1. Purpose
This policy sets out the Group's approach to health, safety and wellbeing for work carried out in or connected with the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The purpose is to identify and control foreseeable workplace risks, support safe working practices, provide suitable emergency arrangements, manage accidents and near misses, protect employees and third parties, and comply with applicable TCI legal and regulatory duties.
This policy does not guarantee a risk-free environment or remove the personal duty of each person to act safely, lawfully and responsibly.
2. Scope
This policy applies to Murzo Group Ltd and all subsidiaries, controlled entities, divisions, brands, branches, projects, premises, assets and operations conducting business in or from the Turks and Caicos Islands.
It applies to directors, officers, employees, temporary personnel, contractors, consultants, agents, local representatives, trainees, visitors and any person working under the Group's direction or at Group-controlled sites.
It covers offices, shops, warehouses, farms, food areas, accommodation, events, fieldwork, customer sites, supplier sites, ports, airports, vehicles, vessels, construction or fit-out works, security activity, property activity, online-supported work and remote working where connected with TCI operations.
3. TCI Legal and Regulator Context
TCI health, safety and wellbeing controls may involve the Environmental Health Department, Labour and Employment Services, emergency services, public health authorities, port and airport authorities, immigration authorities, sector regulators, landlords, insurers and any competent authority responsible for the site or activity.
The Environmental Health Department has responsibilities connected with the natural and built environment, including occupational health and safety, food hygiene, sanitation, water quality, air quality, port health, vector control, waste management and business licensing matters.
Where a UK duty, TCI duty, contractual duty, insurer requirement, landlord rule or customer-site rule overlaps, the Group should follow the requirement that best protects life, legal compliance and reasonable operational control, unless doing so would breach applicable law.
4. Core Health and Safety Principles
- Life, health and welfare take priority over speed, revenue, property and convenience
- Foreseeable risks should be assessed before work starts and when conditions change
- Controls should be proportionate to the activity, site, people involved and severity of harm
- Workers should receive suitable information, instruction, supervision and training for their role
- Unsafe work may be stopped or restricted where there is a reasonable concern
- Accidents, near misses and unsafe conditions should be reported promptly
- No person should be punished for raising a genuine safety concern in good faith
5. Responsibilities
Senior management is responsible for making sure TCI operations have suitable health and safety governance, resources and escalation routes for the nature of the activity.
Managers and local leads are responsible for planning work safely, checking site conditions, communicating hazards, arranging first aid and emergency controls, supervising higher-risk work, escalating serious concerns and stopping unsafe activity where required.
Employees, contractors and visitors must take reasonable care for their own safety and the safety of others, follow lawful instructions, use equipment properly, report hazards, and avoid reckless or unauthorised conduct.
6. Risk Assessment and Control
Before material TCI work starts, the responsible person should identify foreseeable hazards, who may be harmed, existing controls, additional controls, emergency needs, training needs, third-party dependencies, insurer requirements and any legal or permit conditions.
Risk assessment may be simple for low-risk work and more detailed for high-risk work. Construction, food, farming, insects, animals, chemicals, machinery, security, vehicles, vessels, lone work, outdoor work, hurricane preparation, customer-facing work and high-value asset work may require additional controls.
Controls may include elimination, substitution, engineering controls, safe systems of work, restricted access, supervision, training, signage, personal protective equipment, emergency plans, contractor controls, inspections and stop-work authority.
7. Workplace Risk Categories
TCI operations may involve office ergonomics, slips and trips, manual handling, heat stress, sun exposure, dehydration, storms, flooding, power interruption, electrical equipment, fire, vehicles, vessels, working near water, tools, machinery, ladders, heights, chemicals, fuels, cleaning products, food hygiene, allergens, pests, insects, animals, waste, public aggression, crime, lone working, remote travel, accommodation, fatigue and mental health pressures.
Each site or activity must be considered on its facts. A low-risk office arrangement should not be treated the same as fieldwork, port activity, food handling, farm work, security activity or emergency hurricane work.
8. Safe Systems of Work
Where a task creates foreseeable risk, the responsible manager should establish a safe system of work. This may include task instructions, access limits, work permits, equipment checks, hygiene controls, clean-down requirements, lock-off arrangements, manual handling guidance, traffic management, weather controls, communication checks, lone worker contact arrangements and emergency procedures.
Workers must not improvise higher-risk work, bypass guards, disable alarms, remove warning signs, use unsuitable equipment, work while impaired, continue after a serious incident, or work outside their competence.
9. Training, Competence and Supervision
People must be competent for the work they perform or appropriately supervised while they are learning. Training should be proportionate to the role, site, hazard and legal requirement.
Training may cover induction, site rules, emergency procedures, first aid awareness, accident reporting, manual handling, food hygiene, chemical safety, pest control, machinery, vehicles, heat and sun controls, hurricane procedures, customer interaction, lone working, data security during fieldwork and any sector-specific duties.
Training is not a substitute for safe equipment, safe premises, proper planning or management supervision.
10. First Aid and Medical Response
TCI sites and activities must have first aid arrangements proportionate to the number of people, risk level, location, remoteness, working hours, weather conditions, transport availability and emergency service access.
First aid arrangements may include trained first aiders, first aid kits, emergency contacts, site address details, transport plans, water, heat illness controls, allergy or exposure response plans, spill response equipment, eye wash, defibrillator awareness where available and communication routes.
Serious injury, suspected heart attack, stroke, severe allergic reaction, chemical exposure, electrical injury, head injury, serious bleeding, drowning risk, heatstroke, collapse or any life-threatening event requires urgent emergency response and management escalation.
11. Accidents, Near Misses and Unsafe Conditions
Accidents, injuries, illnesses, dangerous occurrences, near misses, property damage, product safety incidents, environmental releases, biosecurity incidents, violent incidents and serious unsafe conditions must be reported promptly.
Initial priorities are life safety, first aid, emergency services, securing the area, preventing further harm, preserving relevant evidence, notifying management and complying with any regulator, insurer, landlord or contractual reporting requirement.
Accident reviews should focus on facts, causes, corrective action and prevention. They must not be used to punish a person unfairly, conceal unsafe practice, backdate paperwork, or admit liability without authority.
12. Emergency Responsibilities
Each material TCI operation should have emergency arrangements suitable for its risks. These may cover fire, hurricane, flood, medical emergency, violence, security threat, spill, power outage, evacuation, shelter-in-place, transport failure, cyber disruption, food safety incident, pest or insect escape, environmental release and loss of communications.
Emergency roles should be clear before an incident occurs. People may be assigned to call emergency services, account for staff, shut down equipment, isolate hazards, control access, support vulnerable persons, liaise with landlords, contact insurers, preserve evidence and communicate with customers or authorities.
No emergency role requires a person to place themselves in unreasonable danger.
13. Stop-Work Authority
Any person may pause or refuse work where they reasonably believe there is an imminent or serious risk to life, health, safety, welfare, public safety, environmental protection, biosecurity, food safety or legal compliance.
Managers must consider the concern promptly, make the area safe where required, and decide whether work may restart, restart with controls, or remain suspended. A good-faith stop-work concern must not result in retaliation.
14. Contractors, Visitors and Third-Party Sites
Contractors must be competent, authorised, insured where appropriate and able to work safely. They must follow applicable law, site rules, permit conditions, emergency instructions and Group requirements while working on Group-controlled activity.
Where work occurs at a customer, landlord, supplier, port, airport, hotel, construction site, farm, event or third-party site, the site controller's safety rules must be understood and followed. The Group does not assume control of third-party safety systems merely because its personnel are present.
Visitors must be given suitable information for the risks they may encounter and must not be allowed into restricted or hazardous areas without authority.
15. Premises, Welfare and Environmental Health
Group-controlled premises should be kept reasonably safe, secure, hygienic and suitable for the work being performed. This includes access, lighting, ventilation, temperature, drinking water, sanitation, housekeeping, waste control, pest control, emergency exits, fire precautions and safe storage.
Where premises are controlled by a landlord or third party, safety issues must be escalated through the appropriate route. Work may be restricted where premises are unsafe, unhygienic, structurally damaged, contaminated or subject to official closure.
16. Food, Farming, Insects, Animals and Chemicals
Food, farming, live insects, animals, plants, soil, compost, chemicals, fuels, cleaning products, waste and pest control activity may create health, safety, environmental, biosecurity and public health risks.
Relevant controls may include hygiene procedures, allergen control, temperature control, containment, permits, quarantine, pest exclusion, personal protective equipment, spill response, safe disposal, exposure controls, equipment cleaning and authority escalation where required.
Unsafe food, uncontrolled insects, hazardous chemicals, contaminated materials or damaged products must not be released into the environment or supply chain to avoid cost, delay or inconvenience.
17. Vehicles, Travel, Fieldwork and Lone Work
Driving, vessel travel, island-to-island travel, fieldwork, outdoor work, customer visits and lone work must be planned with regard to weather, daylight, route, communications, fatigue, crime risk, medical access, vehicle condition, cargo, tools, insurance and emergency contact arrangements.
Workers must not drive or operate equipment while impaired, dangerously fatigued, unlicensed, uninsured, unauthorised or in unsafe weather or road conditions. Lone work should not be used for tasks that require two-person control.
18. Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment may be required where risks cannot be adequately controlled by other means. PPE may include gloves, eye protection, masks, respiratory protection, hearing protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, sun protection, life jackets, aprons, chemical protection or task-specific equipment.
PPE must be suitable for the hazard and the person, maintained in reasonable condition, used as instructed and replaced where damaged or contaminated.
19. Wellbeing and Fitness for Work
The Group recognises that wellbeing includes physical health, mental health, fatigue, stress, heat, workload, travel disruption, housing concerns, financial pressure, emergency disruption, bullying, harassment and personal circumstances that may affect safe work.
Managers should consider reasonable workload, rest, communication, dignity, support after incidents, weather-related disruption and practical adjustments where lawful and appropriate.
A person must not work where illness, impairment, fatigue, medication, alcohol, drugs or distress makes them unsafe for the task. This policy does not replace medical advice or occupational health advice.
20. Public, Customer and Security Risks
Customer-facing, retail, property, tourism, food, security and event operations may involve public interaction, vulnerable persons, aggression, theft, intoxication, crowding, safeguarding concerns, privacy issues and emergency evacuation challenges.
Workers must not use force, restraint, weapons, threats, surveillance or detention outside lawful authority. Serious violence, threats, criminal activity or safeguarding concerns must be escalated promptly.
21. Evidence, Insurance and Communications
Serious incidents may require photographs, incident notes, witness details, equipment isolation, CCTV preservation, maintenance records, training evidence, first aid notes, regulator correspondence, insurer notification and legal review where proportionate and lawful.
Only authorised people may make public statements, respond to media, admit liability, settle claims, communicate with regulators on formal matters, or issue customer-facing statements after a serious health and safety incident.
22. Limitations and Non-Exclusion
The Group will take reasonable and proportionate steps to manage risks within its control. It cannot control every third-party site, environmental event, criminal act, personal decision, customer behaviour, weather event, supplier failure or inherent risk of an activity.
Nothing in this policy excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including any liability for death or personal injury where such liability cannot be excluded under applicable law.
23. Accountability
Failure to comply with this policy may result in retraining, removal from site, restriction of duties, contract remedies, disciplinary action, regulator notification, insurer notification, law enforcement referral or other lawful action.
Deliberate safety breaches, concealment of incidents, falsification of safety records, intimidation of witnesses, reckless conduct or refusal to follow emergency instructions may be treated as serious misconduct or contractual breach.
24. Relationship With Other Policies
This policy should be read with the TCI Legal and Regulatory Compliance Policy, TCI Employment and Workplace Policy, TCI Hurricane, Disaster and Business Continuity Policy, TCI Records Retention and Legal Hold Schedule, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy, Lone Working and First Aid Arrangements Policy, COSHH / Chemical Safety Policy, Cleaning, Hygiene, Sanitation and Pest Control Policy, Food Safety policies, Biosecurity policies, Environmental policies, Crisis Communications and Incident Response Policy, Insurance and Liability Disclosure Statement, and relevant site emergency plans.
