Competent person

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require that employers appoint one or more competent persons to help them meet their legal duties for health, safety and welfare of employees. The HSE describes competence as a person's combined training, skills, experience and knowledge and their ability to perform a task safely. Other factors, such as attitude and physical ability, can also affect someone's competence.

The requirement to appoint a competent person does not mean you must recruit outside help. We believe that the best person to advise on congregational health and safety matters is a member of the congregation with knowledge and understanding of the relatively low-risk activities undertaken within church properties.

We are confident that the Congregational Health and Safety Administrator can fulfil the role as the competent person. The health and safety toolkit has been designed to provide step-by-step specific guidance for achieving competency and compliance. Information contained within this toolkit will help the Congregational Health and Safety Administrator identify and control risks within their properties as well as building confidence and competence to undertake their role effectively. The role holder must also be willing to undertake any additional induction and competency-based training modules offered by their congregation, presbytery or the General Trustees to further enhance competency and confidence whilst they fulfil the role.