Health and Safety and Wellbeing

The University Health and Safety Team are professional health and safety advisors employed by the university to advise on health and safety management and controls.

If you have any questions or concerns about health and safety, please contact the Health and Safety team. 

Head of Health and Safety 

Dr Olga Kuzmina

Email: o.kuzmina@londonmet.ac.uk

Phone number: 07950 634 734

Deputy Head of Health and Safety

Gavin Clarke

Email: g.clarke@londonmet.ac.uk 

Phone number: 07776 964 707

Schools Health and Safety Advisor

Anthony Marchant

Email: a.marchant@londonmet.ac.uk  

Phone number: 07776 964 157

Estates and Fire Safety Advisor

Armanda Ferriera

Email: a.freitasferreira@londonmet.ac.uk

Phone number: 07776 964 792 

Health and Safety Administrator

David Summers

Email: d.summers@londonmet.ac.uk

Phone number: 07742 749 838

For information regarding security contacts, fire evacuation, first aid signage, out of hours and lone working please see the Day One Onsite Safety Induction.

Security and Emergencies

We advise that you save the University Security Control Room phone numbers into your phone contacts for the duration of your studies.

If you are on University premises and you feel threatened in any way, please do not hesitate to call Campus Security:

• Emergency Number: 020 7320 3333
• Non-emergency Number: 020 7133 2079
• Email: securitylmu@londonmet.ac.uk
• Webpage: Campus security

If you need to contact an emergency service

If you need to contact an emergency service via 999 (eg calling for an ambulance) please also contact security via the number above. This is to ensure the Security Team can take the necessary steps depending on the emergency and to enable access to the building for the emergency services and ensure they get to the incident location as quickly as possible.

If you are unsure if an ambulance (or other emergency service) is required contact security directly on the emergency number 020 7320 3333 to request first aid (or Security) assistance.

If you discover or suspect a fire while you are on campus please use the fire call points as described in the evacuation procedures in the Day One induction above as this will trigger the university fire emergency response which includes calling out the relevant emergency services, if required.

Suspicious activity, including witnessing theft, tailgating / Unauthorised access, threaten in behaviour or any other suspicious activity

Do not engage with individuals acting suspiciously.

Report any suspicious activity to Campus Security directly via the Security emergency telephone number: 020 7320 3333

What to do in event of a Public Security / Terrorism Emergency

Counter-Terrorism Policing is asking students, universities, and student unions to stay safe and know what to do in case of an emergency incident.

There is no specific intelligence to say colleges and universities are being targeted and the chances of being caught up in a terrorist incident or weapons attacks are still low. However, sadly UK authorities have seen lethal assaults carried out by people with a variety of deadly motives so it is important to stay alert and know what to do. Firearms and weapon attacks are rare but communities need to be prepared. If you should get caught up in an incident, follow the Metropolitan Police's Run, Hide, Tell guidance.

If you need to contact the police, do so by calling 999, via the textphone service 18000 or text 999 if you have pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.

If you need to contact Campus Security in an emergency use 020 7320 3333 or if you need to do so silently, please email the Campus Security team.

If undertaking any organised offsite activities or field trips as part of your studies please download the Teams app so you can communicate with your lecturers and activity leaders silently by text in this type of emergency.

90% of crime on campus is caused by a lack of security awareness.

• Your ID card must not be given to anyone else, key and key pad codes should not be shared with unauthorised persons.
• Lost / stolen cards and keys must be reported to security immediately.
• Always report suspicious persons or activity to security, do not place yourselves or others at risk.
• Be aware of people trying to tailgate you.
• Do not leave valuables unattended in rooms, labs or the library - thefts only take a few seconds.
• Use computer security cables and hard drive encryption on laptops.
• If you have left your ID at home, report to your building reception, explain the situation and request a temporary guest card. There is a limit to how many guest cards you can be issued over a period of time.

Reporting Property or Furniture or Equipment Damage

If you see any property damage or issues requiring repair please report defects to an academic member of staff, local technician, the front of house (reception) team, or your course leader.

Reporting Heath and Safety Incidents

London Met operates a no blame culture, you will not be punished for reporting an incident.

Reporting incidents and unsafe conditions is important, whether these result in injury/ill-health or not. Even if the incident has occurred off campus but is related to University activities, we investigate the cause of the incident in order to prevent the incident or similar from reoccurring to you or anyone else in future, not to assign blame.

By reporting these issues, you are enabling us to make the University safer for all.

Ways to report:

• Your academic lecturer
• Your School Technicians
• The front of house (reception) team
• Emailing the Health and Safety team
• Directly via the online Incident report form

Remember for immediate emergencies and security incidents please alert the security control room on 020 7320 3333.

Safety Adjustments

Fire evacuation adjustments

If you anticipate having any difficulty in either hearing or responding to the alarm or evacuating from the building (remember lifts will not be available during an evacuation), please email the Health and Safety team to have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) in place, whether these are short or long-term issues.

If you have specific needs, a member of the H&S Team will be happy to meet with you to discuss these.

Other Safety Adjustments and Individual Needs Assessments

The Disability and Dyslexia Advisory Service (DDS) are also available to support you with longer term adjustments.

Children on campus

Children are not allowed on campus without a risk assessment approved by the Dean of School.

Students are not permitted to bring children to classes or lectures (unless part of a specifically approved event) or leave them unattended on Campus (Including with our reception staff).

For further support, please take a look at the 'Students with Children' section on the Student Services webpage. 

Smoking

Smoking inside any public buildings including restaurants, bars and night clubs is against the law in the UK.

Smoking is prohibited in all buildings at London Met. This includes e-cigarettes and vapes.

Lone working on site

Avoid lone working (working alone without supervision or a colleague in a proximity to assist you in case of emergency) where possible and consider using a local buddy system with each other / security team via 020 7133 2079 (non emergency number) or email the Campus Security team (if planning work in advance) to check in on each other particularly around breaks, lunch, and in the evening.

Lone working is strictly prohibited in hazardous areas.

Out of hours work on site

Out of Hours work on site (even in groups) requires specific approval.

Talk to your course leader or contact the Health and Safety team via email for further guidance.

You can find the building opening hours on the 'How to find us' webpage. 

Hazardous areas may have more restrictive opening hours (refer to specific induction information for each hazardous area or contact the local manage or your course leader for further information.

Hazardous areas

The University has a number of hazardous areas including laboratory and workshops that you may be required undertake study in.

These are restricted areas, and you will receive a specific induction for each if you are expected to use the spaces.

Please follow all instructions given to you in inductions, by staff, and on signage in these areas (or at entrances).

In hazardous laboratories and workshops eating and drinking are strictly prohibited (you will be informed of the limited exceptions during your induction to that area).

Students should not operate machinery, equipment or handle hazardous chemicals / biological agents unless instructed on how to do so safely and authorised to do so.

Out of Hours for Hazardous areas may have more restrictive opening hours (refer to specific induction information for each hazardous area or contact the local manager or your course leader for further information.

Out of hours work in Hazardous areas (even in groups) requires specific approval.

Talk to your course leader or contact the Health and Safety team via email for further guidance.

For the majority of your studies risk assessments will be caried out on your behalf and you will be familiarised with outcomes of the risk assessments such as control measures during the induction or training.

The exceptions to this will be where undertaking a risk assessment forms part of your learning objectives and outcomes, which may be the case during projects and activities where you have significant control of the design of the work eg your final year projects, activities that involve bringing visitors on campus, filming, non-study events and activities you are organising to be held on campus, off-site and international travel study and research activities when you are not attending with a supervising member of university staff.

You should receive training in how to carry out a risk assessment before you are asked to do this. This should be done by your academic supervisor or you can request it from the H&S team.

The templates we use to record risk assessments are found here.

Latest Simple Risk Assessment Template

Latest Scientific Risk Assessment Template

Student organised events must be arranged via The Students' Union (SU). Please contact the SU via email to organise an event. 

The process below is relevant for project trips and any other short term overseas visits related to your studies.

Please note this travel approval process is not relevant if your study trip is part of your study abroad agreement with the Study Abroad Team or for undergraduate work placements with a third party employer, as this is the responsibility of your placement employer / host.

For the vast majority of off-site activities, your course leaders will conduct the risk assessment for you and share the outcomes with you during the pre-activity brief.

Occasionally you may be in control of designing and organising your own off-site study or research activity (this will usually be for Masters or PHD students undertaking research projects).

For UK based off-campus activities:

1. Receive pre-approval for your travel from your supervisor.
2. You will need to conduct a risk assessment for the off-site work. Use one of the two risk assessment templates below to record your findings.
   
   Latest Simple Risk Assessment Template
   Latest Scientific Risk Assessment Template
   
   
3. Your academic / research supervisor must review and approve this.
4. It is recommended that you also send the completed risk assessment to the Schools Health and Safety Advisor or to the Health and Safety team for review and advice at least two weeks before your trip. 

For international travel where you won't be joined by a member of London Met Staff in the host country:

1. Receive prior approval for your travel from your supervisor and Dean of School.
2. Complete from the list below:
1. International Travel Risk Assessment
2. International Travel Emergency Response Plan
3. International Travel Participant Information Form

The University Sanctions Policy does not permit travel to sanctioned countries.

The following sources of advice are available for London Met staff and students: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) (for initial risk rating and advice on travel to the country).

Please also refer to the AIG Travel Assistance Website and App User Guide  

1. Have your Supervisor review these with you
2. Submit the International Travel Request Form at least 8 weeks before travel.

The request will then enter an approvals process where it will be reviewed and approved by the Head of Health and Safety and your Dean of School.

You must receive final approval prior to booking travel arrangements.

During this time all travellers are advised to: 

• Complete the General travel safety awareness training. You will need to register using your London Met email.
• Print out the Employee Travel Pack  (please ignore 'employee' in the name of the document. It is an insurance travel pack suitable for students too) and keep this in a safe place as it contains emergency contact details and important information you will need in the event of a claim. 

If you require an accessible digital version you will need to email the Insurance team. 

Questions or concerns about insurance should be sent to the Insurance team via email.

Physical Health and Wellbeing

See the Social and Recreational Events for information on Social events, Sport, Fitness and Wellbeing, Sports teams, Student Societies, Students Union and volunteering

Multi-Faith Prayer Rooms

Financial Advice and Accommodation  

For further links please see the Community Health Emergency Contacts tab on the Student Services page.

Mental Health Support

TalkCampus is a global mental health support network which provides students with free and instant support for your mental health. Support is available 24/7 so you never have to feel alone.

You can find information on the Student Counselling Service on the Counselling Student Zone page. 

For further links see the Community support services and the tab on the Student Services page.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is about protecting a person's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about working together to prevent and stop both the risk and experience of abuse or neglect. Safeguarding at London Metropolitan University includes children, vulnerable adults, radicalisation, violence against women, harassment and hate crime. 

London Metropolitan University is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Raise all safeguarding concerns via the University Safeguarding webpages, no matter how small you think it might be, no concern is too small to share.

Traveling lone or after dark and after-hours travel

Do not walk home alone if you can avoid it. If you cannot, the following guidance may be helpful:

• Spend some time familiarising yourself with the areas you intend to visit, and plan your travel routes there and home. Not all London transport operates 24/7.
• If you are travelling alone, particularly after dark, consider having a trusted contact who knows your travel plans and can check in with you and knows how to contact support.
• Consider the use of smartphone apps like "find my friend" 
• Keep to well-lit and populated and familiar routes. Don't be tempted to take short cuts through unlit or unknown areas.
• Book a taxi through a reputable taxi firm or app. Avoid using unlicensed minicabs; Hackney (black) cabs are the only taxis allowed to pull up and ask for business. Alternatively, check the Transport for London (TFL) website or use an approved app such as Uber to book a taxi.
• Consider places of safety in the area that you could go to if necessary. These might be cafes, shops or 24 hour garages. Such places will usually be well lit, busy and may have CCTV and even security staff.
• Be discreet with your belongings.
• If threatened by would-be robbers, be prepared to give up bags or phones. Property can be replaced. You cannot.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Being engrossed in your smartphone can reduce your awareness of what is happening around you.
• Do not be afraid to ring 999 in an emergency.
• If you are on university premises or nearby and you feel threatened in any way, telephone University Security Services on 020 7320 3333.

Street Safe

The new StreetSafe tool allows people to anonymously report locations where they feel or have felt unsafe.

Drink Spiking

To spike a drink means to put alcohol or drugs into someone's drink without their knowledge or permission. For more information on spiking please see the London Metropolitan Police's Spiking webpage.

What should you do if someone you are with thinks their drink has been spiked?

• Alert a member of staff or security if you're at a venue.

• Stay with your friend and keep talking to them. Listen to them, provide support, and avoid any judgement.
• Help the individual to a place where they feel safe, away from crowds. Drink spiking is scary, and the person needs to be reassured they are safe.
• Report to the police online, on 101 or in an emergency call 999.
• If they have symptoms and you are worried call 111, or call an ambulance if the symptoms get worse. Inform the medical staff that you believe their drink has been spiked.
• Drugs can leave the body in as little as 12 hours after consumption, so it is important they receive help and get tested quickly.
• Secure any suspected drink, container and or residue as evidence.
• Do not let them go home on their own or leave with someone you do not know.

For further information on spiking and keeping yourself and friends safe while drinking see the drinkaware website.

Online Scams

There are many scams that exist online, for example:-

• Offers online that seem too good to be true eg stolen bikes for sale on Gumtree?
• Phishing emails and fake QR codes 

Property Rental Scams

Be aware of property rental scams. This is an example of a rental scam.  

Always use reputable agents, and ask to be shown inside the property before handing over any money. Do not rely on pictures and excuses not to visit.

Fake Police

There have been occasions when fraudsters have posed as police officers, both in person and on the phone, to trick people into giving them personal information and defraud them of money. 

A real UK Police officer will never demand money or make on the spot cash fines.

All officers will carry a warrant card on their person while on duty. You can see details on how to identify a real Metropolitan Police Officer including what their warrant or how an ID card looks via the Metropolitan Police's guidance on How to check an officer's identity.

Pickpockets

Be aware that professional pickpockets do operate at transport hubs. Some common tricks include cutting open back trouser pockets with a razor, or being jostled by a group.

This can also occur when you leave items exposed at a cafe, bar, club or pub, even with friends. A common tactic is for a criminal to come along with a map, tour guide, or other item such as a newspaper or things to sell. They will then observe the table with this prop and distract people from the theft taking place underneath.

These types of thefts take just seconds. Be aware and do not let them out of your sight.

Moped and bike mounted theft

Criminals often make use of bikes and mopeds to snatch mobile phones from people. Places of elevated risk are busy locations such as outside stations, shopping centres or entertainment venues. Victims are often approached from behind while talking or texting on phones. Criminals on mopeds or bicycles may even mount the pavement to grab the phone.

CCTV Video of Moped thefts  

While most thefts happen in the evening and at night, criminals operate during the day too. Follow these simple steps to help protect your phone.

• Be aware of your surroundings
• If you need to call or use your phone on the street, look out for anyone on a bike or a moped near you.
• Make it quick so you do not become distracted
• Do not text while you are walking as you will not notice what is going on around you
• If that is not possible, stand away from the roadside, close to a building or wall, so no one can come up behind you
• Going hands-free can prevent a thief from snatching your phone out of your hand

Mugging

No-one likes giving in to theft or mugging, but is often violent, so try to remember that property is replaceable, and you are not.

Protecting your possessions

Register your valuables online
Using the Immobilise website you can register your valuable possessions (Particularly those you plan to take with you outside your property).
Immobilise is recommended by the Police and they will check here for owners if stolen valuables that have been found, so if you have registered them you may get them back.

Protecting Mobile phones and tablets

• Every phone has an IMEI number which is a unique code specific to your phone or tablet and which helps police and insurance companies to identify it if it's stolen.
  UK network operators can also stop a stolen phone from working across their networks with its IMEI
• Enable use of touch ID recognition (if available) and pin password all your devices.
• Enabling any tracking software that is available for your device.
  
  For iPhone, you can use Findmyiphone 
  For Android, you can use Wheresmydroid
• Other apps are available for download for windows devices.
• Consider installing an anti-theft app. These can be an effective way of helping police trace your phone and identify the thief
• Make sure your devices are insured, they will not necessarily be covered by existing contents insurance.
• Do not keep passwords or other personal information stored on your device.
• Use the keypad lock so that thieves cannot immediately access your phone, or use the biometric authentication if your phone has it (fingerprint or facial recognition)
• Your phone may have other security features you can use and these could allow you to wipe data, lock your handset, or prevent a thief from restoring a phone to its factory settings from another internet device

To find your IMEI number by dialling *#06# from your phone and keep a written note of it; if the phone is stolen, report the number to your mobile provider to stop it being used

Wallets, purses and bags

Wallets, purses and bags often contain not only your cash, but bank cards and ID, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft.

• If your Wallet , purse or bag is stolen, make sure you cancel bank cards as soon as possible.
• Keep an eye out for suspicious activity. On campus, make sure to report anything unusual to the Security Control Room on 020 7320 3333
• Keep your bag in sight at all times, preferably on your person if you can.
• Putting your bag on a table or chair unattended is extremely attractive to would-be thieves.
• If you can wear your bag so that the strap is across your body, with the opening closest to your body.

Bicycles

• Get your bicycle security marked so if it is stolen the police can trace it back to you if it is recovered.
• The Bike register database allows you to check the level of cycle crime in your area.
• Secure your bike through the frame and back wheel with a good quality lock to a designated cycle rack whenever possible. See this video for further advice.
• Purchase a good lock, it could pay off in the long run.
  Cable / wire style locks are largely ineffective and provide little to no protection from would-be thieves. Many bikes that are stolen have been secured with cable style locks rather than D-Locks
  D-Lock bike locks with the sold secure award are the preferred choice, with the Gold rated locks offering the best level of protection.
• Lock your bike in a well frequented public area whenever possible, this is more likely to put off a potential thief from stealing your bike. Avoid leaving your bike in isolated/poorly lit places or overnight where possible.
• Quick release parts such as wheels, lights or seats are extremely vulnerable to theft. If you cannot secure them to the cycle rack, take them with you when you leave your bike.
• Take a photo of your bike. This will help when a description is needed by Security Services or the Police, it could help with its recovery.
• Make sure you have insurance for your bike, particularly if it is expensive.
• Keep a record of any frame numbers associated with the bike. This may prove useful if it is stolen.
• Report any suspicious activity around bike racks to Security Services immediately on 020 7320 3333.