General Information for All Staff Health & Safety Courses

1. A minimum of 5 participants are required to run a course. Courses will be held subject to viability/value for money.
2. Participants on practical courses must adhere to requirements as outlined re. suitable clothing, notification of injuries, ill-health, pregancy - see note 5 below.
3. Nominal costs are chargeable to Colleges/Schools/Departments/Centres, etc for staff Health & Safety training in some instances.
4. Attendees must successfully complete an entire course in order to be deemed as having completed same.
5. Any attendee who has a medical condition or injury/illness, which would prohibit them from taking part in the practical exercises of practical based courses, should make this fact known to the office when signing up for courses or as soon as possible afterwards.
6. For enquiries and course details, please contact the office, via the Helpdesk, at erm@ucc.ie or ext. 2997. 
7. All members of staff should avail of the opportunity to attend a Manual Handling course, complete the online Workstation Ergonomics VDSE, Fire Safety and Hybrid Working courses and Use of Fire Extinguisher training immediately upon commencement of employment.

Pregnant Employees

In the case of pregnancy, attendees for any practical/exercise based Health & Safety courses, i.e. First Aid Response, Manual Handling, Use of Fire Extinguisher etc, must have notified the Department of Human Resources and Enterprise Risk Management of their pregnancy. In such cases, the employee’s doctor and the University Occupational Physician will advise in relation to the attendee’s fitness to work, and therefore also to attend training.

Note: Under SHWW Pregnant Employees Regulations, a Pregnancy Job Risk Assessment form must be conducted at departmental level in relation to the impact of work on the person/unborn child. A completed copy should be returned to the Enterprise Risk Management 28 days in advance of the course. 

Manual Handling Courses

All staff should complete and then repeat the basic Manual Handling Course every 3 years.

Participants must be medically fit and free from any condition which would restrict their ability to undertake practice work which is an essential part of the training. If a participant is considered unsuitable in the opinion of the instructor with due consultation & discretion the participant may be asked to cease attendance at the course. See note 5 above in case of medical condition and long or short term injury.

Please note it is a requirement to wear loose/comfortable clothing for the practical part of the course i.e. track suit, loose trousers, and flat “closed” shoes (jeans and long dresses should be avoided).

Manual Handling training is delivered fully online via Microsoft Teams by USafety, in an interactive webinar. Please note the following when planning to attend Manual Handling training:

1. Please watch the following instructional video on YouTube.
2. Please ensure you log on using the training link provided 15 minutes before the webinar commences to ensure that any IT issues that may occur can be dealt with.
3. Please ensure you wear comfortable clothing. No jeans, skirts or tight clothing, flat soled shoes only.
4. You must fully participate and reach the required standard to receive certification. If there is any reason why you may be unable to participate please inform us in advance when signing up for training or at erm@ucc.ie or via the Helpdesk shortly after signing up.
5. You must have a load similar to a light box e.g. photocopying box size (max 2 reems of paper).
6. Upon successful completion of the training, you will receive an ECert to the email address provided.

Use of Fire Extinguisher Courses

The Use of Fire Extinguisher course is currently unavailable, we aim to offer the course again in Q2 of 2024.

Attendees at this course are obliged to have completed the UCC online Fire Safety Essentials course.

Please see note 5 above in case of medical conditions and long or short term injury.

First Aid Response & First Aid Response Refresher Courses

On successful completion of the First Aid Response/Refresher Course, candidates will be qualified First Aiders & AED users. They will be required to act as First Aider in the Workplace for their College/School/Department/Centre for a minimum of 2 years.

First Aid Response Certificates are valid for 2 years only. In order to keep their Certificate valid, First Aiders who hold a First Aid Response Certificate are obliged to successfully complete a 2-day FAR Refresher Course before their Certificate Expiry date. It is strongly recommended that all First Aiders complete a 2-Day FAR Refresher Course on an annual basis to keep “up to date” with First Aid practice and procedures but also to ensure their Certificates are continuously valid.

Participants selected for First Aid Response training must be persons who are reliable and likely to remain calm in an emergency. In addition, they should have the aptitude and ability to cope with a course of intense study and be able to use the knowledge and skills learnt during the course. Participants must be medically fit and free from any condition which would restrict their ability to undertake practice work at ground level which is an essential part of the training. If a participant is considered unsuitable in the opinion of the course coordinator, with due consultation & discretion the participant may be asked to cease attendance at the course.

Please note that it is a requirement to wear suitable loose clothing (ie. trousers, track suit) for this practical course (jeans and long dresses should be avoided).

See note 5 above in case of medical conditions and long or short term injury.