Outsourcing Your Health, Safety and Environment

More and more organisations are discovering the benefits of outsourcing their safety and environment work to specialists. By law you cannot delegate "responsibility" for health and safety but you can outsource virtually all other aspects to competent, professional people.

There are many practical benefits to adopting this approach, not least of which is that by selecting a support company that is well-established and is able to clearly demonstrate competency, you go a long way to fulfilling your duties under Health and Safety legislation.

Benefits of Outsourcing

In almost 20 years of practical experience, we have seen organisations benefit in a variety of ways from outsourcing the management of Health and Safety. Included amongst these are:

You can reduce headcount and not concern yourself with recruitment, training and absences in an area that is not your specialism.
Budgetary arrangements are more flexible as you transfer costs from fixed to variable. We can work with you to develop a work plan that fits within your financial constraints.
You can avoid distraction and concentrate on your core business activities. This is not to neglect the importance of safety or the environment because you know they are in safe hands. You can be confident that you will be informed immediately when issues arise that need your attention. Meanwhile, you and your staff are freed to concentrate on the performance of your core business.
As a professional company that specialises in health, safety and environment, we work efficiently and provide the level of resource that is appropriate for all circumstances. Consequently, our outsourcing services can be a particularly cost-effective option.
You can call on our breadth of experience, drawn from many organisations in a variety of sectors when dealing with issues of health, safety or the environment. Consequently, our proposed solutions are well proven, efficient and represent value-for-money.
Because we are a specialist consultancy, when faced with an emergency or urgent requirement, we have the resources available to provide a fast and flexible response.
Engaging professionally qualified consultants reduces the likelihood and impact of a possible conviction under health and safety legislation such as the Corporate Manslaughter Act, thereby safeguarding the reputation of your business and individuals.
Our aim is to forget strong relationships with each of our clients that are built on trust and personal commitment at every level. The result is that our clients have increasing confidence in the quality and standard of the services we provide. Ultimately, we want to grow with you and be part of your success.


In addition to the benefits listed above, the major advantage of outsourcing to a supplier like EDP is that you gain access to wider Health, Safety and Environment services. We are able to provide an outsourced package of services at considerably less cost than you would incur for each of the services if contracted on a "stand-alone" basis.

Exploring Options

You may be considering outsourcing health safety and environment work, not because you are dissatisfied with your existing arrangements, but because you need to manage costs more effectively in the current economic climate.

Depending on circumstances, outsourcing health, safety and environment activities can mean different things to different organisations. For example:

You may already have an established in-house facility that you wish to transfer (perhaps including existing staff) to a third party consultancy.
You may wish to contract out all the activities associated with health, safety and environment, but retain your own staff for other roles within your organisation.
You may need to set up a complete management system for health and safety from scratch using external consultants.
We are able to satisfy any of these scenarios or any combination of them.


We appreciate that you are looking for a competent, low-risk and cost-effective solution for your health, safety and environment responsibilities. To achieve this, we typically begin with an assessment of your existing systems in order to understand your organisation’s health safety and environment risk profile. This helps us to propose the most appropriate package of services for your organisation.

We appreciate that outsourcing for many clients involves a major step of faith. For this reason we emphasise the need to build confidence and relationship from the start.

Implications and Challenges

Experience indicates that there are implications and potential challenges to address when considering outsourcing.

Whilst you may have considered the issues in general, there are some issues that are related specifically with health and safety that should be taken into account, for example:

Under health and safety legislation, the employer always has ultimate responsibility to provide competent health and safety for employees and others who may be affected by your organisation’s activities. This responsibility cannot be delegated or outsourced to anyone. However, by delegating the management of health and safety to a competent and reputable consultancy, you have effectively discharged your duty.
It is vital that the contract is clearly defined for delivery of basic services that are essential for managing day-to-day health and safety activities. There should also be a facility within the contract to call in additional resources, over and above those originally envisaged, to cater for unforeseen events and circumstances. Such arrangements are likely to have implications on the calculation of costs.
Outsourcing, may result in some loss of “in-house” expertise in regard to the processes and procedures associated with health and safety and the organisation’s environmental activities. It is all the more important, therefore, to select a supplier with a proven record of accomplishment, who is able to demonstrate values that are consistent with your own.
A third party provider may seek to introduce procedures or practices that are inconsistent with your own culture or preferences. It is important, therefore, that your chosen supplier should be sensitive to the particular requirements of your organisation and be able to operate within any constraints that may arise.


We have many years of experience in setting up and operating outsourcing arrangements in a variety of sectors and with organisations both large and small. We are in an enviable position, therefore, to discuss your requirements, to point out potential pitfalls and to help guide you around them.

Managing the Transition

Regardless of who undertakes your day-to-day health, safety and environment operations, to be truly effective, there must be commitment and leadership from the top of your organisation. In addition, you have a legal obligation to ensure health and safety are properly represented at Boardroom level.

This commitment at senior level is never more important than when managing the transition to outsourced arrangements and then for providing ongoing strategic direction.

Outsourcing arrangements for health, safety and environment activities can involve significant changes to practices, procedures and accountability. It is highly advisable, therefore, that the whole change process should be fully discussed, negotiated and managed throughout.

Good relationship management with open dialogue are needed for a smooth transition and to ensure that misunderstandings are minimized.

Taking the First Step

Talking to one of our advisors doesn't cost anything and could reveal a compelling list of reasons why outsourcing your health, safety and environment, or any part of it, is the right option for you.

Call us on 01744 766000 or email us to arrange an appointment. There is no obligation and you have everything to gain.