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Latest Update: 31st January 2024
- Statement of Intent
1.1 Gotoco Ltd (Gotoco) seeks excellence in all facets of its operations, with a commitment to ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation globally. Specifically, Gotoco is committed to ensuring our operations comply with our legal duty under The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and other applicable health and safety legislation and requirements.
1.2 It is the aim of Gotoco to work proactively to:
1.2.1 Achieve exceptional health and safety standards for all those involved in our programmes.
1.2.2 Eliminate hazards and reduce risks associated with our workplaces and the activities conducted on our programmes.
1.2.3 Prioritise the health, safety, and welfare of staff, partners, coordinators, participants, and the wider public.
1.2.4 Actively consult with our coordinators and participants to encourage an open attitude toward health and safety, fostering hazard identification and reporting, and an awareness of personal responsibilities.
1.2.5 Provide the financial and physical resources to ensure high health, safety, and welfare standards.
1.2.6 Realise staff and coordinator empowerment through quality information, instruction, training, and supervision, fostering competence and confidence in their work.
1.3 To achieve these aims, Gotoco will implement a documented health and safety management system. The continuous evaluation and improvement of our health and safety management system by our senior leadership will ensure that it aligns with Gotoco’s values and stakeholder expectations. We consider the legal requirements in the UK and our programme destinations to be only the minimum standard to be achieved.
1.4 This statement represents our overarching commitment to providing a safe working environment, and guides our specific policies and practices related to health and safety. It is accessible to all Gotoco coordinators, participants, international partners and interested parties through our website (https://www.go-to.co/health-and-safety-policy/). This statement, along with the below working arrangements and responsibilities, represents our commitment to transparency and accountability.
1.5 In accordance with health and safety legislation, this policy will be reviewed on a regular basis.
- Responsibilities for health and safety
2.1 All staff, coordinators, participants, and partners have a personal responsibility in regard to their own, colleagues’, and others’ health and safety.
2.2 The following individuals have specific responsibilities towards to the management of health and safety measures regarding staff, coordinators, participants, and the general public:
2.2.1 Overall and final responsibility for health and safety: Richard Lloyd (Director)
2.2.2 Day-to-day responsibility for ensuring this policy is put into practice: Gideon Leather (Health and Safety Coordinator)
2.3 Responsibility for the implementation of health and safety measures has been delegated to programme coordinators to ensure that this policy, as well as the associated procedures, risk control measures, and contingent action, is understood and applied across our programmes in collaboration with local hosts and international partners. All programme coordinators should lead by example and actively promote responsible attitudes towards health and safety by:
2.3.1 Conducting thorough risk assessments, documenting assessments, and applying relevant control measures;
2.3.2 Prioritising health and safety considerations during the planning stages of any activities conducted on behalf of Gotoco;
2.3.3 Promptly reporting and investigating all incidents to identify areas for learning and improvements to enhance safety;
2.3.4 Regularly assessing the effectiveness of the health and safety system;
2.3.5 Fostering a culture of health and safety with participants, other Gotoco coordinators, and international partners by encouraging hazard identification and reporting, and an awareness of personal responsibilities;
2.3.6 Ensuring relevant incidents are promptly escalated to relevant members of the management team listed above and that incident reporting procedures are followed.
2.4 Participants on our programmes should:
2.4.1 Report any health and safety concerns to their programme coordinators, or members of the management team listed above;
2.4.2 Take reasonable care of their own health and safety;
2.4.3 Take reasonable care of their fellow participants, coordinators, colleagues and international hosts;
2.4.4 Cooperate with Gotoco in the implementation of our health and safety control measures, and at all times follow Gotoco’s code of conduct.
2.5 All participants are expected to uphold programme expectations as detailed in their ‘Gotoco’er Pledge’ and the ‘Participant Code of Conduct’. These documents outline our expectations that participants engage in risk assessing at all times and take ownership of their own safety. These documents are written in clear, plain, simple English to ensure that all those participating in our programmes understand our procedures and expectations in regards to health and safety.
- Arrangements for health and safety
3.1 This policy applies to all Gotoco staff, coordinators, participants, and international partners.
3.2 Our latest company wide risk assessment is accessible to all Gotoco staff, coordinators, participants, international partners, and interested parties through our website (https://www.go-to.co/risk-assessment/)
3.3 Our health and safety policy and its associated procedures are continuously monitored and reviewed by our senior leadership team. We employ the following methods to ensure the continuous improvement of our health and safety practices:
3.3.1 All health and safety issues are reported to the individuals detailed in section 2.2.
3.3.2 The individuals detailed in 2.2 are to consider any necessary updates to our risk assessment procedures and control measures following all reported incidents.
3.3.3 Review of this policy on a twice-yearly basis.
3.3.4 Review of our company-wide risk assessment on a twice-yearly basis.
3.3.5 Continuous active monitoring of our programmes by our coordinators.
3.3.6 Continuous oversight by the senior leadership team, including timely reviews of incident reports and policy updates.
3.4 We are committed to ensuring our programme coordinators are provided with exceptional training and supervision to enable them to carry out their work safely and effectively by:
3.4.1 Ensuring all new and existing programme coordinators are provided with training covering the implementation of this policy.
3.4.2 Providing our programme coordinators with extensive training in conducting risk assessments during their programmes.
3.5 Gotoco is committed to transparency and accountability. We will ensure that this policy and any updates to our health and safety procedures are effectively communicated to all those participating and delivering our programmes. In line with this commitment:
3.5.1 All Gotoco staff and coordinators will be made aware of this policy via Gotoco’s risk assessment training.
3.5.2 Gotoco participants will be made aware of this policy via pre-departure meetings and / or the programme orientation.
3.5.3 This policy is available for reference to all coordinators and participants through our website (https://www.go-to.co/health-and-safety-policy/)
3.5.4 The individuals detailed in 2.2 are responsible for communicating updates regarding this policy and its associated procedures via staff memos, team meetings, or additional training, as deemed necessary.