Health and Safety Policy — Gardeners Millbank

Gardeners Millbank is committed to providing a safe working environment for employees, contractors and clients while delivering professional garden services. This Health and Safety policy sets out the aims, responsibilities and practical measures we adopt to manage risks across all our gardening, landscape and grounds maintenance activities. The policy applies to every member of staff and to subcontractors engaged by our gardening team, whether providing routine garden maintenance Millbank or one-off landscaping works.

Our objectives are to prevent accidents and work-related ill health, to reduce the environmental impact of operations and to continually improve our performance. Responsibility for effective safety management lies with senior management, while every employee has a duty to work safely and report hazards. The company promotes a culture where safety is integral to the planning and delivery of every task, from hedge cutting and lawn care to tree work and paving.

To manage risk we carry out systematic risk assessments before work starts and whenever site conditions change. Assessments identify hazards such as manual handling, working at height, machinery use, chemical handling and public access. Controls are implemented using the hierarchy of measures: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and appropriate personal protective equipment. Our risk process is tailored for Millbank gardeners who routinely operate in domestic, communal and commercial settings.

All staff receive induction training that covers core safety procedures, equipment operation and emergency response. Further role-specific instruction is provided for operators of ride-on mowers, petrol-driven tools, chainsaws and elevated working platforms. Competence is assessed and recorded; training includes safe manual handling techniques, the correct use of personal protective equipment and the safe storage and application of plant protection products and fertilisers.

PPE and protective measures are a central control for many garden tasks. Our standard issue and required items include:

• Safety boots with ankle support and steel toe as required
• High-visibility clothing for work near roads or communal access
• Cut-resistant gloves and chainsaw protective trousers where applicable
• Eye and ear protection for strimming, hedge cutting and machinery use

The company enforces PPE use and ensures equipment is maintained and replaced as needed. We use signage and barriers for public protection, particularly when working near footpaths or driveways, and maintain clear exclusion zones around hazardous activities.

All tools and machinery are subject to routine pre-use checks and scheduled maintenance. Portable appliance testing and documented servicing regimes are in place for electrical equipment, generators and petrol-powered machinery. Safe systems of work are established for tree work, including canopy assessments, method statements and where required, the use of qualified arborists. Waste management follows best practice for the safe disposal of green waste, oil-contaminated materials and empty chemical containers.

In the event of an incident or near miss, staff are required to stop work, secure the area and report the occurrence to line management immediately. The company maintains trained first-aiders and first aid kits appropriate to the scale of operations, and ensures that emergency arrangements are clearly communicated to all teams. Accident reporting, investigation and corrective action procedures are used to prevent recurrence.

Monitoring and continual improvement are achieved through regular audits, site inspections and review meetings. Performance indicators include incident trends, training completion rates and equipment inspection records. The policy is reviewed at least annually and updated when operational changes, new equipment or legislation affect our activities. Our commitment is to ensure that Garden Care and gardening operations provided by Gardeners Millbank meet high standards of health, safety and environmental stewardship, and that every worker returns home safe and healthy each day.