A new online directory to help businesses find a health and safety consultant that they can trust to give sensible, expert advice was launched on 21 March.
More than 1,600 highly qualified professionals in the UK have signed up to the online Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR). It has been created to increase employers' confidence that they are receiving good quality, proportionate health and safety advice should they need external help.
Before consultants can join the register, they must prove that they can meet strict eligibility criteria. Each must belong to a professional body, have a degree-level qualification, at least two years' experience and have demonstrated a commitment to continuing their professional development.
The Employment Minister Chris Grayling said, "We have launched an official Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register for those health and safety practitioners who are properly accredited to one of the professional bodies in the industry. Those who do not have the requisite expertise and experience will be excluded from the register, making it easier for employers to access reliable, reputable advice."
OSHCR has been established by a number of professional bodies representing general safety and occupational health consultants, with support from the Health and Safety Executive and the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland. It is in response to the Government commissioned Common Sense, Common Safety report into the current health and safety regime, which called for improved competence in health and safety advice.
The register is now freely accessible and searchable at www.oshcr.org.
