Safety Organisation

The Safety Executive Group (SEG) is responsible for providing active and visible leadership for the University’s safety management system and safety culture.  It reports directly to Council and is supported by:

• the Safety Network, an extensive community of practice comprising professional advisers and other safety role-holders
• the Consultative Committee for Health and Safety (CCHS)

These three groups work closely together to provide leadership, strategic oversight and direction. SEG has approved several Guidance Notes, which have been formally adopted into Health & Safety Policy.

View the SEG Guidance Notes

Membership

SEG has two co-chairs – Gill Aitken, The Registrar, and Martin Maiden, Professor of Molecular Epidemiology, Zoology. Read Martin’s blog about his ambitions for the EveryDaySafe programme.

Its membership also includes senior leaders of the University’s safety, assurance and finance functions, divisional registrars and academic representatives.

Five themes

SEG’s remit covers five themes:

• People
• Research
• Education
• Implementation of policies
• Estate and environment

Its membership will also include senior leaders in these areas and it will work in partnership with related committees that have an interest in safety-related matters.

You can see more details in the diagram below and on the University’s governance website.

The Safety Network is an extensive community of practice comprising professional safety advisers and other safety role-holders. Its purpose is to provide advice and support to all areas of the University. This is an example of the Communities of Practice at Oxford model that the People and Organisational Development team have been developing as part of the Professional Services Together initiative launched by the Registrar in March 2022.

It is co-ordinated by the Safety Office with key roles for the area and divisional safety officers, and the Estates Services compliance team.

Those in the Network are kept informed and engaged by the Safety Network Newsletter, which is distributed to members every six weeks. Email everydaysafe@admin.ox.ac.uk if you would like to join the newsletter mailing list. The Safety Network Conference, which first ran in March 2024, also provides an opportunity for safety colleagues to meet, share experiences and gain information and support.

The Consultative Committee for Health & Safety (CCHS) has four important priorities:

• Consultation – managing processes for obtaining feedback on proposed changes to the health and safety arrangements for trade unions and other stakeholders
• Communications – considering communications issues and ensuring that communications support for the safety management system is relevant and effective
• Culture – similarly considering how to influence and achieve an improved safety culture across the University
• Open channel – supporting the SEG by providing feedback on any of these issues

You can find more information about CCHS on the University’s governance website.