Health and Safety Consultant vs Full-Time H&S Manager: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Every business has a responsibility to manage health and safety effectively. However, that does not necessarily mean every business needs a full-time health and safety manager.

For many small and medium-sized businesses, the real challenge is finding the right level of support.

You may need someone to review your current arrangements, complete risk assessments, inspect workplaces, develop safe systems of work, investigate incidents, deliver training or provide ongoing competent-person support. But does that workload justify employing a dedicated Health and Safety Manager?

For some businesses, absolutely. For others, working with an external health and safety consultant can provide the expertise and support they need without the cost and commitment of creating a full-time role.

Health and safety consultant carrying out a workplace safety inspection

When Does a Business Need Health and Safety Support?

The level of health and safety support a business needs will depend on several factors, including:

• the size and complexity of the organisation;

• the nature of its work activities;

• the level of risk involved;

• the competence and experience already available internally;

• how quickly the business is growing or changing; and

• whether specialist support is required.

A small office-based company will have very different requirements from an engineering business, construction contractor, entertainment venue or large public event.

The important point is that health and safety arrangements should be proportionate to the actual risks and needs of the business.

For many organisations, this is where consultancy support works particularly well.

You Get the Level of Support the Business Actually Needs

A full-time health and safety professional represents a significant and ongoing commitment. Alongside salary, a business must consider recruitment, employer costs, professional development, training, equipment, software and management time.

An external health and safety consultancy can offer a more flexible alternative.

Support might involve:

• a one-off health and safety compliance review;

• workplace inspections and audits;

• risk assessments and safe systems of work;

• fire risk assessments;

• RAMS development or review;

• accident and incident investigations;

• staff or management training;

• contractor safety management;

• ongoing competent-person support; or

• regular retained consultancy support.

This means the service can be matched to the actual needs of the organisation.

A business may initially need significant support to build or improve its health and safety arrangements. Once effective systems are established, the level of consultancy support may reduce to periodic inspections, document reviews, training and advice.

Equally, support can be increased during periods of expansion, new projects, changes in premises or other higher-demand periods.

Consultancy Can Provide Broader Experience

A good health and safety consultant should bring more than qualifications and templates. Consultants are exposed to different workplaces, industries, incidents, projects and management systems. This wider experience can be valuable when assessing an unfamiliar problem or developing a practical solution. Businesses rarely experience every type of safety issue internally. An experienced consultant may already have dealt with similar hazards, control failures or implementation problems elsewhere. That experience can help avoid overcomplicating straightforward issues while also recognising genuinely serious gaps that require action.

An External View Can Identify Problems That Have Become Normal

One of the biggest advantages of an external health and safety review is a fresh set of eyes. When people work in the same environment every day, poor practices can gradually become accepted as normal.

A blocked access route might have been there for months. A machine guard may regularly be bypassed. A fire door might routinely be wedged open. An unsafe storage arrangement may have developed gradually as the business expanded.

Nobody has deliberately ignored the problem. People have simply become accustomed to seeing it.

An external consultant has no history with those arrangements and can assess them objectively.

A good consultant should help the business distinguish between:

• significant risks requiring immediate action;

• weaknesses that need planned improvement;

• areas where existing controls simply need strengthening; and

• arrangements that are already suitable and do not need unnecessary change.

Access to specialist health and safety support when your business needs it most.

You Can Access Specialist Support When It Is Needed

Health and safety is a broad profession. A business may need support with general workplace safety, but occasionally require more specific expertise in areas such as:

• fire safety;

• construction and contractor management;

• temporary works;

• lifting operations;

• work equipment;

• hazardous substances;

• workplace transport;

• event safety;

• emergency planning; or

• protective security and terrorism preparedness.

It is unrealistic to expect every individual health and safety professional to be a specialist in every subject. A consultancy model can make it easier to bring in the right level of support for a particular project or problem rather than expecting one internal person to cover every specialist area.

Good Consultancy Should Build Internal Capability

Outsourcing health and safety does not mean handing responsibility to somebody outside the business. The most effective consultancy relationships work alongside managers, supervisors and employees.

The consultant may provide technical support, carry out assessments, develop systems and provide advice, but the arrangements still need to work in the real business.

That means understanding:

• who is actually responsible for implementing controls;

• whether managers have enough knowledge to supervise effectively;

• whether employees understand the procedures;

• whether reporting systems are being used;

• whether corrective actions are being closed out; and

• whether the documents reflect what actually happens in the workplace.

A good consultant should strengthen the organisation's internal capability, not create dependency on complicated systems that nobody understands.

Support Can Grow With the Business

Health and safety requirements often become more complex as a business grows. Consultancy support can grow alongside the organisation. For example, a business may initially require:

• a review of its current health and safety arrangements;

• development of key risk assessments and procedures;

• a health and safety policy;

• a fire risk assessment; and

• management advice.

As the company grows, this may develop into:

• regular workplace inspections;

• formal audit programmes;

• contractor management procedures;

• staff training;

• investigation support;

• digital inspection and reporting systems;

• management performance reviews; and

• ongoing competent-person support.

This allows the health and safety management system to develop in proportion to the organisation rather than introducing a large and complicated system before it is needed.

Consultancy Is Not Always the Right Answer

It is important to be honest about this. For a large, complex or high-risk organisation with continuous daily demands, an experienced in-house Health and Safety Manager or larger internal safety team may be the right solution.

There is also a middle ground.

Some businesses benefit from having an internal person responsible for coordinating day-to-day health and safety arrangements while an external consultant provides technical advice, independent reviews, specialist assessments and additional support when required.

The right model depends on the business.

The question should not be: “Do we need to employ a Health and Safety Manager?”

A better question is: “What health and safety support does our business actually need, and what is the most effective way to provide it?”

Practical Health and Safety Consultancy Support

At Orakul Safety, our approach is practical and proportionate. We work with businesses that need professional health and safety support but may not need, or want the cost of, a full-time in-house safety manager.

Support can range from a one-off review of your current arrangements through to risk assessments, workplace inspections, RAMS, fire safety, staff training and ongoing competent-person support.

Our aim is straightforward: identify genuine gaps, improve what is already in place and provide health and safety support that works for the business.

If you are unsure whether your current health and safety arrangements are suitable, an independent review can be a useful starting point.

Speak to Orakul Safety about practical health and safety consultancy support for businesses across Newcastle, Gateshead and the wider North East.