Volunteers are vital to the success of sport so it is important that clubs that use volunteers are as aware of the health and safety requirements of this group of people, as they are of any paid staff.
Throughout the text, reference is made to sports ‘clubs’. This term is used to include all sports organisations, such as leagues, county and area associations, and other community groups that provide sporting opportunities, whether in an organised setting or a more informal environment. The following Top Tips are intended to give clubs some basic information, however, it isn’t a full account of all duties and responsibilities, and it is recommended that you seek further advice where required.
Note: General health and safety information, relating to members and those involved in activities, is not addressed in these Top Tips. It is aimed at you (a club), to help you support your volunteers more effectively.
You can jump directly to the main topics on this page by clicking the links below:
> duty of care
> health and safety law for clubs and NGBs with paid staff and volunteers
> clubs with responsibility for buildings and premises
> basic principles of health and safety
> health and safety policy
> what will the policy do?
> risk assessment
> the control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)
> fire assessment
> first aid
> insurance relating to health and safety of employees and volunteers
> registering your club’s activities
> further information and useful contacts
> download PDF version
duty of care
Duty of care is a general legal duty for all individuals, clubs and national governing bodies
(NGBs) to avoid carelessly causing injury to other persons. It is relevant to all, regardless of the size of your club, its income or whether you have paid staff. No matter what activities your club is involved with, you will have to consider the duty of care owed to your volunteers.
If any club asks a volunteer to carry out a task, which results in injury to themselves or anyone else, the members of the club and/or NGBs may be liable. Liability depends on whether it is established that the club failed to take reasonable care.
For example: A young volunteer was asked to check the cleaning chemicals for the swimming pool and was left unsupervised. The volunteer sustained a serious burn to the skin. The club could be held liable if they failed to train or supervise the volunteer in the safe use of chemicals. The court may decide that leaving a young person in charge of substances that are potentially hazardous is unreasonable – the volunteer needs to be considered in all aspects of a club’s activities.
Duty of care can arise in many ways, some of which may not always be obvious. For example:
- loaning equipment to others
- fund-raising walks, events and sponsored runs
- hosting tournaments and competitions
- selling food at events.
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health and safety law for clubs and NGBs with paid staff and volunteers
Health and safety law lays down your duties to your employees. It also imposes further responsibilities on you, as an employer, with regard to people not in your employment, such as volunteers and members of the public who may be affected by your activities.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 imposes a duty on every employer ‘to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected, are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety’ and ‘to give to persons (not being his employees), who may be affected by the way in which he conducts his understanding, the prescribed information about such aspects of the way in which he conducts his undertaking as might affect their health and safety’.
This means that clubs that have both paid staff and volunteers, have a statutory responsibility not to harm or damage the health of volunteers through their involvement in the activities of that club. Clubs may also have a responsibility to carry out risk assessments, which may require volunteers to be provided with information and training.
For example: If a volunteer is expected to assist with the transfer of heavy players from one wheelchair to another in a wheelchair basketball team, you may have a duty to supply the volunteer with information and training on correct lifting techniques for this action, and also to know when not to lift but to seek assistance. However, if a volunteer was running a tombola stall at a competition, training may not be necessary. A risk assessment would determine what level of training is required, if any (see text on the next page for further information in this area).
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clubs with responsibility for buildings and premises
Anyone controlling non-domestic premises must take reasonable steps to provide paid staff and volunteers with equipment and premises that are safe, including safe routes of exit.
If your club has control of a building/premises, you have a duty to make sure it is safe to use and it complies with all the relevant health and safety regulations. For example, signs meet the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. This duty applies to places such as community centres, pavilions, clubhouses and car parks.
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basic principles of health and safety
There are some key areas of health and safety that every club should examine (see the Health and Safety Handbook for Voluntary and Community Organisations). However, please note that not all are legally binding on clubs who do not employ staff. Having said this, you do need to ensure that your volunteers can work in a risk-free environment. The following are considered good practice:
- For clubs that have both paid staff and volunteers, it is strongly recommended that you begin to implement the same health and safety requirements for both those who are paid and those who are volunteers. Even though the law doesn’t demand it, it could be seen as inequitable if you offer a lower standard of health and safety to volunteers.
- If your club has no employees, it may not be able to achieve the same standards of health and safety as required for employees in the short term. However, by setting a timetable to aim to accomplish this, you will be demonstrating to your volunteers and the outside world the value you place on them and their efforts to support your club.
All employers:
- must provide a safe place to work that is clean and free from risks, to reduce the risk of ill-health or injury
- are required to provide a safe system of working, ie proper procedures for handling dangerous substances and adequate guards for machinery
- should provide adequate supervision
- should give employees training and information to give them sufficient skills and knowledge to carry out their work safely.
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health and safety policy
If your club has no employees, you are not obliged to have a health and safety policy – however, you are strongly recommended to draw one up. Drawing up a policy will help you clarify your procedures and responsibilities. If you include volunteers in the process, it will make them much more aware of health and safety issues.
what will the policy do?
- Provide a foundation on which to base health and safety procedures and practices.
- Announce the club’s commitment towards good procedures.
- Help clarify procedures and areas of responsibility.
Top Tip: Communicate the policy to all your volunteers by producing a summary document and signposting them to the policy itself.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has examples of model health and safety policies, which can be used as a template.
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risk assessment
This is a way to identify and assess hazards and risks that may arise from the club’s activities:
- A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm.
- A risk is the likelihood of it causing harm and the degree of harm it may cause.
If your club has no paid staff, you are not bound to do risk assessments. However, they are an excellent way to identify and overcome health and safety problems.
A risk assessment involves identifying all the hazards, assessing the likelihood of the hazards causing harm and the degree of harm they may cause. This should lead you to an action plan for your club, to address issues raised as part of this process. Assessing risks requires detailed knowledge of the activities and working practices normally only found in the people who do the work. Therefore, you should include volunteers in this process, where they are the ‘workers’.
For more detailed information about risk assessments, please view the ‘Risk Assessment’ Top Tips.
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the control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)
Employers have a legal duty to assess the workplace for risks to health caused by potentially hazardous substances. They must take all necessary steps to control any risks identified. Assessment is the key to evaluating potentially hazardous substances in the workplace.
With volunteers, you are not bound to undertake COSHH assessments. However, if you take your duty of care seriously, you would be well advised to carry out such assessments.
Top Tip: Always check paint labels for hazards. For example, aerosols can be hazardous. If the labels aren’t visible, it is advised that you safely dispose of the items.
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fire assessment
All public and community buildings are obliged under various regulations and acts to specify minimum levels of standards so that the risk of fire is reduced. You should consult with your local fire brigade for advice.
first aid
Voluntary clubs with no employees are not bound to do a first-aid assessment, although it is clearly good practice and the information below, around employees, could be adopted.
All employers have a duty under the law to make a first-aid assessment. The need for first aid will depend on the type of activities being undertaken. For example, an outward-bound centre is very different from a chess club, however, the assessment is the key to deciding what provision is required.
The minimum standard for clubs with employees is that there is at least one first-aid box and a notice in the building telling staff:
- the location of the first-aid box
- who the first-aider or appointed person is
- where the first-aider or appointed person can be found.
An appointed person is someone who has basic first-aid knowledge and is available whenever people are at work.
Details of one-day courses to train appointed persons are available from the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) general helpline 0845-345 0055.
In certain circumstances, like a large public fireworks display, clubs with no paid employees may have a legal duty to provide first-aid facilities as, without this provision, they could be seen as breaking the duty of care. Always contact your local HSE office for advice in these types of circumstances.
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insurance relating to health and safety of employees and volunteers
Insurance for your club is important and there are particular elements that you need to look out for in relation to health and safety:
employers’ liability insurance
- All employers are required, by law, to take out this insurance to cover employees in the event of an accident, disease or injury. This can also be extended to volunteers.
public liability insurance
- This insurance covers the club in the event of injury, death and loss or damage to the property of non-employees. It only covers legal liability, so will not provide compensation where there is an accident that is not due to negligence. It is important to confirm with your insurers that this insurance extends to the acts of volunteers. Without this insurance, the club and/or the individual(s) responsible for the club could be held personally responsible.
other insurance, which may be relevant to working with volunteers, is listed below:
- Personal accident insurance
- Product liability insurance
- Motor vehicle insurance.
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registering your club’s activities
Clubs with volunteers only do not normally have to register their activities with any enforcement authorities, unless involved in dangerous activities such as putting on a firework display. However, groups that control or who are responsible for premises and buildings, have to register with the local fire authority. If food is prepared, stored, supplied or sold on five or more days in any five-week period, they must register with the local environmental health department.
You should always check with the authorities if you are in any doubt about registering.
Any club employing staff, regardless of its size or location, must register its existence with the
Health and Safety Executive or the local environmental health department.
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further information and useful contacts
Health and Safety Executive
HSE Infoline
Caerphilly Business Park
Caerphilly CF83 3GG
Tel: 0845-345 0055
Email: hse.infoline@natbrit.com
www.hse.gov.uk
Volunteering England (London) Regents Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL
Volunteering England (Birmingham) New Oxford House
16 Waterloo Street
Birmingham B2 5UG
Tel: 0845-305 6979
Email: information@volunteeringengland.org
www.volunteering.org.uk
publications/resources:
Charities Safety Group for HSE. (1999) Charity and Voluntary Workers: A Guide to Health and Safety at Work. Suffolk: HSE Books. ISBN: 0-717624-24-2.
Hinde, A., Kavanagh, C. and Barlow, J. (2001) The Health & Safety Handbook for Voluntary & Community Organisations. London: Directory of Social Change. ISBN: 1-903991-01-3. Hudson, P. (1993) Managing Your Community Building: A Practical Handbook for People Running Buildings in Local Communities. London: Community Matters. ISBN: 0-900787-15-5. National Centre for Volunteering. (1997) Safe & Alert: Good Practice Advice on Volunteers Working with Vulnerable Clients. London: National Centre for Volunteering. ISBN: 1-897708-92-0.
Available to download from http://www.volunteering.org.uk/Resources/publications/
These Top Tips are intended as a general guide, based on legislation at the time of publication. Neither runningsports, its staff, nor the authors or reviewers can accept any liability for any loss arising as a result of reliance upon information contained herein. Readers are strongly advised to obtain professional advice on an individual basis.
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