Why use a keyholding company at all?

Insurance
More and more insurance companies are advocating the use of professional keyholding services to remove risk from personnel and as a stop-loss in emergencies.

Lone Worker Risk
Employers must ask themselves whether it is reasonable to ask staff to attend alarm activations late at night or at the weekends. Is acting as a keyholder in their contracts? Have they been trained? Have you fully demonstrated that everything has been done to look after them at these vulnerable times? Often it can be inconvenient and sometimes even dangerous.

There are a myriad of ever-changing Health & Safety Regulations covering lone workers, but fundamental policy is contained in The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999. These state that;

‘It is the employer’s duty to assess risks to lone workers and take steps to avoid or control risk where necessary.’ (Working Alone in Safety: HSE)

The government has produced a leaflet on good practice for employers to consider for their lone workers, titled “WORKING ALONE IN SAFETY”. This can be viewed at www.hse.gov.uk and search for document INDG73.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMA)
For more severe incidents, on the 6 April 2008, the CMA came into force throughout the UK. The new offence was created to provide a means of accountability for very serious management failings across an organisation. This is an opportunity for employers to think again about how risks are managed. The offence does not require organisations to comply with new regulatory standards, but organisations should ensure they are taking proper steps to meet current legal duties. The Act will mean that those who disregard the safety of others at work, with fatal consequences, are more vulnerable to very serious criminal charges.

The new offence is intended to work in conjunction with other forms of accountability such as gross negligent manslaughter for individuals and other health and safety legislation.

The full text of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 is available on the Office of Public Sector Information website: www.opsi.gov.uk.


National Alarm Response

Remove the risks to your staff responding to alarm calls out of office hours and eliminate the lone worker risks caused by asking staff to respond to alarm calls. As Directors of the company, you can be held liable for any out of hours accidents that occur.

We are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the event of your alarm being activated or a member of staff being locked out. Our aim is to be at your premises within 20 minutes. On arrival, we will conduct a security check of the property, reset the alarm, or wait on site for an engineer if required. We can also arrange emergency contractors should urgent repair work be required.

Unlocks / Lock-ups

By providing an unlock / lock-up solution, we can give you peace of mind about the security and safety of your staff, as well as your premises and business contents.

Clients include car showrooms, galleries, jewellery and auction houses, warehouses and schools.


Mobile Patrols

The Keyholding Company Mobile Patrols are a cost-effective and visible deterrent when full-time security is not practical. Each patrol contract is tailored to your requirements, from external patrols at random times to complete internal patrols, but always with the aim of creating the most visible deterrent to any would-be troublemakers or opportunists and ensuring peace of mind that all is secure.

Our client's properties include construction sites and scaffolding, libraries, schools, factories, warehouses, galleries, retail units, studios and offices.