What does an Inspector do?
Place yourself in any working situation. Imagine a risk to an individual’s health or safety and what could be done to prevent or control it. Using informed common sense, judgement based on your training, and influencing skills, your job will be to convince those involved (Directors and Senior Managers of large to small organisations) to make changes - to improve working conditions and maybe even to save lives. Not everyone will appreciate what you will be trying to achieve and sometimes it might be a struggle to change attitudes and convince others about what is needed. However, this is a fundamental part of what an Inspector has to do.
We inspect all kinds of workplaces, from factories, refineries, farms and construction sites to fairgrounds, hospitals and universities. The variety of sectors, industries and processes that you will see means the job is interesting as well as challenging. Inspections are normally made unannounced and you will not always be welcome, so your interpersonal skills and an appropriate level of assertiveness will be important. Investigations will cover accidents, dangerous occurrences, ill health and complaints. The investigation of fatalities and serious accidents may mean dealing with bereaved families and traumatised and distressed witnesses as well as anxious and concerned duty holders.
You will deal with people at every level in an organisation: directors and managers, employees, union representatives, and members of the public. Their level of knowledge and understanding of health and safety issues will vary and therefore you will need to be able to adapt your style of communication to cope with this. You will be required to be fair and open-minded and show an appreciation of the needs of different cultures and practices. You will also need to develop confidence and ability in speaking persuasively to gatherings of employers, or other stakeholders.
Although your primary aim will be to secure improvements through influence and persuasion, you must take formal enforcement action when you discover a risk of serious personal injury or significant breaches of the law. It will be your responsibility to determine when such action (i.e. notices and/or prosecution) may be appropriate and to gather and present appropriate evidence. You therefore need a logical and analytical mind and good organisational skills. You will be required to conduct cases in the Magistrates’ Court (except in Scotland, where the legal system differs), and you may need to appear as a witness in court or at an Employment Tribunal. Training will be given to enable you to deal with these situations.
In some industries e.g. construction, much of the work will be outdoors and could be in all weathers. On some occasions Inspectors can be active on site for lengthy periods and during inspections and investigations you may be required to access various parts of the workplace, including at height, to complete your work effectively. You need to be prepared to use a range of personal protective clothing, e.g. hard hat, protective footwear, hearing protection etc, and other equipment at times. When you are in the office, you will be dealing with the follow-up to investigations and inspections using HSE’s information and recording systems.
An Inspector’s job cannot always be done between the hours of nine to five and therefore you do need to be flexible. For example, you just don’t know what conditions you may find when you visit a workplace and you do have to remain there until you have dealt with whatever you encounter.
Inspectors spend a significant proportion of their time travelling, including to remote locations. It is essential, therefore, that all applicants have a full driving licence that permits them to drive in the UK. We are willing to consider any proposals put forward by disabled candidates that allows them to do the job by other means.
