health & saFety

Health & Safety

Ensuring your club or fishery has a clear health and safety policy in place is increasingly important and we are here to help guide you and inform you of what is required.

A fishery, club or riparian owner providing a service for anglers and others has a duty of care to staff, volunteers, customers and members.

This duty of care is defined as ‘a moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or wellbeing of others’. It means you must take all reasonable measures to protect those using your fishery or members of your club, from foreseeable harm.

This may appear onerous, but your duty of care can easily be discharged if you take all reasonable steps to mitigate for, or raise awareness of, any hazards that could result in harm.

We have put together a comprehensive suite of guidance that will further explain your responsibilities, the legislation and how it may apply to you, cover the basic steps of Risk Assessment, and likely hazards.

Volunteering

Volunteers are the life blood of angling. There isn’t an angling club in the land that doesn’t depend on volunteers in one form or another to keep them running and there is every chance that you are nodding along as you read this because you are a volunteer yourself! Whether it’s committee members, bailiffs, work parties, or website and social media helpers, volunteers are essential but subject to certain legislation. For this reason, angling organisations must be aware of the legalities and ethics involved, protecting both the organisation and volunteer. An awareness of best practice will better equip clubs to provide the best volunteering experience.

This guide covers the key aspects of working with volunteers, providing advice, and signposting further information.

Download a copy: anglingtrust.net/wp-content/ uploads/2023/05/GV01-Volunteer-BestPractice-Guidance-for-Clubs-v2.0-Apr-231.pdf

Essential resources for Clubs and Fisheries

The following documents can be accessed via the Clubs and Fisheries Resources section of the Angling Trust website:

Health & Safety Handbook anglingtrust.net/wp-content/ uploads/2022/05/PD36a-HealthSafety-Handbook-Angling-TrustFish-Legal-Jan-2022.pdf

Health & Safety Guidance Notes anglingtrust.net/wp-content/ uploads/2022/05/Health-SafetyGuidance-Notes.pdf

Detailed Risk Assessment anglingtrust.net/wp-content/ uploads/2023/01/Angling-TrustRisk-Assessment.docx

For further information visit the Clubs and Fisheries Resources section of the Angling Trust website: anglingtrust.net/club-resources/