Risk Assessment for volunteer staff member, wheelchair user

HGMartinHouse
HGMartinHouse Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
edited December 2021 in Work
Hello there,

I'm the volunteer coordinator for a charity where we have a number of charity shops in Yorkshire. We've had an enquiry from a lovely member of the public about helping as a volunteer in one of our shops, and she is a wheelchair user. So what I'm needing to do is have the shop risk assessed for a volunteer who uses a wheelchair. We have a duty of care for our volunteers that's different to our customers as it would include use of our onsite toilet facilities and assisting with sorting donated stock.

We also have a duty of care which is slightly different to our paid staff. 

I wonder whether anyone on this forum could advise me in how and who can risk assess this kind of activity? Our own health and safety team have asked me to look into it.

Thank you!

Comments

  • Alex_Alumni
    Alex_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,538 Championing
    Hi @HGMartinHouse and welcome to the community. Thanks for your query!

    One piece of advice I can offer from a health & safety perspective, and as a wheelchair user, is that the volunteer you mention will probably need to have a 'PEEP' or personal emergency evacuation plan, discussed and agreed on between yourselves, on how to evacuate in the event of a fire. You can find more information from Worksafe UK here

    While my reply isn't comprehensive, to help with further answers, I've marked your post as unanswered so that our members can find it more easily. I've also moved it into our Work and Employment category and changed the title slightly.

    Don't hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.

    Alex
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Online Community Member Posts: 21,922 Championing
    Hi there 

    I would start with the local council or health and safety executive 
  • HGMartinHouse
    HGMartinHouse Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    Fab and thank you for coming back to me so quickly!
  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,611 Championing
    I'm glad the above replies have been helpful @HGMartinHouse, you'll have to let us know how you get on, and I'm sure any other members will offer their insight too if they have an idea :) 
  • HGMartinHouse
    HGMartinHouse Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
    Will do! And also if our H&S lead gains any information too.