2.3 Roles and Responsibilities (Employer, Employee, Safety Officer)

2.3 Roles and Responsibilities (Employer, Employee, Safety Officer)

Even the best HSE policy fails when nobody knows who must do what. ISPON HSE Level 1 expects you to distinguish the duties of the employer (including managers and supervisors acting for the employer), the employee (including contractors under site control), and HSE / safety personnel. You also need the concept of shared responsibility and the practical idea of stop-work authority when danger is imminent.

Employer Duties

In HSE language, the employer is the organisation (or person) who controls the workplace and employs workers. Senior managers, site managers, and supervisors carry employer duties in daily practice. Core employer responsibilities include:

1. Provide a Safe Workplace and Safe Systems of Work

The workplace itself must be reasonably safe: stable structures, safe access and egress, adequate lighting and ventilation, controlled traffic routes, and maintenance of plant. Safe systems of work means planned methods—permits for hot work and confined spaces, isolation of energy sources, lifting plans, excavation controls—not improvised methods invented on the day.

2. Assess Risks and Apply Controls

Employers must ensure hazards are identified and risks assessed for routine and non-routine work. Controls should follow good practice and the hierarchy of controls (taught in later chapters). Leaving risk "to chance" is a management failure.

3. Provide Information, Instruction, Training, and Supervision

Workers cannot follow rules they never heard. Employers must:

• Induct new workers and visitors
• Train people for the hazards of their specific tasks
• Provide competent supervision, especially for high-risk or inexperienced crews
• Communicate changes when processes, chemicals, or site layouts change

4. Provide Suitable Equipment and PPE

Tools, machines, and personal protective equipment must be suitable for the risk, maintained in working order, and available in the right sizes. Issuing expired gas detectors or cracked safety helmets does not meet the duty.

5. Provide Welfare Facilities

Basic welfare supports health and dignity: drinking water, sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, rest areas, and first-aid arrangements appropriate to the workforce size and risk profile.

6. Monitor Performance and Improve

Employers should inspect, investigate incidents, track actions to closure, and review whether the HSE-MS is working. Ignoring repeated near misses is a leadership failure.

Employee Duties

Employees (and other workers under site rules) are not passive. Their legal and professional duties typically include:

1. Take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions
2. Cooperate with the employer on HSE measures and lawful instructions
3. Follow procedures, method statements, permits, and site rules
4. Use PPE and safety devices correctly and not interfere with or defeat guards and interlocks
5. Report hazards, defects, near misses, and incidents promptly through the site reporting system
6. Not misuse equipment or substances provided for safety
7. Arrive fit for work — not impaired by alcohol, drugs, or extreme fatigue that creates risk

What Employees Are Not Expected to Do Alone

Employees should not be forced to:

• Design complex engineering controls without competence and authority
• Accept personal risk because production pressure is high
• Hide injuries to protect site statistics
• Work without training for high-risk specialised tasks (for example live electrical work or confined space rescue)

If an employee is given a task beyond their competence, the correct action is to stop and escalate to supervision—not to guess.

Safety Officer / HSE Personnel: Basic Roles

Safety officers, HSE advisors, and similar roles support the organisation. Their exact title varies (HSE Officer, Safety Supervisor, QHSE Coordinator), but basic functions at Level 1 understanding include:

• Advise management and supervisors on hazards, legal requirements, and good practice
• Help develop and maintain procedures, emergency plans, and training materials
• Monitor site conditions through inspections, observations, and audits
• Support incident reporting and investigation and track corrective actions
• Coordinate drills, toolbox talk themes, and induction content
• Promote a positive safety culture and coach workers on safe behaviours
• Interface with regulators, clients, and visitors on HSE matters when assigned

Critical Clarification for the Exam

Line management owns safety performance. The safety officer is usually an advisor and monitor, not the only person responsible for every injury. Supervisors still must plan work safely; workers still must follow rules. Blaming "the safety man" for every failure is a common culture problem—and a wrong exam answer when the question tests shared responsibility.

Shared Responsibility

Shared responsibility means HSE outcomes depend on every layer working together:

• Management sets policy and provides resources
• Supervisors translate plans into safe daily work
• Workers execute safely and provide ground truth through reporting
• HSE staff challenge gaps and help close them
• Contractors integrate into the site system rather than operating as a separate unsafe island

When responsibility is "everyone's and no one's," gaps open. Clear role descriptions, induction, and permit systems reduce those gaps.

Stop-Work Authority

Stop-work authority is the recognised right and expectation that workers (and others) can stop a task when they believe conditions create imminent danger to people, plant, or the environment—until the situation is reassessed and made safe. At Basic HSE level:

• Stop-work is not insubordination when used in good faith for genuine safety concerns
• After stopping, the worker should notify supervision and describe the hazard clearly
• Work restarts only when controls are adequate and authority to resume is given under site rules
• Organisations with mature culture thank people who stop work for real hazards instead of punishing them

Examples where stop-work is appropriate:

• Scaffold with missing platforms and no edge protection
• Confined space entry without gas testing or stand-by person
• Crane lift in high wind beyond the lift plan limits
• Discovery of a hydrocarbon leak during hot work nearby
• Unlabelled chemical drums with strong fumes in a poorly ventilated workshop

Nigerian Workplace Examples

Oil and gas production facility: The employer provides permit-to-work systems and gas detection. Operators follow isolation and permit steps. The HSE officer audits permit quality and coaches on simultaneous operations (SIMOPS). A roustabout stops work when a gas detector alarms during flange breaking—correct shared responsibility in action.

High-rise construction in Abuja or Lagos: The main contractor (employer for the site system) ensures edge protection and fall-arrest arrangements. Subcontractor employees wear harnesses and clip on at height. The site safety officer runs daily inspections of scaffolds. A formwork carpenter refuses to work on an incomplete platform—stop-work protects life.

Manufacturing plant: Management installs machine guards and lock-out/tag-out procedures. Machine operators never bypass interlocks for speed. The safety officer investigates near misses where guards were left open. An electrician reports a damaged cable before the shift starts—employee duty preventing a future shock injury.

Common Role Confusion Traps

Exam Focus

Match duties to the correct party. If a question describes missing training or broken equipment, the employer failed a provision duty. If a worker removes a guard or ignores a permit, the employee failed a care/cooperation duty. If the scenario needs advice, monitoring, or investigation support, look to the safety officer—without removing line management ownership.