Workplace health and safety enquiries, requests and complaints
What do Inverclyde Council do?
Officers respond to various enquiries and incident notifications including:
Requests for advice from businesses, safety representatives and employees - Useful information is also available at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website with specific guidance for different workplaces. Further useful information and advice is available at Healthy Working Lives.
Accident, ill health and incident reports - The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) requires employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises to report certain accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences.
On receipt of a report, via the RIDDOR notification or otherwise, we apply risk based incident selection criteria (based on those developed by the HSE). This means that all reports will be considered with regard to level of risk, severity etc and responses can range from a phone call or letter through to a full investigation or inspection.
Complaints - Complaints relating to conditions or working practices within premises where Inverclyde Council has enforcement responsibility will be investigated. There is wide range of complaints that we will investigate. Typical subjects of complaint include:
- Poor workplace conditions
- Unsafe equipment or working practices
- Welfare issues eg provision of rest rooms, toilet facilities, working time
- Workplace temperatures
The depth of investigation and method will vary depending on the circumstances of each complaint. Where the circumstances are perceived to present a significant risk to the health and safety of employees or the public, or where such complainants meet strategic and/or local aims an inspection may be appropriate. In other circumstances investigation may be carried out by correspondence or telephone enquiries.
How to report a workplace safety issue or make an enquiry
Major accidents (generally those involving fractures, admission to hospital, etc.), accidents resulting in three or more days off work, or dangerous occurences (near misses) should be reported through a RIDDOR report at https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm (see external links on this page).
If you have concerns or enquiries regarding any other workplace safety issues you should contact the Customer Service Centre, in confidence, for advice and assistance from Inverclyde Council's Health Protection team, using the contact details on this page.
Anonymous workplace safety service requests will be investigated, however that investigation will be limited. To allow us to fully investigate your request you should provide us with:
- Your name, address and if possible a contact telephone number
- The name and address of the workplace premises
- Date of suspected incident
If it is a matter for another authority, for example the HSE, we will ensure that it is passed to them for action.
Statutory notifications
We react to notifications of defects of lifting and pressure equipment and may carry out a visit to check whether any necessary works have been completed.
Certain licence applications eg tattooing, ear piercing and electrolysis
We respond to skin piercing & tattooing licence applications made to Inverclyde Council licensing section. This involves inspection to ensure that all necessary requirements are in place.
If you have an enquiry or want to make a complaint you should contact Customer Service Centre providing your contact details and details of your enquiry/complaint including details of any workplace involved.
Your identity will be treated as confidential and will not typically be revealed to an employer however we do request your contact details in order to obtain relevant information and to feedback following any investigation.