Health and Safety Advisor: Job Profile and Role

There is a saying that states that most accidents happen at home. But this does not mean that they cannot equally happen in the workplace. Depending on the workplace and the jobs performed there, this space can be considerably more hazardous than having a shower, for example. A health and safety advisor is needed to both identify and prevent potential accidents.

In this blog, we explore the job of a UK health and safety advisor. To help you decide whether this is your right job fit, you find out what it takes to become a health and safety advisor, what you can expect to earn and who you work for. Insights into a day of a health and safety advisor and tips for thriving in this profession round off this article.

Short Summary

• As a health and safety advisor, you are the promoter of health and safety to a company’s employees – and employers as well.
• As a health and safety advisor, you do risk assessments in a company to identify potential hazards.
• As a health and safety advisor, you train a company’s employees in health and safety procedures and practices which can be done through workshops, for example.

Job description

Your job title is pretty accurate on what you will do daily. You advise on health and safety procedures and protocols. Your workplace can be various companies that may or may not have hazardous production flows. To ensure a safe working environment, it is your responsibility to identify and point out potential risks and hazards. You furthermore come up with prevention plans which then need to be communicated to the employees and company directors. Training and workshops can be another part of your job where you ensure that the current health and safety regulations are later on implemented correctly.

Responsibilities

• Risk Assessments
• Safety Committees
• Policy Development
• Incident Investigation
• Compliance Monitoring
• Training and Education
• Emergency Preparedness
• Research New Regulations
• Personal Protective Equipment

Different types of Health and Safety Advisors

• Fire Safety Advisor
• Health and Safety Consultant
• General Health and Safety Advisor
• Chemical Health and Safety Advisor
• Education Health and Safety Advisor

Salary

As a UK health and safety advisor with full-time employment, you can earn between ￡30,000 and ￡42,000 per year. ￡30,000 is your starting salary, you tend to earn a higher amount when you have gained sufficient work experience. Note that your annual wages can even amount to ￡50,000. Besides the form of employment and your experience, there are a few other factors affecting how much you earn. Typically, these are your employer – bigger companies tend to pay higher wages – and your location. Here, higher salaries may be expected in bigger cities.

Working hours

When working full-time in health and safety advising, you can expect to be working between 38 and 40 hours a week. Your day tends to start at 8 a.m. and finishes at around 6 p.m. Usually, you work Monday through Friday, weekend work does not tend to be a part of your weekly workload unless your employer also operates on the weekends.

Since you work in an advisory role, you may have to factor in travelling which naturally increases your weekly hours. Workshops can equally mean more hours if they do not take place during a company’s operating hours. They also include preparation and follow-up time which affects your working hours further.

Employers

Any company handling hazardous goods and substances and/or operating heavy machinery needs a health and safety advisor. Therefore, you can start looking for a vacancy in the following sectors: construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals/healthcare, transport, and logistics.

As a health and safety advisor, your services and expertise will equally be needed in slightly less dangerous working environments which is why these sectors can be employment options as well: consulting firms, educational institutions, non-profit organisations, and some government institutions.

Qualifications

There are three possible approaches to becoming a UK health and safety advisor: a university course, an apprenticeship, or training through a professional body. To enter options 1 and 2, you need the following entry qualifications: two to three A levels, for instance, in biology and science, or four to five GCSEs at pass grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), which should include English and natural sciences. 

Software proficiency should also be part of your hard skills portfolio since you will use risk assessment software like SHIELD, health and safety management systems (HSMS) like Alcumus ISOQAR assurance, and incident reporting software like SafetyCulture iAuditor.

Skills

Needless to say, your skills must include a high safety awareness and an eagle eye for detail. Combined, these competencies are your strongest asset when working as a health and safety advisor. Before we take a look at three more skills you should have, we advise you to check all job posts for the competencies required by your employer. That said, here are three more skills every employer will be looking for.

Legal Knowledge

It will not surprise you that existing health and safety regulations are based on a legal framework. Unfortunately, legalese sounds Greek to all laypeople and it is furthermore nigh on impossible to either make adjustments to an existing legal text or draft one. Therefore, legal knowledge should be one of your competencies. And do not despair – depending on your educational approach and your further training, you can learn all legal aspects relevant to your job,

Teaching Skills

Since training and workshops are part of your job description, you need to have above-average teaching skills – and the passion and fun to enjoy imparting your knowledge to others. As with legal knowledge, you can improve this competency by attending teaching courses where you gain valuable tips on the latest teaching, communication, and presenting techniques.

Analytical Skills

When doing a risk assessment, you not only need eagle eyes that see even the smallest detail. You need strong analytical skills as well since a rational approach helps you to both identify hazards and come up with a quick and efficient solution. This competency should be combined with strong problem-solving skills that enable you to magic emergency plans out of your hat.

Career Path

Your career as a health and safety advisor can take different directions. Naturally, you will start small with your first job and work your way up to the top. Managerial roles are just as possible as consultancy work as a self-employed health and safety advisor. Besides, you can specialise in your area of expertise, for example, by becoming a food health and safety inspector or going into hazardous materials management.

Educational Background

As mentioned above, there are three ways to become a UK health and safety advisor. If you choose university, you can complete an undergraduate/Bachelor’s degree in law, environmental sciences, or occupational safety and health. If you want to gain practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge, we recommend you do an advanced apprenticeship, for example, as a health, safety and environment technician. Keep in mind that both approaches mean several years of training which can take up to three years for an undergraduate degree and 24 months for an advanced apprenticeship.

Entry Level

It will take about a year for you to become a proper health and safety advisor. First, you need to master your entry-level position, typically the job of a health and safety assistant or coordinator, or a trainee health and safety advisor. This position is also available to you during your education. One of the most important aspects of said entry-level jobs is to gain the relevant experience which sets you up for working without a mentor/more senior colleague. Naturally, your overall performance decides where your next career step takes you.

Continuous Learning

One of the most important frameworks in your job is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Even though it dates back almost 50 years, it is still the go-to guideline when it comes to health and safety advice. Since it is prone to adjustments, you need to continuously stay on top of all updates. 

You should furthermore look into the relevant qualifications which must include your NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Health and Safety) qualification, courses completed with the IOSH (Institution of Occupational Health and Safety), and the British Safety Council. You can also benefit from registering with the Occupational Health and Safety Consultants Register.

These four authorities and their respective qualifications and certifications are approved on a national level and can be part of your training through a professional body, our third option to become a UK health and safety advisor.

Fast-track your Career in Health and Safety

NEBOSH qualifications and IOSH courses cannot only be a part of your continuous learning in health and safety advising. They can equally help you to fast-track your career. Employers not only value postgraduate degrees, but they value these certifications as well since they show your commitment to your job and your high level of knowledge and expertise. 

A Day in the Life of a Health and Safety Advisor

And? Are you curious to find out which daily and regular jobs await you in health and safety advising? We will not keep you on tenterhooks any longer – because in this section, we look at three typical daily tasks in the life of a UK health and safety advisor.

Inspections and Assessments

One of your most important jobs is to inspect a workplace regarding potential health and safety hazards. With your keen eye for detail and your knowledge of potential dangers, you inspect a factory hall, for example, to check if all machinery is in working order. Besides, you assess potential risks. Could hazardous materials be stored more safely? Are the employees dressed in the required safety gear? Checking all these points is the groundwork for the next job in your daily schedule.

Develop Safety Procedures

With your observations in mind, you then proceed to develop safety procedures. Here, you include still existing hazardous areas and work procedures and advise on how to eliminate any dangers effectively and quickly. These procedures naturally must adhere to the national health and safety regulations and need to be communicated to all employees, shift and team managers, HR, and the directors of the company.

Training and Workshops

Your observations and safety procedures are the framework which needs to be followed to the last letter. However, it is always easier for everyone involved to have a hands-on approach. Therefore, training and workshops are also your responsibility. These can consist of easy-to-understand PowerPoint presentations and practical exercises in which all participants train and demonstrate their emergency response. The fact aside that this contributes to a reduction in serious accidents, workshops and training are also good team-bonding opportunities.

Tips for Thriving as a Health and Safety Advisor

Staying updated with all health and safety regulations is vital to perform a good job. Needless to say, investing time in researching and internalising the latest regulatory developments is one way to thrive in health and safety advising. To help you to further thrive, we have researched three more tips that we explore in this section:

• Approachability
• Anticipation
• Collaboration

Approachability

Even though advisors are called in to help and support, they are often seen as authorities that induce respect and shyness. This is the last thing you want when working as a health and safety advisor. Instead, you need to be approachable so that all employees are confident in addressing possible risks and dangers. Try to be a part of the team and maybe have some brainstorming sessions in which everyone can address health and safety issues or measures they would like to have implemented.

Anticipation

You check workplaces regularly for possible dangers, in part by taking a close look at machinery and storage solutions and liaising with the employees handling these things. Still, it does not hurt to anticipate – and no, we do not mean that you should see danger everywhere you go – and to identify hazards that are hidden from view. By having an eye for the unexpected, you can develop various emergency plans that can be put into action when and if need be.

Collaboration

All your findings, observations, and procedures need to be communicated to everyone involved in a company. But communication is not enough – you also need the backing of the higher echelons of a company, so to speak. As important as your help is, you will not be able to just bin your health and safety plan to the cantine’s blackboard and be done with it. You still need to go ahead of human resources and the company’s managers and directors. Therefore, collaboration with these departments is not only vital – it is also one way to thrive.

Frequently Asked Questions