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HealthcareISCO 2263

Health and safety officer

A health and safety officer is a person who carries out plans to improve the working environment and the culture of a workplace.

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Check yourself in a minute: health and safety officer

Rate 5 of the 15 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.

monitor employee's health

monitor legislation developments

advise on conflict management

present reports

educate employees on occupational hazards

About health and safety officer

The health and safety officer assesses risk factors and hazards at each workstation: noise, dust, chemical substances, physical load, work at height, moving machinery. Employees are interviewed as part of the assessment. The assessment produces a document naming the measures to be applied and the date they go in.

The officer trains staff to recognise hazards, communicates health and safety measures, and monitors the health of the workforce. The officer also advises on conflict management.

The officer monitors changes in legislation and presents reports to management. Environmental law is part of the knowledge, and in a healthcare setting the role extends to infections spreading through the facility, with the staff consulted on how to control and prevent them. Where ionising radiation is present, as in nuclear stations and research institutes, health physics applies as well. Entry requirements, including any separate certification for radiation protection, are set by national regulations.

Key Work Functions

Core areas of responsibility for a health and safety officer.

1

Risk Assessment and Hazard Identification

  • Conduct comprehensive risk assessments across organizational facilities and operations
  • Identify potential hazards in work environments and document findings
  • Assess threats to employee health and safety from equipment, chemicals, and processes
  • Interview employees to gather information about workplace conditions and concerns
2

Compliance and Standards Management

  • Ensure organizational compliance with health and safety legislation and regulations
  • Monitor developments in health, safety, and hygiene legislation and environmental law
  • Ensure compliance with environmental legislation and quality standards
  • Follow machinery safety standards and implement equipment safeguarding measures
3

Employee Health Monitoring and Education

  • Monitor employee health status and fitness for duty in hazardous roles
  • Educate employees on occupational hazards and proper safety procedures
  • Develop and deliver training programs on health and safety measures
  • Advise employees on personal protective equipment selection and use
4

Workplace Culture and Conflict Resolution

  • Advise management and employees on conflict management and workplace culture improvement
  • Foster positive and productive workplace interactions through safety culture initiatives
  • Address safety concerns raised by employees and ensure appropriate follow-up
5

Specialized Health and Safety Functions

  • Investigate infection transmission and spread in healthcare facilities
  • Advise on infection prevention and control protocols in healthcare settings
  • Apply health physics principles in facilities with ionizing radiation exposure
  • Monitor radiation exposure levels and ensure protective measures are in place
6

Documentation and Reporting

  • Create and maintain technical drawings and floor plans for safety documentation
  • Present detailed reports on risk assessments, findings, and recommendations
  • Maintain records of health and safety incidents, investigations, and corrective actions
  • Advise on risk management strategies and control measures

European Skills Framework

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential (15)

technical drawingstechnical drawingsDrawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.environmental legislationenvironmental legislationThe environmental policies and legislation applicable in a certain domain.assessment of risks and threatsassessment of risks and threatsThe security documentation and any security-related communications and information.quality standardsquality standardsThe national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.communicate health and safety measurescommunicate health and safety measuresInform about applicable rules, guidelines and measures to avoid accidents and hazards in the workplace.monitor employee's healthmonitor employee's healthUse health surveillance programmes to monitor the health of employees who are potentially exposed to hazards at work.follow standards for machinery safetyfollow standards for machinery safetyApply basic safety standards and machine-specific technical standards to prevent risks connected with the use of machines in the workplace.monitor legislation developmentsmonitor legislation developmentsMonitor changes in rules, policies and legislation, and identify how they may influence the organisation, existing operations, or a specific case or situation.advise on conflict managementadvise on conflict managementAdvise private or public organisations on monitoring possible conflict risk and development, and on conflict resolution methods specific to the identified conflicts.present reportspresent reportsDisplay results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.educate employees on occupational hazardseducate employees on occupational hazardsProvide information and advice to employees related to the possible occupational hazards, such as industrial solvents, radiation, noise and vibration.health, safety and hygiene legislationhealth, safety and hygiene legislationThe set of health, safety and hygiene standards and items of legislation applicable in a specific sector.advise on risk managementadvise on risk managementProvide advice on risk management policies and prevention strategies and their implementation, being aware of different kinds of risks to a specific organisation.personal protective equipmentpersonal protective equipmentTypes of protective materials and equipment foreseen for various types of tasks such as general or specialised cleaning activities.ensure compliance with environmental legislationensure compliance with environmental legislationMonitor activities and perform tasks ensuring compliance with standards involving environmental protection and sustainability, and amend activities in the case of changes in environmental legislation....
Optional (22) — show
project managementproject managementThe discipline of project management, the activities which comprise this area and the variables implied in it, such as time, resources, requirements, deadlines, and responding to unexpected events.pollution preventionpollution preventionThe processes used to prevent pollution: precautions to pollution of the environment, procedures to counter pollution and associated equipment, and possible measures to protect the environment.employment lawemployment lawThe law which mediates the relationship between employees and employers. It concerns employees' rights at work which are binding by the work contract.occupational healthoccupational healthThe subfield of study of public health that focus on improving the wellbeing of individuals in the workplace for all the occupational profiles. It is concerned with health and safety in the workplace ...apply conflict managementapply conflict managementTake ownership of the handling of all complaints and disputes showing empathy and understanding to achieve resolution. Be fully aware of all Social Responsibility protocols and procedures, and be able...make health, safety and environment assessmentsmake health, safety and environment assessmentsExecute health, safety and environmental assessments to ensure proper working environment and conditions.perform risk analysisperform risk analysisIdentify and assess factors that may jeopardise the success of a project or threaten the organisation's functioning. Implement procedures to avoid or minimise their impact.issue licencesissue licencesIssue official documentation which grants licence holders with official permission to perform certain activities, after having investigated the application and processed the necessary documentation.use different communication channelsuse different communication channelsMake use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.conduct workplace auditsconduct workplace auditsConduct work site audits and inspections in order to ensure compliance with rules and regulations.educate on emergency managementeducate on emergency managementEducate communities, organisations, or individuals on risk management and emergency response, such as how to develop and implement prevention and reaction strategies, and educate on emergency policies...identify policy breachidentify policy breachIdentify instances of non-compliance to set plans and policies in an organisation, and take the appropriate course of action by issuing penalties and outlining the changes which need to be made.perform health assessment autonomouslyperform health assessment autonomouslyAutonomously perform comprehensive health assessment, using professional judgement to refer patients requiring specialist attention to other health professionals and agencies as appropriate.conduct research interviewconduct research interviewUse professional researching and interviewing methods and techniques to gather relevant data, facts or information, to gain new insights and to fully comprehend the message of the interviewee.observe confidentialityobserve confidentialityObserve the set of rules establishing the nondisclosure of information except to another authorised person.advise on environmental risk management systemsadvise on environmental risk management systemsEvaluate requirements and advise on systems for environmental risk management. Ensure the customer does his part in preventing or limiting adverse environmental impact through the use of technology. E...test safety strategiestest safety strategiesTest policies and strategies related to risk and safety management and procedures, such as testing evacuation plans, safety equipment, and carrying out drills.perform project managementperform project managementManage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project's progress in order to achieve a specific g...liaise with managersliaise with managersLiaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.implement strategic planningimplement strategic planningTake action on the goals and procedures defined at a strategic level in order to mobilise resources and pursue the established strategies.audit techniquesaudit techniquesThe techniques and methods that support a systematic and independent examination of data, policies, operations and performances using computer-assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATs) such as sprea...provide improvement strategiesprovide improvement strategiesIdentify root causes of problems and submit proposals for effective and long-term solutions.

Related Occupations

Occupations that need many of the same essential skills, so the move between them is shortest.

health safety and environmental manager7 shared essential skillsoccupational health and safety inspector5 shared essential skillsalternative fuels engineer4 shared essential skillsenvironmental health inspector4 shared essential skillshealthcare inspector4 shared essential skillscommissioning technician3 shared essential skillsenvironmental programme coordinator3 shared essential skillsgeothermal engineer3 shared essential skills

Frequently asked questions

What does a health and safety officer do?

Health and safety officers execute plans for the improvement of work environments and cultures. They assess risks and interview employees to ensure the work environment is compliant with health and safety rules, as well as ensuring the interaction within the workplace occurs in a positive and productive manner. If employed in a healthcare facility the health and safety officer has to investigate infections spreading across a facility and advice all employees how to combat and prevent infections. Furthermore health physics is applied at facilities where people are exposed to ionizing radiation such as nuclear power plants and research institutions.

What skills does a health and safety officer need?

A health and safety officer needs 15 essential skills, including technical drawings, environmental legislation, assessment of risks and threats, quality standards, communicate health and safety measures.

Will AI replace health and safety officer jobs?

The AI disruption score for health and safety officer is 45/100 (moderate risk). Skills most exposed to automation: quality standards, monitor legislation developments, environmental legislation. Most resilient: apply conflict management, advise on conflict management, liaise with managers.

Quick Facts

SectorHealthcare
ISCO GroupHealth professionals
Essential Skills15

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