Plan Safely. Protect People. Stop When Needed. This policy applies to RFTUK-organised activity and is supported by two practical safety checklists below.
1. Purpose, scope and principle
Right First Time UK (RFTUK) aims to protect everyone involved in activities it organises or controls, including Volunteers, Campaign Leaders, Campaigners, Directors, employees, contractors, event participants and members of the public. This policy covers public engagement, campaigns, meetings, fundraising, events, travel, home or remote activity and lone working.
No campaign is more important than someone's safety. Risks should be anticipated, controlled and reviewed in a practical way, with stronger arrangements for higher-risk activities.
2. Legal duties and protection of Volunteers
Where RFTUK has employees, applicable health-and-safety duties also protect other people, including Volunteers, affected by its work activities. Where RFTUK operates without employees, some employer duties may not arise in the same way, but other legal duties and civil responsibilities can still be relevant. The actual legal position depends on the activity and arrangements.
RFTUK adopts this policy as an organisational standard for Volunteers regardless of the minimum statutory position. People carrying out similar activities and facing similar risks should receive a comparable practical level of safety protection. Volunteering alone does not create employment status.
3. Responsibilities and the right to stop
Directors and authorised leads oversee material risks; Campaign Leaders and event coordinators plan safe activities within their delegated authority; participants take reasonable care, follow suitable instructions and report hazards, injuries and near misses.
Anyone may raise an urgent concern. A Director, Campaign Leader or authorised coordinator may pause, move or cancel activity when there is credible danger. Nobody should be pressured to continue an activity they reasonably believe is unsafe while the issue is assessed.
4. Risk assessment and changing conditions
Before significant activity, identify hazards, who may be harmed, existing precautions, further controls, who will act and when. Record material findings where proportionate. Low-risk desk work may need straightforward controls; large events, hostile visits, work at height and higher-risk lone work require fuller assessment.
Review the real location and circumstances, not just a generic template. If weather, crowding, aggression, travel, equipment or health conditions change, reassess and stop or change the activity if necessary.
- Identify hazards and people at risk.
- Assess likelihood and potential harm; choose effective controls.
- Record significant actions, owners and completion times where appropriate.
- Check controls during the activity and after a material change.
5. Competence, induction and supervision
Only assign tasks to people with the capability, instruction and supervision needed to do them safely. Higher-risk work may require specialist training or an insured, competent contractor. Confidence alone is not sufficient.
Brief participants on local hazards, emergency contacts, meeting arrangements, safeguarding boundaries, equipment and the applicable lone-working plan. Additional guidance may be needed for people handling cash, dealing with aggression or coordinating public events.
6. Equipment, PPE and physical hazards
Use suitable and maintained equipment. Stop using items with damaged wiring, plugs, unstable supports or other serious faults. Keep walkways, fire exits and accessible routes clear; take care with trailing cables, spills, uneven ground and lighting.
Avoid hazardous lifting where practicable and use safer handling methods, suitable equipment or assistance. Work at height, roofs, fragile structures and electrical tasks must not be given to untrained Volunteers as a substitute for competent professional work.
Provide or arrange appropriate personal protective equipment when justified by a risk assessment. PPE should supplement, not replace, measures to remove or reduce the hazard. Where the law requires equipment to be provided without charge, that requirement must be met.
7. Fire, first aid and emergency planning
For each material venue or event, identify exits, evacuation arrangements, emergency contacts and who has control of fire precautions. Do not obstruct escape routes. Consider accessible evacuation and communication needs.
First-aid arrangements, suitable supplies and responsible people should reflect the risks, numbers, location and access to emergency treatment. The lead should ensure participants know how to summon help. In immediate danger, call 999 or 112 rather than waiting for an internal report.
8. Health, wellbeing and reasonable adjustments
Consider fatigue, distressing case material, workload, stress and the risk of isolation. People may raise wellbeing concerns without being treated as uncommitted; Volunteers should not face unnecessary last-minute demands or inflexible hours.
A disability or health condition must not be an automatic reason for exclusion. Discuss appropriate adjustments confidentially, including breaks, accessible venues, communication alternatives, remote participation and safe evacuation. Seek only information genuinely needed to manage risk; apply the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Reasonable Adjustments Policy.
9. Violence, aggression and personal boundaries
Some campaigns, individual case meetings and cash-handling activities can involve abuse, threats or aggression. Plan a safe venue, suitable staffing, exit route and emergency contact, especially at night or where past threats are known.
Do not escalate a confrontation or attempt physical restraint without specific competence and lawful authority. Move away, seek support and contact security or police when needed. Do not routinely disclose private addresses or invite unknown, potentially hostile visitors into a private home.
10. Lone-working decisions
Lone working includes travelling, home working, running stalls, visiting public bodies or meeting unfamiliar people without immediate help or close supervision. Before authorisation consider the location, time, travel, threat history, valuables, communications, ability to leave, health or access needs and emergency response.
Do not assign a person to work alone simply for convenience. Known hostile visits, substantial cash movements, isolated areas with no contact, tasks requiring rescue support and high-risk physical work may require two people or must not proceed alone.
11. Lone-worker check-ins and missed contact
For more-than-minimal lone-working risk, agree the expected start and finish, approximate location or itinerary where necessary, check-in times, named contact, backup contact and the missed-contact escalation plan.
If a check-in is missed, attempt contact and follow the agreed steps; these may include checking the venue or route, contacting a designated emergency contact and calling emergency services if there is reasonable concern. Respect privacy, disclose only what is necessary and keep a record where appropriate.
12. Travel, driving and working at home
Plan routes, safe departure, weather, fatigue, accessibility, parking and late-night public transport. Drivers need the appropriate licence, legal insurance and fitness to drive; no schedule should rely on speeding or unsafe driving.
For remote and home activity, consider ergonomics, electrical safety, lighting, slips and trips, breaks and stress. Where display-screen equipment obligations apply to employees or workers, complete the required assessment; offer comparable practical advice to Volunteers where relevant.
13. Event planning and venue coordination
A named event lead should assess the setup, delivery and breakdown of each material event, including expected attendance, people at risk, venue permissions, budget, transport, evacuation, first aid, accessibility, safeguarding and communications.
Confirm the responsibilities of RFTUK, the venue and any contractors rather than assuming the venue manages every hazard. A written event risk assessment should be proportionate to the complexity and risk. Obtain necessary consents, licences and permissions before activity.
14. Crowds, structures, weather and catering
Respect safe venue capacities. Use proportionate stewarding or security for busy or contentious events and stop entry where crowd behaviour becomes unsafe. Stages, gazebos, barriers and displays must be installed and secured competently and not used in unsafe weather.
Plan for high winds, heat, cold, heavy rain, ice and lightning; provide suitable shelter, water, breaks or cancellation where necessary. Follow applicable food-hygiene and allergen duties when food or drink is supplied; do not guess about ingredients or allergens.
Do not carry out safety-critical work when impaired by alcohol or drugs. Where alcohol is present at an event, reassess safeguarding, aggression, travel and lone-working risk.
15. Safeguarding, accessible events and public outreach
Activities involving children or adults at risk require appropriate safeguarding, consent, supervision, missing-person and emergency arrangements. Safety assessments should seek reasonable accessible solutions rather than use disability as a pretext for exclusion.
Locate street stalls and leafleting so that routes are not obstructed; take extra care near roads, transport facilities or large crowds. When meeting members of the public about sensitive issues, consider an appropriate neutral location or two-person attendance.
16. Money, equipment and personal security
Reduce unnecessary carriage of cash, payment devices, laptops and other valuables. For greater risk, use secure arrangements, avoid solo cash handling and plan safe transport and storage. Never physically resist a robbery where that creates serious danger.
17. Accidents, near misses and RIDDOR
Report injuries, violence, dangerous occurrences and significant near misses internally as soon as reasonably practicable. Give immediate assistance first, record essential facts and assess what needs to change. Serious incidents should be reviewed for underlying causes, not simply blame.
Where RIDDOR applies, the responsible person must report qualifying work-related incidents to the enforcing authority. HSE guidance explains that an incident involving a Volunteer may be reportable if it arises from work activity and causes death or direct transfer from the scene to hospital for treatment; precautionary attendance or tests alone do not meet that hospital-treatment threshold. The over-seven-day employee rule does not apply to Volunteers in the same way. Check current HSE guidance for each case.
18. Reporting concerns and no retaliation
Raise ordinary concerns with the activity lead or through RFTUK's contact route. If the concern involves the lead, use another Director or appropriate governance route. Nobody should face retaliation for reporting a genuine safety concern in good faith.
RFTUK may stop unsafe work, restrict access, preserve evidence, seek independent advice or make appropriate referrals while a concern is investigated. Interim safety measures do not establish misconduct.
19. Insurance, contractors and financial safeguards
Review appropriate insurance for actual activities, including public-facing events, Volunteers and travel where relevant. Check the terms before unusual or higher-risk activity: insurance does not replace safe planning.
Use competent contractors for specialist tasks, identify their responsibilities and maintain oversight of RFTUK-controlled activities. Make safety-related purchases and expense claims through the Financial Controls & Expenses Policy.
20. Records, confidentiality and retention
Keep proportionate records of significant risk assessments, event plans, contact/check-in arrangements, incidents, RIDDOR decisions and corrective actions, applying the Records Retention & Destruction Policy. Limit access to medical, disability and safeguarding information and avoid unnecessary disclosure.
Do not preserve routine low-risk paperwork indefinitely without purpose. Remove system and personal-data access when no longer authorised.
21. PCS and other digital services
Parent Contribution Service (PCS) is operated by Right First Time UK Ltd, not as a separate legal entity. Although primarily online, any PCS meeting, outreach or event falls under this policy. Domestic-abuse, harassment and communication-safety risks must be handled through dedicated PCS safeguarding arrangements; no parent should be required to engage in unsafe direct contact.
PCS does not, under its present model, receive, hold or transfer voluntary parent-to-parent contribution money. PCS service-access fees paid to RFTUK are different from parent-to-parent payments.
22. Governance, related policies and review
Directors should review significant incidents and make sure proportionate safety arrangements are maintained. Review this policy at least annually, and sooner after a serious incident, a major event, premises or workforce change, or material legal guidance change.
Read it with the Safeguarding, Volunteer, Risk Management, Equality & Reasonable Adjustments, Information Security, Community Standards, Financial Controls and Records Retention policies. The policy does not replace activity-specific risk assessments or applicable legal obligations.
Appendix A - Event / Activity Safety Checklist
| Check | What to consider |
|---|---|
| Activity and lead | What will take place, where and when? Who has safety authority? |
| People at risk | Staff, Volunteers, public, contractors, children and adults at risk |
| Venue and access | Capacity, toilets, exits, lighting, accessibility and security |
| Hazards and controls | Crowds, slips, aggression, manual handling, power, fire, setup and breakdown |
| First aid and emergency | First aider/kit, ambulance access, evacuation, contacts and accessible support |
| Lone working | Who may be alone? Check-in contact and missed-contact escalation |
| Safeguarding | Consent, supervision, vulnerable participants and missing-person response |
| Weather and travel | Forecast, cancellation threshold, arrival and safe return |
| Money/equipment | Cash, card machines, valuables and secure storage |
| Incidents and approval | Reporting route, named reviewer and date of sign-off |
Appendix B - Lone Working Checklist
| Check | What to consider |
|---|---|
| Location and time | Isolated or public? Daytime or late? Expected end and travel? |
| Risk of confrontation | Past threats, unfamiliar meeting, distress or substance misuse? |
| Communications | Working phone or backup? Signal coverage? |
| Check-ins | Agreed times, contact person and missed-contact escalation? |
| Money and equipment | Cash or valuables? Safer alternative? |
| Access and health | Any reasonable adjustment or emergency assistance needed? |
| Exit and transport | Can they leave safely? Secure route home? |
| Decision | May work alone, add controls/two people, or cancel activity? |
Official HSE guidance
Contact and safety reports
For non-emergency concerns, near misses, incidents, lone-working risks or event safety, contact the activity lead or use the RFTUK Contact Us page. In immediate danger call 999 or 112.
Policy updated 12 October 2026. This document does not replace legislation, an event-specific assessment or professional advice where required.