such as headaches, sore eyes, backache and pains in the hands, wrists and neck.

Employers must access display screen equipment workstations and reduce risks by:

  • Providing suitable and adjustable seating and workstations;
  • Organising work so that there are breaks and changes of activity;
  • Providing regular eyesight tests for users and paying for VDU spectacles if they are prescribed by an optician;
  • Providing training and information to users.

Biological and chemical hazards

Security workers can be exposed to hazardous chemicals and other substances that may be harmful to health. Security guards may encounter discarded needles, or have to deal with members of the public who pose a risk. Security guards in hospitals can be at risk of developing infections such as hepatitis B if they are exposed to human blood or bodily fluids. The may also be exposed to high levels of vehicle fumes in cash depots and warehouses, whilst those guarding workplaces that use chemicals may also be at risk, as they are often overlooked when any possible exposure is assessed.

Employers are required to:

  • Assess the risk of exposure to any biological or chemical hazard that might be encountered by security workers;
  • Prevent or control their exposure to the hazards, with personal protective equipment only being used as a last resort;
  • Consider providing vaccination against hepatitis B, where there is an infection risk.

Patrolling and inspecting premises

Security staff are often required to inspect all parts of premises, including areas that other staff rarely enter. Security staff may be required to patrol areas such as rooftops where there may be additional risks that will require safety precautions. A risk assessment should identify the steps to be taken to protect the health and safety of security staff.

The occupier of the site should ensure that it is in a safe condition, but the security company also has a duty to its employees. The occupier and security employer should liaise with each other to:

  • Ensure that areas where guards are expected to patrol are safe and without risks;
  • Provide adequate information, instruction, supervision and training to enable them to avoid danger;
  • Provide suitable equipment, such as a torch, radio etc.

Training

Providing adequate health and safety training is an important way of protecting security workers. However, training is often minimal and all too frequently security workers are ill-prepared to deal with the risks they encounter, such as violent members of the public. The GMB has campaigned vigorously for improvements in the regulation of the industry and the introduction of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 which requires some security workers to be licensed. Employers have to ensure that all security staff are trained and competent to do the work.

Health and Safety training should be provided for all security staff and should include topics such as:

  • Dealing appropriately with incidents of aggression and violence, and the procedure for reporting such incidents;
  • The specific health and safety risks of the job, such as manual handling, lone working procedures, use of equipment etc;
  • Emergency and fire procedures
  • First aid

Needlestick Injuries

Each year many security staff are either stabbed by, or injured, by potentially infected needles. The majority of these needles having been used by drug addicts.

Infections including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and even HIV can be transmitted following an injury with an infected needle. The risk of infection is different with each virus. It will depend on the type of injury and the amount of blood contact. For a needle known to be contaminated the risk of infection is:-

  • 1 in 3 for Hepatitis B
  • 1 in 30 for Hepatitis C
  • 1 in 300 for HIV

In addition there may also be a risk of tetanus if the needle has been in contact with the ground.

Prompt support should be provided following any injury by a needle, including advice on what immediate action to take. The injured person will have to undergo a blood test, which will have to be repeated in three months as infection does not always show up directly.

Regardless of the risk, being injured by a needle is an extremely frightening experience and causes considerable anxiety. Support and counselling services should be available.

If you have been injured always report the incident as soon as possible, press your employer to report all injuries to the Health and Safety Executive under the Registry of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

If you would like further information about the infections consult our Health Issues section.

Further Help and Advice

G.M.B. Union

Health and Safety Executive

Trades Union Congress