Fact:

Our Windsor estate employs around 200 people, many of whom are engaged in the maintenance and running of Windsor Great Park, including foresters, gardeners and gamekeepers

Health and Safety

The Crown Estate Commissioners recognise and accept the duty placed on The Crown Estate as an employer by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 to provide a safe and healthy place of work and working environment. Furthermore the Commissioners accept that this duty extends to non-employees who may be affected by The Crown Estate’s activities or who may visit The Crown Estate’s premises.

The Commissioners are committed to continuous improvement in health and safety within all areas and aspects of The Crown Estate’s undertaking. In this respect they will take all necessary steps to ensure that at all times there is appropriate resourcing in the provision of manpower, materials and training for the organisation and arrangements for health and safety.

The Commissioners believe that full and effective compliance within the duties placed on The Crown Estate can only be achieved with the active involvement of the whole workforce. The Commissioners therefore call upon the full support and cooperation of all their employees in respect of the arrangements made to ensure health and safety within all areas and activities of The Crown Estate’s undertakings.

The objective of The Crown Estate’s Safety Policy is to prevent accidents and ill health at work, and the consequent personal injury, suffering and financial loss. To achieve the objective the Commissioners will ensure that the following are, so far as reasonably practicable, provided and maintained throughout The Crown Estate:-

• a safe place of work, with safe access and egress.
• a working environment where the foreseeable risks have been assessed and appropriate control measures put in place.
• plant, equipment, materials and systems of work that are safe.
• arrangements for the safe use, handling and transport of articles and substances.
• sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision to enable employees to work safely.
• arrangements for ensuring non-employees, who may be affected by The Crown Estate’s activities, or who may be on its non-domestic premises or land, are accorded the same level of safety and protection against risks to their health, as its employees.

The Chief Executive is responsible for establishing and monitoring the organisation and arrangements to be made and maintained in order that the objective of this Safety Policy can be achieved at all times.

In turn each Estate Manager and Head of Department is responsible to the Chief Executive for compliance with the requirements of The Crown Estate’s Safety Policy, by establishing and monitoring the organisation and arrangements for safety within those areas of The Crown Estate activities over which they have control.

The arrangements made to comply with health and safety legislation form an integral part of the successful performance of The Crown Estate’s business. Everything reasonably practicable is to be done to prevent the foreseeable accident and to prevent injury or ill health. All employees have a duty to take reasonable care of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their actions.

As an important step to promote the co-operation and involvement of the workforce, arrangements are made for consultation on matters of health, safety and welfare, through an established Safety Committee structure including appointed safety representatives from the workforce.

All employees will be made aware of The Crown Estate’s policy, organisation and arrangements for safety, as it affects them in the work place, through the issue of this policy statement, information on the general duties of employees and the control arrangements in their particular location. They will also have access to all information contained in the Health and Safety Manual.

The information contained in the Health and Safety Manual will be reviewed annually or more frequently if new legislation or the situation so dictates. The Audit Committee will determine what changes in policy and strategy or significant changes in organisation and arrangements should be made, on the advice of the Head of Internal Audit and the Safety Adviser.

Roger Bright
Chief Executive
10 April 2002.