Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

3.6 
Role and functions of health and 
safety and other advisers
3.6.1 Competent 
person
One or more competent persons must be appointed to 
help managers comply with their duties under health 
and safety law. The essential point is that managers 
should have access to expertise to help them fulfi l the 
legal requirements. However, they will always remain 
as advisers and do not assume responsibility in law for 
health and safety matters. This responsibility always 
remains with line managers and cannot be delegated to 
an adviser whether inside or outside the organization. 
The appointee could be:
➤
the employers themselves if they are sure they know 
enough about what to do. This may be appropriate 
in a small low hazard business
➤
one or more employees, as long as they have suf-
fi cient time and other resources to do the task 
properly
➤
someone from outside the organization who has suf-
fi cient expertise to help.
The HSE have produced two leafl ets entitled 
Need help 
on health and safety? Guidance for employers on when 

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Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
34
and how to get advice on health and safety
(INDG 322) 
and 
Selecting a Health
& 
Safety Consultancy
.
If an employer decides to seek outside help they 
have to ensure that no employees are competent to 
assist. Many health and safety issues can be tackled by 
people with an understanding of current best practice 
and an ability to judge and solve problems. Some help 
is needed long term, others for a one-off short period. 
There are a wide range of experts available for different 
types of health and safety problem. For example:
➤
engineers for specialist ventilation or chemical 
processes
➤
occupational hygienists for assessment and practical 
advice on exposure to chemical (dust, gases, fumes, 
etc.), biological (viruses, fungi, etc.) and physical 
(noise, vibration, etc.) agents
➤
occupational health professionals for medical exam-
inations and diagnosis of work-related disease, 
pre-employment and sickness advice, health educa-
tion, etc.
➤
ergonomists for advice on suitability of equipment, 
comfort, physical work environment, work organiza-
tion, etc.
➤
physiotherapists for treatment and prevention of 
musculoskeletal disorders, etc.
➤
radiation protection advisers for advice on compli-
ance with the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999
➤
health and safety practitioner for general advice 
on implementation of legislation, health and safety 
management, risk assessment, control measures 
and monitoring performance, etc.