1.   Purpose of this code of conduct

·       To contribute towards a constructive and pleasant atmosphere in which to volunteer.

·        To ensure all volunteers know what behaviour they have the right to expect from other volunteers.

·       To ensure that all volunteers know what behaviour is expected of them whilst volunteering with Great Lever Connected (GLC).

2.   Respect for Others

All volunteers will: –

·       Treat others fairly and equally

·       Not discriminate unlawfully against any person

·       Allow others to express themselves and understand that all views are important even if they are not the same as their
own, as long as no offence is caused even if unintentionally. 

·       Speak to the volunteer co-ordinator in the first instance if they have any issues with the work or other volunteers.

3.   Equal Opportunities

 A volunteer must: –

·       Understand, respect and work always without prejudice to age, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy,
disability, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

·       Understand all forms of discrimination, including bullying and harassment are unacceptable and contravene the GLC Equality Policy

·       Perform his or her duties with integrity, impartiality, objectivity, and a positive attitude.

Volunteers should: –

·       Work together and help each other wherever possible.

·       Be on time and prepared for meetings and sessions.

·       Switch off mobiles or if necessary, put on silent when attending meetings or sessions.

·       Adhere to Great Lever Connected Confidentiality Policy

·       Present a positive image of Great Lever Connected at all times including on social media.

If a volunteer including a committee member does not adhere to Great Lever Connected Code of Conduct this could
result in: –

·       An informal chat

·       A letter

·       Being asked to withdraw from the project.

A Volunteer can challenge any of the above decisions in line with Great Lever Connected Grievance Procedure.

If a volunteer signs this Code of Conduct, they can expect to: –

·       Be praised where and when it is due.

·       Be treated fairly and with respect by all others.

·       Be listened to and have their views considered when performing tasks.

·       Work in a positive and friendly environment

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

General statement of policy

Great Lever Connected (GLC) is working towards a comprehensive Health and Safety Policy and follow the Health and Safety at Work Act for guidance. This lays down certain duties on all volunteers.

All volunteers have a duty to take care of their own safety and that of other volunteers and visitors and to co-operate with the committee and its officers to enable it to carry out its responsibilities.

 Volunteers have a duty to:

·        work safely, efficiently and without endangering the health and safety of themselves, their colleagues or any other person who has a right of access to the premises at any time,

·        adhere to safety procedures laid down by the landlord (Be One Homes(BOH)) and GLC from time to time, and conform to all instructions given by those with a responsibility for health and safety,

·        record all accidents, near miss occurrences and hazardous situations and report to the next staff meeting, any instances that may be subject to RIDDOR must be reported to the HSO or a committee member as soon as practicable,

·        follow the Health and Safety at Work Act for guidance, specifically Section 8 of the Act, which states that “no person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare in pursuance of any of the relevant statutory provisions”.

 1.        Organisation and responsibilities

 1.1          Committee

 Overall and final health and safety responsibility within the organisation lies with the Committee. The Committee shall appoint one person, as Health and Safety Officer (HSO), who will take the responsibility for drawing to the attention of the Committee and volunteers any health and safety matters that need to be discussed and/or acted upon.

The current nominated HSO is Shaun Matthews (Chair).

1.2          Delegated responsibilities

The HSO shall be given delegated responsibility for

ensuring that the Health and Safety policy is carried out within the organisation.  

They will be given delegated responsibility for:

·        carrying out regular safety inspections in the spaces utilised by GLC,

·        investigating and reporting accidents,

·        making staff and office volunteers aware of the specific fire escapes and fire extinguishers within the building,

·        ensuring staff and volunteers are given a copy of this Policy and understand its contents; ensuring that staff and volunteers are made familiar with the alarm systems within the building and action to be taken in the event of a fire,

·        drawing to the attention of the Committee and volunteers any new legislation on health and safety relevant to the work of GLC,

·        drawing to the Committee’s attention any matters with which s/he is unable to deal.

1.3          ALL Office Volunteers

All office volunteers have a responsibility to:

·        read and fully understand the GLC statement and the procedures to be carried out in the event of an emergency. If there is any doubt about the meaning, staff must seek clarification from the HSO,

·        co-operate with BOH the Committee, other GLC volunteers and other centre users as appropriate, to achieve a healthy and safe workplace and to take reasonable care of themselves and others,

·        report to GLC within 24 hours any accident occurring:

–       on the premises

–       off the premises whilst acting on behalf of GLC

• bring to the notice of GLC any potentially dangerous circumstances that the volunteer is unable to put right.

1.4          Review

The HSO in conjunction with the Committee, will keep this Policy under constant review to reflect any changes in legislation. The Policy will be fully reviewed every 3 years and will be subject to approval by the Committee.

2.        General arrangements

2.1      Accidents, near-miss occurrences, and hazardous situations.

All incidents, no matter how small, must be recorded and reported to Be One Homes as soon as possible after the incident, it is equally important to report near misses and potential hazards to enable preventative action to be taken.

It is the responsibility of the HSO to ensure that any necessary follow up action is taken to reduce the risk of the accident or near accident reoccurring.

The HSO is responsible for reporting incidents which come within the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases & Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), to the Health and Safety Executive. RIDDOR covers the following incidents:

(a)      fatal accidents

(b)      major injury accidents/conditions

(c)      dangerous occurrences

(d)      accidents causing more than 7 days incapacity for work

(e)      certain work-related diseases.

A First Aid kit (managed by BOH) is available in the kitchen, and a second kit (provided by GLC) is available in the computer suite.

2.2      General fire safety

The HSO undertakes a Fire Risk Assessment for the building. BOH require all groups to have a trained Fire Warden on duty during their sessions.  Occasionally free Fire Warden training will be provided on behalf of BOH

All staff must also read and understand the Fire Procedure. A fire notice is in each room.

3.        Personal safety

3.1      Staff or volunteers who are working on their own should not allow access to casual visitors who have no appointment.

3.2      All windows and entry doors will be lockable.

3.4      Staff should inform the Data Manager who they wish to be contacted in the event of an emergency giving contact details. Recorded in personnel file.

3.5      Staff should never put themselves at risk on account of GLC or personal property.

3.6      All incidents of aggression or violence and any threat to personal safety should be reported to the Chair or Committee member and reported to Bolton at Home.

3.7      Staff should be vigilant with regards to terrorist incident warnings – e.g. unattended bags.

4.        Stress management

4.1      Stress is a serious issue: people can suffer severe medical problems, which can result in under-performance, and cause major disruptions to the organisation.

Volunteers should become aware of the causes of stress and ensure that they do not work in a way which could cause them to suffer an increase in stress, nor cause an increase in stress on others.

If a volunteer is suffering from stress, they can discuss this with a committee officer at the first opportunity. Where practicable and reasonable, GLC will seek to help the volunteer.

GLC will do all it can to eradicate problems relating to stress.

Great Lever Connected

Great Lever Connected is a community-driven organisation aimed at fostering connections and creating opportunities within the Great Lever area. We focus on enhancing social cohesion, supporting local development, and providing resources or programs to empower residents.  We work to address local needs, celebrate cultural diversity, and encourage active participation from the community.

Introduction

We acknowledge that children, young people and adults at risk can be the victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. We accept the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant of Human Rights, which states that everyone is entitled to “all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.

We recognise that all adults working or volunteering in our space, who come into contact with children, young people and adults at risk in their work, have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare and therefore need to be competent, confident and safe to do so.   

Policy and practice guidelines

• We will ensure that all staff and volunteers working with children, young people or adults at risk, are carefully selected including appropriate DBS checks, have appropriate references and understand and accept their responsibility for the safety of children, young people and adults at risk in their care.
• Where team members do not have direct contact with children, young people or adults at risk, we understand that we are not eligible to request a criminal records check. Should our work require the participation of children, young people, or adult at risk, it would always be in the company of a responsible adult known to the child, young person or adult at risk.
• We will raise the awareness of safeguarding issues amongst our staff and volunteers through the provision of training and regular updates to risk assessments.
• We will respond swiftly and appropriately to all suspicions or allegations of abuse, and to ensure confidential information is restricted to the appropriate external agencies.
• We will ensure that the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk is of paramount importance, regardless of age, gender, ability or race, when planning, organising and delivering activities.

• We will effectively manage the risks associated with activities and events involving children, young people and vulnerable adults by completing a risk assessment process to identify risks and means of reducing or eliminating these.
• We will implement the required actions identified by the risk assessment process and review the effectiveness of these on a regular basis.
• We will require new employees and individuals involved in working with children, young people and adults at risk to familiarise themselves with the content of this policy.

 Responsibilities

The Management undertakes to:

• endorse and follow all national and local safeguarding legislation and procedures, in addition to the international conventions outlined above.
• support the Safeguarding Manager in their work and in any action they may need to take in order to protect children, young people and adults at risk with care and support needs.
• consider safeguarding in all appointments of staff and volunteers.
• ensure all staff and volunteers are aware of their roles and responsibilities under this safeguarding policy as a part of their induction.

The Safeguarding Manager undertakes to:

• ensure that staff and volunteers are able to discuss safeguarding, child protection and abuse issues confidentially and receive guidance and support on action if situations arise.
• ensure the Safeguarding policy is fully implemented and that procedures to support the policy are set up as outlined, complied with and communicated.
• ensure that safeguarding issues are dealt with appropriately and referrals are made to the relevant external agencies.
• ensure staff and volunteers undertake appropriate and required safeguarding training as relevant to their role.
• ensure that safeguarding implications are reviewed as part of a risk assessment process and that all risks are mitigated.

Staff and volunteers undertake to:

• Adhere to all the requirements of this safeguarding policy.

Adoption of the policy

This policy was agreed by the leadership on 17/02/2025 and will be reviewed annually prior to the Annual General Meeting.