Frequently Asked Questions
What the law requires
Health and Safety at Work Act
20
The HSW Act places duties on employers, employees, and self-employed people. It protects not only people at work, including those undertaking voluntary work, but also the general public who may be affected by work activities. The general requirements under the HSW Act are that equipment and plant are safe, the workplace is safe, there are safe systems of work and there is the provision of information, instruction, training, and supervision needed to ensure that safety.
21
Employees must do all that is reasonably practicable to take care of their own health and safety and that of others, including those undertaking voluntary work, who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work, and they must co-operate with their employers in complying with statutory health and safety obligations.
The pool water treatment system
Training on hazardous substances
242
Pool operators must provide information, training and instruction for employees who work with substances hazardous to health (www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/basics/training.htm). This includes cleaning and maintenance staff.
Plant room
251
The plant room should be a secure area for authorised staff only. Plant rooms should be adequately sized and not used for general storage, or for storing hazardous chemicals, unless appropriate precautions are taken.
252
The pool operator must provide suitable information, instruction and training for employees operating pool water treatment plant and equipment and ensure that a risk assessment of the plant room is carried out.
Chemical dosing
268
Pool chemicals can be used as supplied or mixed before dosing. Whatever system is used, it is important that it is carried out by competent staff.
Summary
In a nutshell, should anyone be hurt or damaged as result of non-compliance with the law there will be an investigation which will lead to the prosecution of individuals and organisations, and as a result, there will invariably be claims for compensation by the damaged party, spurred on by the advertising campaigns of claims management companies advertising constantly on television, radio and in the media generally.
In the event of an incident If it is found that the staff working on the pool have not received training that is suitable, sufficient, and current (up to date), it will be used against the management of the organisation should proceedings be brought against them.
There are many regulations which apply to swimming pools among them the following;
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
- The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
- Electricity at Work Regulations
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations
- The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR)
- Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations
- Diving at Work Regulations
- Employer’s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
- Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations
- Confined Spaces Regulations
- Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulations
(REACH)
- Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR)
- Biocidal Products EU Directive
- Work at Height Regulations (WAHR)
Should there be an incident, the authorities will ask for training records for all the staff involved with the pool and for proof of compliance with the Pool Safety Operating Procedure. Fines for non-compliance are massive, and the publicity generated by an incident are extremely damaging to the reputation and standing of the organisation.
Good quality training at the appropriate level by a specialist company will ensure as far is possible that the organisation is demonstrating it’s duty of care as it works towards providing a safe and healthy environment for staff, students, visitors and all those involved in the pool environment.
Our online training programmes are endorsed either partially, or fully, by Active IQ and CIMSPA and quality assured by both bodies.
Face to face courses can either be endorsed as above, certificated by Johnson Training Ltd or Regulated Qualifications on the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF). All of our face to face Active IQ courses are Regulated on the RQF at either Level 2 or Level 3.
Our JTL programmes are unitary and provide progression and can be studied as individual programmes or as combinations of units.
The following programmes are endorsed by Active IQ and CIMSPA:
- JTL Principles and Practice of Pool Water Testing Training Programme
- JTL School Pool and Hydrotherapy Pool Operator Training Programme
- JTL Pool Plant Operator Update Refresher Training Programme
- JTL Hot Tub Operator Training Programme
JTL certificated courses also include endorsed units:
JTL Foundation Pool Plant Operator Certificate
Consists of 2 units:
Unit 1: JTL Introduction to pools and basic pool chemistry.
Unit 2: JTL Principles and Practice of Pool Water Testing Training Programme (endorsed)
JTL Level 3 Pool Plant Operator Certificate
Consists of 4 units:
Unit 1: JTL Introduction to pools and basic pool chemistry.
Unit 2: JTL Principles and Practice of Pool Water Testing Training Programme (endorsed)
Unit 3: JTL School Pool and Hydrotherapy Pool Operator Training Programme (endorsed)
Unit 4: JTL Managing Pool Water Quality
By far, face to face is the best, but this is not always possible, as we have seen with the Covid-19 virus emergency situation.
Online study provides opportunity for training from the comfort of your home, at a pace to suit you.
There is very little difference in content between the online and face to face delivery.
Essentially, water is water, disinfectant is disinfectant, pH is pH, filters are filters etc. etc.
Both modes of delivery cover the same topics, therefore, the knowledge component is very similar.
The main difference is in the assessment.
The online certification is the same as face to face courses and you would need to do an update within three years to keep your knowledge current.
There is no legal requirement for courses to be validated by any specific awarding organisations.
Training needs to be suitable, sufficient and current. All of our courses and training programmes are!
There is no legal requirement for hot tub courses to be validated by BISHTA and to claim that the they do is misleading. BISHTA is a trade association. They are not an awarding organisation offering regulated qualifications. Our training programmes are endorsed by Active IQ and by the Chartered Institute CIMSPA.
The simple answer is Yes, Yes and Yes!!
Hot Tubs for hire have exactly the same risks as fixed hot tubs. The hazard is the same.
If not properly operated and managed, hot tubs are a serious health risk.
The law is very clear:
You have a legal duty of care and you must carry out risk assessment and put in place control measures in order to protect your customers.
The risk assessment must be carried out by a competent person.
To do this you need to ensure that any training you have had is suitable, sufficient and current and training records must be kept and maintained.
You must meet the requirements of your insurance company and also be aware of the hot tub manufacturers guidance considered in the light of UK law and UK practice for the safe operation of hot tubs.
In the event of prosecution, fines and resultant compensation claims could be crippling and you probably won’t get insurance to cover the hire of hot tubs if you haven’t had any training.
All these points and more are covered in our training programme and so we would strongly advise you to do our JTL Hot Tub Operator Training Programme which is available online.
Yes. You can do the JTL Level 3 training and then there is an add-on you can do to upgrade to the Active IQ Level 3. Both of these courses can be found under Online Courses.
Yes, you can either do it online or attend a face to face course for one day and complete the assessment as required by the awarding organisation.
