Colleague Spotlight
Charles Spencer, Principal Health & Safety Consultant
Charles' background
Starting his career in both the public and private sectors of environmental health, Charles joined WorkNest in 2012 as a Health & Safety Consultant and has since supported a diverse portfolio of clients, from large catering suppliers to school trusts and large manufacturing operations.
Since joining the Health & Safety Team, Charles has progressed to the role of Principal Health & Safety Consultant. A Chartered Member of IOSH and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Charles’ specialisms include food safety, enforcement liaison and training.
In 2019, Charles began a volunteer role as the CIEH representative for the BSI committee for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, which he fulfils alongside his current role.
Charles’ qualifications
BSc Degree in Environmental Health
Level 3 Award in Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector
Level 3 Award in Training Skills and Practice
FPA Certified Fire Risk Assessor
An interview with Charles
Tell us about your career prior to joining WorkNest?
Funnily enough, my career path actually stemmed from a last-minute change of heart during my time at university. I was due to complete my degree in Geography, but I was advised by my Environmental Science lecturer to pivot to Environmental Health, as it would lead to more opportunities. Further down the line, I undertook a work experience placement with ASDA’s trading law team, and discovered that I particularly enjoyed working in food health and safety. I now consider this area to be something of a speciality. I have since worked with some of the largest retailers and hospitality companies in the UK, including Waitrose, Pret a Manger and Whitbread. Prior to joining WorkNest, I was also a safety adviser for NSF International in central London. All in all, I have now spent 13 years in the field. Seven of those years have been spent with WorkNest, spanning three different health and safety-based roles.
What does your role at WorkNest entail?
Primarily, my role involves visiting clients and advising some of our largest key accounts, completing IOSH Managing Safely training and food safety training, as well as more generally supporting the wider team. When I have a spare five minutes in between all of this, I make sure all our risk assessment templates and other COVID-19 resources are updated in line with fast-moving government guidance, which as you can imagine takes some time!
Which aspect of the role do you enjoy the most, and which do you find most challenging?
I enjoy my role for so many reasons, but I think that overall, the greatest pleasure is seeing the impact you have on the safety of others. Without wanting to state the obvious, this is ultimately what health and safety boils down to, and it’s important to not lose sight of that. However, it’s certainly not without its challenges, and I would say that one of the biggest ones is encouraging clients to act quickly before things get out of hand and escalate. This is one of the most common scenarios I encounter, and it can be tricky to get your message across sometimes. The other challenge, of course, is adapting your approach to suit the client’s style of doing things – what works for some doesn’t always work for others and you find that out pretty quickly when you work with as many diverse clients as we do.
What advice would you give to employers?
Failing to complete risk assessments is an increasingly common and potentially fatal pitfall. Making a list of control measures does not count as a risk assessment! Risk assessments are not a piece of paper and should not live on a shelf. You need to look at the hazard and make sure that the controls are in place and that they work. I would hope that, after a pandemic, the need for health and safety will be more clear to employers.
What are some of your proudest achievements?
I am a chartered member of two major health and safety bodies: the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). I have also completed Fire Risk Assessment and Fire Safety Management courses. I would say my most recent achievement was taking the lead in assembling the COVID-19 health and safety documentation for our Coronavirus Advice Hub, which has since been downloaded by thousands of clients with some brilliant feedback.
How would you describe WorkNest’s support, and what makes it unique?
Ultimately, I believe that our approach can save an organisation a great deal of money. Not only is our service built on expertise and diligence, but because we don’t charge hourly fees, our clients can expect a greater level of support without expenses spiralling. What’s more, as well as access to a named consultant, our set-up and collaborative approach means the client benefits from multiple layers of experience and expertise, so there’s rarely ever a situation we haven’t seen before and or the technical ability within our ranks to solve the problem.
Who you’ll be working with
Client stories
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Gus Hosein
Executive Director, Privacy International
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WorkNest supports our 280 staff members with Employment Law and Health & Safety and has provided quality management training too.”
Lisa Best
Head of Service Delivery, Catalyst Choice
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We get a great deal of comfort and satisfaction knowing that we have support as and when we need it, in a decisive and responsive way.”
Richard Berry
Group HR Director, Culina Group
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We moved our legal support to WorkNest (formerly Law at Work) having previously used a time and line law firm. It was important, though, that an all-inclusive fee structure did not come at the expense of quality. Thankfully we’ve been delighted with the service we’ve received from WorkNest.”
Chief Executive
Waverley Care
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What we recognised in WorkNest is the background that they have. They are able to supply knowledge and experience in a number of disciplines, which enables us to develop our business in a way that’s safe, to do it on time and with a quality to it.”
Debbie Rainbow
Director of Human Resources and Health & Safety,
Bluestone National Park Resort
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Celia McKeon
Chief Executive, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT)
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As the company started to get larger, we knew we had to protect our employees and our contractors both onsite and in the offices. WorkNest is exactly what we needed to move the company forward.”
Joanne Beaver
Operations Director, Beaverfit
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Pineapple have worked with the team at WorkNest (formerly Law at Work) since 2003, and we have built a trusted partnership together. We particularly like WorkNest’s concise and practical advice concerning employment law/HR issues and also appreciate their totally supportive approach in all areas of health and safety.”
General Manager
Pineapple Dance Studios
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I’ve taken WorkNest into every organisation that I’ve worked with. I’ve introduced them to many teams and many colleagues and referred them with absolute pleasure because I genuinely trust in the service that we get.”
People Director, The Works
