So, we have arrived! All of that Christmas music means that we have reached December, so it’s time to start getting all festive. One thing we as employees like to do is make the office all festive for December, this therefore means the job of putting up Christmas decorations. However, you all have probably heard the myth about employees being banned from putting Christmas decorations up in the workplace.
Risk Assessing putting up decorations
The reality is that workers are entitled to put up decorations in their workplace, if HSE and local authority do this then we can! The main thing to remember is that certain tasks do need risk assessing in the workplace, there are certain activities need to put up decorations you need to look into risk assessing. These include the following:
- Combustible decorations near electricals (Fairy lights etc)
- Manual Handling – will employees be carrying decorations/ lifting boxes etc
- Working at height – will employees be standing off the ground using steps provided, also ensuring no employees are standing on chairs and desks etc.
- If you’re decorating any outdoor areas, be aware of adverse weather conditions, are employees appropriately dressed, ensuring they are not alone working and also ensuring they are provided with the correct PPE by the employer.
Creating a Risk Assessment
We’ve all heard the saying, Health & Safety never takes a day off? That’s certainly the case with this. When it does come to creating our risk assessments for this, we have 5 key steps to a risk assessment. These are:
- Identify hazards
- Assess the risks
- Control the risks
- Record your findings
- Review the controls
Don’t forget that the team at OJ are on hand to ensure your health & safety is all in place correctly! If you think you could benefit from our health & safety services then do get in touch!