A Simple Guide to Risk Management. for Gyms and Health Clubs

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1 A Simple Guide to Risk Management for Gyms and Health Clubs

2 Today, anyone responsible for running a gym and health club, or thinking of doing so, needs to be fully aware of the challenges facing them.

3 Contents 5. Introduction 6. Overview of accidents in gyms The Four Ps of Risk Management People 9. Induction training 10. First aid 13. Employment disputes 14. Fitness instructors and personal trainers (freelance and employees) Premises Paper 17. Maintenance of equipment 18. Signage 20. Fire safety 23. Business continuity planning 24. Health and safety policy 27. Accident reporting (including RIDDOR) 28. Risk assessments 30. Record keeping Practical Measures 33. Unmanned gyms and 24-hour gyms 34. Children in gyms 37. Outdoor activities 38. Swimming pools and wet areas 43. Sunbeds 44. Beauty treatments 47. Top 10 tips for gym operators 48. Company profiles 50. Useful contacts 51. Links and further reading 3

4 This guide will assist operators in identifying many of the main risks facing them.

5 Introduction For well over a decade, Independents have arranged insurances for gyms and health clubs right across the UK. Not surprisingly, we have encountered the extremes of good practice and bad practice and one of our main aims in producing this guide is to share our knowledge and experience for the benefit of gym and health club operators. Today, anyone responsible for running a gym and health club, or thinking of doing so, needs to be fully aware of the challenges facing them. Demanding statutory obligations as well as the possibility of claims in this highly litigious society, make it essential that operators remain legally compliant and implement suitable and sufficient risk control measures. This guide will assist operators in identifying many of the main risks facing them. It highlights the key points to be considered and when appropriate it gives practical advice and shares best practice on how to manage these risks. Recently the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) introduced a new strategy called Managing for health and safety prescribing a new structure called Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA). Guidance relating to Managing Health and Safety can be found on the HSE website managing. For simplicity in this guide, we break it all down into our Four Ps of Risk Management (People, Premises, Paper and Practical Measures). This brief guide does not go into great detail on individual subjects. For this reason, we have provided many references and links to organisations, books and websites so that much more detailed specialist information and advice can be accessed. It is a legal requirement for operators to have access to competent health and safety advice. This can be provided through internal resourcing; however we believe operators should also consider the use of a specialist health & safety consultant, ideally with experience of working with gym and health club operators. In addition to keeping you updated on important issues and changes in law and regulation, they also provide hands-on assistance with health & safety planning, implementation, testing and auditing. We hope that this guide will be a convenient and practical reference point and that our advice enables you to navigate the potential minefields of statutory obligations and litigation. The Independents Team 5

6 Overview of accidents in gyms Whilst the temptation might be to focus on what are considered the unusual or perceived high risk activities, the facts show that the majority of accidents are from mundane everyday gym usage. For every 600 near misses, there is likely to be one fatality and ten major accidents. Reducing near misses means that the risk of fatality or major injury will accordingly be significantly reduced. Our experience of dealing with claims in the health and fitness sector highlights the most common cause of accidents which lead to personal injury claims are slips, trips and falls. These can occur in the shower and changing areas, in car parks, in studios, on stairs and on the gym floor (particularly the free weights area). Some of these accidents are preventable, but many of them are not and therefore having the right procedures in place to defend a claim and be compliant with Health and Safety Regulations are essential. The sections on H&S policy, record keeping, risk assessments, signage and accident reporting are all relevant to this. The other common causes of claims are as follows: Faulty or poorly maintained equipment Negligent instruction or inadequate training / induction User Error (Can still be a valid claim if the operator has not taken the right measures) 6

7 The most common cause of accidents which lead to personal injury claims are slips, trips and falls.