HR:4UK welcomes Health & Safety expert Lucy Walsh

At HR:4UK we know how seriously our clients take health & safety at work; so to further enhance our services, we’re pleased to have on board highly experienced health & safety, quality and environmental professional Lucy Walsh.

Midlands-based Lucy, has been delivering health & safety support to businesses from a wide range of industry sectors for more than 20 years and so is well placed to offer expert advice.   She has invaluable experience in helping companies of all sizes (including large global organisations), to implement safe-systems-of work, gain accreditations and find unique solutions to manage their risks.

With a background in construction, Lucy is also experienced in warehousing & distribution, electrical & mechanical engineering and food manufacturing.

Lucy commented: “HR:4UK clients tend to be fairly proactive and approach us for help when they need it. They mostly understand the importance of health & safety, but seek our guidance when they’re not sure of what or how to address certain areas within their operation.

“To identify those areas, we carry out an initial inspection or audit, looking at all the basics.  It’s a health check to make sure all health & safety policies, training and risk assessments are satisfactory and compliant with current legislation.”

Among clients Lucy recently audited was a large fashion retail business which imports trendy clothing and accessories then sells them online. The company has its own warehouse, so advice was provided on specific health & safety issues relating to picking and packing and distribution.

Lucy also assisted another client involved in manufacturing and retailing. The company, which makes curtains and blinds, has a factory with a shop next door and wanted to ensure its policies were up-to-date and that hazards were being adequately controlled.

Lucy said: “It’s so much better when employers actively look for health & safety advice.  Some of the worst issues I’ve come across are where people didn’t seek professional help as they thought it was going to be expensive.  It’s certainly not expensive to get advice, but it can be very costly when you haven’t got the right measures in place and something goes wrong. When that happens, we can end up firefighting and the employer can end up with a huge bill – or worse.”

Sometimes employers are unaware of their responsibilities and simply don’t know they’re not compliant or even meeting basic health & safety obligations.

Lucy added: “People forget to update policies. The paperwork sits in a folder, untouched, sometimes for years because the employer hadn’t realised the policy has to be ‘regularly’ updated. By undertaking an audit, we can quickly identify these issues and advise the employer on how to rectify the situation.”

HR:4UK is naturally delighted to welcome Lucy to our team of consultants, allowing us to offer the highest levels of health & safety support to our valuable clients.

We take the worry out of health & safety; while at the same time protecting you and your business from the worst-case scenario of non-compliance.  Whether you have nothing in place or need help improving and implementing your existing health & safety policies and procedures, contact us today 01455 444222 or email [email protected]