Statutory and compliance training - Learning and development - Human Resources at the University of York

This is one of a number of guidelines designed to support the implementation of the Staff Development Policy

See our statutory and compliance training pages for more information on training requirements and course availability

Policy Statement

The University strives to ensure that everything it does adheres to high quality management practices and is compliant with legal frameworks, while seeking to provide an environment which minimises the risk to all who operate within it.

Scope

This policy applies to all staff employed by the University of York and covers all required Statutory and Compliance training in the areas of:

Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Disability Services
Financial Services and Procurement
Employment Matters
Information Management
Research Organisation and Governance
Health, Safety and Security
Estates and Campus Services

Key Principles

Statutory Training is the training that the University is legally required to provide as defined in law (and consequently legislation can be referenced) or where a statutory body has instructed us to provide training on the basis of legislation. For example:

Fire safety training is required by statute: Regulatory Reform Order (fire) 2007
Training is required on race equality under the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000) in order to ensure that staff appreciate their legal obligations and good practice in promoting equality and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

Compliance Training is a training requirement that has been determined by the University. This may be enshrined within current University policy or it may have otherwise been determined as being good practice to which the University should adhere. It is concerned with minimising risk, providing assurance that policies are followed, and ensuring the University meets internal or external standards (which might include meeting needs arising from particular legislation).

Appendix 1 [pdf] defines the statutory and compliance training requirements defined for the University of York. This table shows the training required, who must attend and the format in which it could be provided.
The requirements identified in Appendix 1 [pdf] have been collated on the basis of legislative (statutory training) and external assurance frameworks that feed into the University policy documents or practice (compliance training). The requirements will be subject to change on the basis of internal and external developments and will be reviewed and reissued on a University-wide basis as necessary and at least annually.
To ensure that the University maintains a central record of current statutory and compliance training requirements, the relevant internal specialist(s) will inform Learning and Development of any such changes, including the associated training requirement.

All supporting interventions will be conducted in accordance with the University Equal Opportunities Employment Policy.

Responsibilities

There is a shared responsibility for ensuring that the University is compliant with the statutory and compliance training identified. It is recognised that there will be differences between departments as to how these responsibilities are fulfilled.

The HR Policy Committee is responsible for advising the Council on the fulfilment of the University's statutory obligations in respect of employment legislation.

The Equality and Diversity Committee is responsible for advising the Council on the fulfilment of the University's statutory obligations in respect of equality and diversity.

The University Executive Board (UEB) has overall responsibility for effective risk management within the University and to ensure that it complies with its statutory obligations. There is in addition a register which identifies the individual responsibility for our senior managers. The UEB plays an essential part in enabling the provision of suitable and sufficient training and instruction to ensure all members of staff can fulfil their role competently and safely.

The Health and Safety Department is responsible for the identification, delivery and recording of attendance of University wide statutory and compliance Health and Safety training as defined by the University Health and Safety Policies and procedures. Details of training specific to Health and Safety can be accessed at Health, Safety and Welfare Training

The Directorate of Estates and Campus Services (DECS) is responsible for the delivery and recording of attendance of statutory and compliance training relating to the specialist roles operating within DECS and of any other University staff who attend such training, e.g. food hygiene, manual handling, security. Details of training specific to DECS roles can be accessed at Estates and Campus Services Training

Internal specialists (who are summarised in Appendix 2 [pdf]) are responsible for working in collaboration with the Learning and Development Team (L&D) to:

Review and if required update on an annual basis the summary of the training needs analysis for the statutory and compliance requirements of University staff, refer to Appendix 1. To do this they should ensure that there is a clear link between the purposes of any intervention; its relationship to the legal framework or a University policy, practice or procedure; and the statutory or compliance status of the relevant parts which relate to an individual’s role.
Work alongside the Learning and Development team to design, deliver, record attendance and evaluate the effectiveness of any interventions used.
Where it is not possible or practicable for any intervention to be delivered by internal members of staff, to work alongside the Learning and Development team to identify a suitable external provider.
Identify where changes, eg to legislation, necessitate new interventions.

The Learning and Development Team (L&D) is responsible for working in collaboration with the internal specialists, identified training providers, departments and relevant committees to:

Work with the internal specialists to provide sufficient interventions to meet the requirements identified in Appendix 1
Review and amend on an ongoing basis the overall statutory and compliance training requirements identified in Appendix 1
Evaluate the effectiveness of the training provided
Ensure that all line managers are aware of the requirements for themselves and their teams. This may include refresher training
Maintain a list of appropriate external advisors who may be engaged for specific topic areas
Ensure accurate training records are being maintained
Provide to Heads of Departments or their nominated deputy a list of their staff members who fail to show up for any training intervention they are booked onto
Prepare any required reports for the relevant Committees

Heads of Departments must ensure that someone in their department has responsibility for:

Identifying who in their area are required to attend which training. Please note that although for a number of topics, a variety of staff groups have been identified as requiring training, it is important to consider the relevance and timeliness to an individual of the training. For example, in the area of Fixed Term Contracts, if you have line managers who do not have any members of their team on a fixed term contract or are not likely to have in the foreseeable future, this training would be currently seen as being inappropriate.
Agreeing to any approved prior learning for a staff member and ensuring it is recorded on their training record
Ensuring that the identified members of staff have completed and are up to date on the identified statutory and compliance training
Ensuring that all University statutory and compliance training attended by their staff is accurately recorded
Following up any members of staff who fail to attend statutory or compliance training and for addressing repeated non-attendance by members of staff in their team
Following up with members of staff who have not reached the required standard of competence for the online modules
Ensuring all new starters undertake an appropriate induction programme and complete any statutory or compliance training during this period which may be required
Ensuring that all members of staff transferring into a new role undertake an appropriate induction programme and complete any statutory or compliance training during this period which may be required
Identifying any additional provision required which is specific to their area of work, recording the requirements and working with the relevant internal adviser to ensure the need is effectively met

Individuals are responsible for:

Agreeing with their line manager the statutory and compliance training which is appropriate for their role(s)
Undertaking the agreed training identified
Ensuring that all training they attend is accurately recorded
Arriving punctually to training and attending the full duration of the training. Failure to be punctual may result in the employee not undertaking the training on that occasion and this being reported as a non-attendance.

Training Providers are responsible for working alongside the internal specialists and L&D team, to:

Provide the appropriate type and volume of training to ensure compliance with the relevant statutory and other requirements
Ensure the learning outcomes of the training meet the requirements of the relevant statute or other requirement
Maintain accurate attendance records so that compliance can be accurately reported and individuals’ training records accessed when required

Refresher training

Refresher training may be required in certain situations. The appropriate internal specialist, working where appropriate with L&D and any relevant committee, should identify and ensure the implementation of any refresher training which may be required.

Local level statutory or mandatory training

Some departments will need to define local requirements for statutory or compliance training that are specific to that area and that do not affect other staff groups. Such training should be defined within departments and attendance recorded locally.