OCCUPATION HEALTH CHECKLIST FOR HAZARD-SPECIFIC / SAFETY-CRITICAL POSTS
REQUIRING ADDITIONAL PRE-EMPLOYMENT HEALTH SCREENING
Please use this checklist when writing a job description to help identify that the role will involve any specific hazards or duties that are safety-critical. Once a successful candidate has been identified, a pre-employment health questionnaire including the additional sections for the specific hazards must be sent to the prospective employee for completion.
Job title: Department: Date:
Duty / hazard: Include in the job description, and further information: Tick
Contact with patients
Exposure Prone
Procedures
Include:

Staff working in clinical areas with direct patient contact

Staff in laboratories where patients attend for investigations or research purposes

Staff requiring Honorary NHS Contracts.
Do not include for staff based on hospital sites with no direct contact with patients.
Include where:
 The worker’s gloved hands may be in contact with sharp instruments, needle tips or sharp tissue
(e.g. spicules of bone or teeth) and
 Inside a patient’s open body cavity, wound or confined anatomical space where the hands or fingertips may not be completely visible at all times.
Includes serum, saliva, tissue, cadavers. Handling human blood, blood products, tissues
Hazard group 2/3 pathogens
Work with sensitisers / requiring health surveillance
Regular manual handling or physical demands
State if the person will be directly:

involved in handling cultures of Hazard Group 2 or 3 pathogens, or

handling samples which may contain pathogens, or

working with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) classified as class 2 or class 3 projects on the basis of their risk to human health .
Include if individual will be working regularly with:

Animals

Colonies of insects for research purposes

Shared use of laboratory where others work with live animals

Metalworking fluids

Solder, epoxy resins, glutaraldehyde or other chemical sensitisers

Machining of hardwoods

Regular exposure to noise in excess of 85dbA
Do not include if work is confined to non-mammalian animal species outside of animal facilities .
If there is no current surveillance programme set up for the work which you think requires surveillance contact the OH service to discuss this.
Any work that has significant regular physical demands e.g. repetitive lifting.
Please specify any essential lifting activities (state weights), walking between sites etc.
Safety-critical work
Activities with risk to others
Safety-critical work - driving
Regular work which poses a significant risk of injury to self or others in the event of sudden illness or loss of function by the person carrying out the work. Include, if there is regular:

Use of ladders

Work at height

Work in confined spaces

Operating heavy lifting equipment

Operating workshop machinery

Manipulating unsealed radioactive material

Using chemicals posing risk of significant injury or harm to health if spilt
Include if individual will be responsible for fire evacuation, security or on-call for emergencies.
Laboratory-based work will not usually be classed as safety-critical unless it includes one or more of the features above.
Include if the person is regularly required to drive a University vehicle in order to carry out their duties; includes use of mechanised pallet trucks, forklifts etc.
Do not include if driving is confined to personal vehicle use to travel between work locations.
Regular work between 11pm and 6am. Safety-critical work
– lone / night work
Open food handling
Class 3b /4 lasers
Include if the person’s work will involve touching unwrapped foods to be consumed raw or to undergo further cooking.
Do not include if the only foods handled are drinks/wrapped food e.g. packaged sandwiches & biscuits.
Clearly indicate laser safety class in job description.
Last updated: December 2014