Risk Management advice for UK charities

22 October 2009

NCi looks at how charities can take the next important step to effective risk management.

With health and safety issues prevalent in all walks of life, NCi looks at charities, community groups and other voluntary organisations and how they can identify who within their organisation could be harmed in the second stage of effective risk management. Charities and their trustees are becoming increasingly aware of the need for not only protection in the form of insurance but also effective risk management.

After they have identified potential hazards which may occur within or around their organisation, the next stage of the risk management process is to actually decide who might be harmed within the organisations network as this will allow them to decide how best to manage the risk involved. The first way to do this could be to group together people who could be harmed and identify what accident or injury type they could be susceptible to. For example, you may have your own charity shop in which you sell a wide variety of goods donated by the general public. Volunteers in the shop may suffer from back injuries caused by the repeated lifting of heavy items such as furniture that has been donated.

Other important points for charities to remember when deciding who might be harmed and how, is to not just think of your staff and volunteers. It is crucial to remember anyone who you might come into contact with and this includes members of the general public. If you have a charity shop or organise a charity fund raising event consider how they might come to harm by the actions of people working for the charity. As well as members of the public, you would also need to take into account people who might not work at your premises full time but who still come into contact with. From cleaners and contractors to maintenance workers and staff who might share a work area with you, it is imperative you identify them and how they might come to harm.

Finally when it comes to deciding who might be harmed and how, you will need to take into account that certain people might possibly have different needs. For example, a volunteer with a disability may be more at risk so you may need to take additional steps to make sure they are safe. The same may apply to expectant mothers or new volunteers who are unfamiliar with where and how you carry out your charitable activities.

The good news for charities is that they are based on thinking for and about others. Therefore if you are a charity trustee who wants to improve your health and safety and maybe even reduce your insurance premium, identify who might he harmed and how, and you will be on your way to putting effective risk management strategies into place.

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Risk Management advice for UK charities

22 October 2009

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