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UCL’s internal auditors, KPMG, periodically undertake a Health and Safety audit to review the processes and controls that »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË has in place to ensure compliance with Health and Safety legislation. During the most recent audit inÌýSeptember/October 2021,ÌýKPMG provided an assurance rating of "significant assurance with minor improvement opportunities."

As a result of these recommendations, the Work Health and Safety Committee has approved changes in the procedure relating to risk assessment approval and incident initial assessment.

What you need to know

Risk Assessment

• Mandatory requirement that assessors cannot self-approve their own risk assessments
  • An approver of a risk assessment has an opportunity toÌýreview and make comments on potential unforeseen risks, best practice is for the assessor and the approver to be separate individuals
  • An additional approver can be added to the risk assessment should the assessor still need to be recorded asÌýan approver
  • This is an immediate change that should be communicated and implemented throughout all departments

Incident Initial Assessment

• Mandatory requirement that the target time to complete the Initial Assessment of all incidents is set to 5 calendar days (the previous target was 10 working days)
  • The initial assessment provides an opportunity to assess the potential riskÌýposed by an incident and suggestsÌýthe appropriate level of investigation required - the greater the risk posed the more thorough the investigation should be
  • In circumstances where the 5-day target cannot be achieved a note must be made in the "Additional (Post-Assessment) Comments" box on the incident record detailingÌýthe reasons for the delay
  • This is an immediate change that should be communicated and implemented throughout all departments

Further guidance

If you have any questions or queries regarding these requirements, contact Safety Services for support.

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