The Herd – Health & Safety Policy

1. Statement of intent

The Herd is committed to providing a safe, healthy working environment for everyone who works for us or with us, whether they are in our offices, working from home, at client sites, or at events. We will do what is so far as is reasonably practicable to prevent work-related injury and ill health, and to comply with our duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and all relevant UK health and safety regulations.

In practice, this means The Herd will:

Identify significant health and safety risks in our work and put sensible measures in place to control them, including suitable and sufficient risk assessments for our office, display screen equipment (DSE) use, and homeworking arrangements.
Provide and maintain safe workplaces, equipment, and systems of work, including safe workstations and technology set-ups, and make sure people know how to use them correctly.
Provide information, instruction, training, and supervision so that employees understand health and safety risks, their responsibilities, and how to work safely.
Consult with employees on health and safety matters and listen to feedback about how our work, tools, and spaces can be made safer.
Support the health and wellbeing of our people, including recognising work-related stress and mental health as health and safety issues and responding to concerns promptly.
Investigate accidents, incidents, and near-misses, learn from them, and take action to prevent recurrence, including making any statutory reports where required.
Review this policy and our arrangements regularly, and whenever there are significant changes to our business, locations, people, or work processes.

Health and safety is a shared responsibility. Everyone at The Herd is expected to play their part in keeping themselves, their colleagues, clients, and visitors safe.

2. Responsibilities

2.1 Directors / senior leadership

The Directors of The Herd have overall responsibility for health and safety and will:

Ensure The Herd has an up-to-date written health and safety policy, supported by clear procedures for office work, homeworking, and client work.
Make sure there are adequate resources (time, budget, and people) to manage health and safety properly, including access to competent external advice where needed.
Approve and review health and safety risk assessments, prioritise actions, and check that they are implemented and kept under review.
Appoint people with specific responsibilities (for example, fire marshals, first aiders, and health and safety coordinators) and ensure they have appropriate training.
Monitor health and safety performance (for example, accidents, near-misses, sickness trends, DSE issues) and take action where there are concerns.
Lead by example, setting the tone that safe, healthy working is part of doing great work, not an optional extra.

2.2 Managers

Managers are responsible for day-to-day implementation of this policy within their teams and areas. They must:

Make sure team members know and follow health and safety policies, including those on home working, DSE, data protection, drugs and alcohol, and anti-harassment.
Carry out and regularly review local risk checks (for example, workspace layout, cables, equipment, storage, and any specific risks associated with projects or events) and escalate issues they cannot resolve.
Ensure new starters and people changing roles receive appropriate health and safety induction and role-specific guidance (including workstation setup and any client-site rules).
Encourage early reporting of hazards, near-misses, and health and safety concerns, and log accidents and incidents promptly via the agreed process (for example, the HR Portal incident form).
Support employees who raise concerns about stress, workload, or health issues, and work with HR to agree reasonable adjustments or changes where appropriate.
Cooperate with any health and safety inspections, audits, or investigations and implement agreed actions in a timely way.

2.3 Employees and contractors

Every employee and contractor has a legal duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by what they do or fail to do. Everyone working for The Herd must:

Follow The Herd's health and safety policies, procedures, and instructions, whether working in the office, at home, at a client site, or at an event.
Use equipment, workstations, and safety measures correctly, and complete any required DSE or homeworking checklists honestly so issues can be identified and fixed.
Keep work areas tidy, minimise slips and trips (for example, managing cables and bags), and report any hazards, near-misses, accidents, or faulty equipment immediately to their manager or via the HR Portal.
Not misuse or interfere with anything provided for health, safety, or welfare (for example, fire equipment, guards, or ergonomic equipment).
Attend any relevant health and safety training and briefings, and ask questions if unsure about how to work safely.
Take reasonable steps to ensure they are fit for work, including not working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in line with The Herd's drugs and alcohol and disciplinary policies.
Raise concerns early about workload, stress, or health issues that may affect their safety or performance, so support and adjustments can be considered.

Failure to follow this policy or related health and safety procedures may be treated as a disciplinary matter under The Herd's Disciplinary & Grievances Policy.