Executive Summary: Statement of Practice: staff responsibilities for student health and safety
in activities related to academic work
Executive Summary: Statement of Practice to clarify staff responsibilities for
student health and safety in activities related to academic work
This statement is an extension of the Health and Safety Policy and sets out staff
responsibilities for students‟ health and safety in academic related activities. These have
been in place since the 1974 Health and Safety at Work etc Act and cannot be put aside or
passed on. See the full Statement for the detail of your responsibilities..
There is a „mutual duty of care‟ relationship between the University and its students around
activities relating to academic work that students undertake. These could be in University
buildings or other situations and relate directly to lectures, laboratory or workshop practicals,
fieldwork and study abroad. Further support and advice is available from your Health and
Safety Manager.
What are my responsibilities for students’ health and safety?
All staff:
General and equal duty of care – all staff represent the University and so must take
reasonable care of students (and fellow staff and visitors). This means you must co-
operate with the University on health and safety and implement the standards and
procedures found at www.leeds.ac.uk/safety.
Emergency procedures – If a student becomes unwell or has an accident, you
should call a First Aider or Security, then report accidents using local procedures
through Sentinel, the online system. If emergency alarms sound, you should guide
students (and visitors) to the appropriate assembly point and report any issues that
may arise to the Fire Wardens or University Fire Safety Managers.
Specific responsibilities for staff supervising students:
When a student is under your supervision you acquire certain health and
safety responsibilities; primary amongst these is the need to ensure that risks
to students are controlled in line with the general duty of care.
The best way to ensure this is by doing an effective risk assessment and
putting in place any control measures you identify as necessary.
In particular, you must ensure that students receive supervision and
induction that is appropriate to the nature of their work, the risks involved and
their experience. You should make sure these are recorded.
The exact level of your duty of care depends on the identified risk to students in
each situation, and the students‟ experience and competence, e.g.:
o Undergraduate and taught Postgraduate students – you should offer them
a general duty of care including „such supervision as is necessary‟.
o Vulnerable adults, students aged 16-18 or under 16 – are owed a greater
duty of care based on their individual experience and understanding.
o Postgraduate/ Postgraduate Research students – when undertaking paid
“work” for the University (e.g. demonstrations/ tutorials) they are classed as
staff. As such you should manage rather than supervise them and give them
extra support and training as they are not necessarily knowledgeable about
University systems and procedures. Whilst doing research they may still be
seen as staff but you cannot assume they are competent; you must actually
make a decision that this is the case, which is why induction and ongoing
adequate supervision is crucial.