Health and Safety Policy
The Durham Savoyards, Ltd. Health and Safety Policy
1. Purpose
The Durham Savoyards, Ltd., hereafter referred to as the Durham Savoyards, is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all performers, volunteers, and audience members. This Health and Safety Policy outlines our commitment to creating a healthy environment and fostering a culture that prioritizes physical and mental well-being.
2. Responsibilities and Definitions
Management: The Board of Governors of the Durham Savoyards, hereafter referred to as the Board, is responsible for implementing and maintaining health and safety procedures and ensuring compliance with relevant health and safety legislation and regulations. The Board is responsible for appointing a designated member for Durham Savoyards events and activities and is responsible for ensuring that the designated member is fulfilling their roles and responsibilities and may replace the designated member if those responsibilities are not being fulfilled.
Designated Member: The Designated Member is someone who is a current dues-paying member of the Durham Savoyards that has been appointed by the Board of Governors to manage any Board approved Durham Savoyards events or activities and is entrusted to follow and maintain compliance with these health and safety policies. The designated member is also entrusted with taking any necessary precautions for the safety of the participants at said activities or events. The designated member may also recruit other participants to maintain compliance with these policies. These recruited participants may be overruled by the Board if the Board deems it necessary.
Participants: All participants including, but not limited to, performers and volunteers are responsible for following health and safety procedures, reporting hazards or concerns promptly, and cooperating with the Designated Member and Board of Governors to maintain a safe environment.
Activities and Events: A Durham Savoyards activity and event can be classified as a gathering of five or more members of the Durham Savoyards and the gathering must have been publicly advertised by a member of the Board, Publicity Team, and/or Production Team. The activity or event must have been approved by the Board of Governors before it can be publicly advertised. For a gathering to be considered publicly advertised, the gathering must be publicly communicated through methods including, but not limited to, social media posts, email, and/or advertised by poster in a public place.
Publicity Team/Production Team: The publicity team is defined as members of the Durham Savoyards appointed by the Board to manage publicizing Durham Savoyards Events and Content. The production team is defined as members of the Durham Savoyards in charge of managing any current production of the Durham Savoyards. The production team is strictly limited to the confines of the production they are a part of. The production team may make recommendations to the Board about policy changes or organizational actions but the Board holds the right to make any final decisions regarding this policy.
3. Training and Information
All members designated by the Board to be in charge of events and activities will receive appropriate briefing on health and safety policies relevant to official activities and events by an officer of the Board. Information regarding hazards, emergency procedures, and safety protocols will be provided by said officer to ensure designated members understand their responsibilities and how to respond in case of an emergency.
4. Mental Health Support
The Durham Savoyards recognize the importance of mental health. The Durham Savoyards are not an official source of therapy or any other service pertaining to mental health. The Durham Savoyards will always promote a supportive and inclusive environment where individuals feel comfortable seeking help and talking openly about mental health. However, any participant seeking any official mental health guidance that exceeds the capabilities of a supportive and inclusive environment will be encouraged to seek a licensed professional outside of the Durham Savoyards. Compliance of this section will follow the guidance written in Section 8 of this policy.
5. Illness Prevention and Management
The Durham Savoyards value the health and safety of all of its participants. The typical activities of the Durham Savoyards include singing and potentially rigorous movement. These activities can lead to an increased risk of sickness and respiratory issues. Any participants volunteering to participate take on an assumed potential risk of sickness and respiratory illnesses that are outside of the Durham Savoyards control. Given this increased risk and the variety of potential illnesses, the protocols in this section follow the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance. As these guidelines are updated, it is expected that the Durham Savoyards policy be updated upon the next reviewal process or if deemed necessary by the Board to update prior to the next reviewal process. If any discrepancies were to arise, the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance takes precedence over the Illness Prevention and Management Section of this policy.
Some of the Core Prevention Strategies Provided by the CDC are as follows:
- Staying up to date on Immunizations
- Practice Good Hygiene
If someone may have a respiratory illness, the first and primary step is to stay home to prevent the potential spread.
Per CDC Guidance, one may return back to normal activities when both of the following are true for at least 24 hours; symptoms are improving and there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Once these qualifications have been met, one may return back to normal activities but must take extra precautions for the next 5 days. These precautions include wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and testing if and whenever possible. Keep in mind that during these 5 days, one may still be contagious. If conditions worsen or a fever appears during these 5 days, return back home until the qualifications mentioned above are met and then repeat the 5 days of extra precautions.
For more information, please refer to the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance found at https:/ /www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/respiratory-virus-guidance.html
6. Reporting Sickness Absences
All participants are required to notify the designated point of contact for the associated Durham Savoyards event as soon as possible if they are unable to participate due to sickness.
All performers involved in any current production of the Durham Savoyards are required to email trouble@durhamsavoyards.org with at least 24 hours notice whenever possible if they are unable to attend rehearsals or performances due to illness.
All sickness-related information will be treated confidentially and handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws and organizational policies.
All designated members of the Durham Savoyards involved in managing sickness absences must respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from disclosing confidential health information without consent.
7. Physical Injury Prevention and Management
The Durham Savoyards are committed to maintain the physical safety of all of its members and participants when participating in a Durham Savoyards event. However, participating in any Durham Savoyards activity, especially productions, involves a level of risk for physical injury.
To help mitigate the risk of physical injury, it is recommended to adopt the following strategies:
- Warm-ups: Participants are encouraged to warm up before engaging in physical activity, such as dancing or stage combat, to reduce the risk of strains or injuries.
- Lifting and Carrying: Using proper lifting techniques, particularly for crew members handling heavy props or set pieces.
- Breaks: Taking adequate rest breaks during activities to prevent overexertion.
- Appropriate Attire: Wearing appropriate attire for movement and easier mobility.
The person(s) designated to be in charge of the Durham Savoyards activity bears responsibility for attempting to keep participants safe and preventing avoidable injuries. If an injury were to occur, the first step is to take appropriate steps and actions to treat the injury to the best of the available abilities. If necessary, the designated person in charge may contact emergency personnel.
If an injury is severe enough to cause the injured party to seek out a medical professional, the Board will conduct an investigation to determine what caused the injury, who was involved in the incident, and if any action is necessary to remove any person or cause of the injury. In this case, a medical professional includes, but is not limited to Urgent Care and/or Emergency Room. The Board has the right to remove any person(s) from the organization that have failed to prevent injury or caused direct injury to another member of the Durham Savoyards if determined at the conclusion of an investigation.
If a participant has an unrelated injury or condition that could impact involvement or cause potential harm to the participant or others in a Durham Savoyards activity, the participant must provide a note from a licensed medical professional stating that the participant is physically able to participate or a hold harmless agreement that meets the requirements of local and state legislation.
On the subject of food allergies, the Durham Savoyards take seriously the restrictions some of its participants may have with foods. Any activities and events that involve food will take into account any known food allergies with the designated member in charge of the activity responsible for making sure that all food allergy needs are met during said activity or event.
8. Compliance
The Durham Savoyards will comply with all relevant health and safety legislation, regulations, and standards applicable to our activities. Should the venue in which the Durham Savoyards are occupying have their own health and safety policies, the Durham Savoyards will defer to those policies should an issue occur before applying this set of policies.
Any violations of this policy will be taken seriously by the Board. The designated member in charge of the activity is responsible for maintaining compliance with policy and has the authority of removing any participant not complying from the activity. The designated member may also recruit other participants to help with compliance of these policies. However, the first step taken by the designated member in charge of an event must be to prevent any escalation but issue a warning to the participant violating this policy. If this has little to no effect, the designated member may remove the participant from the activity. If compliance is still not met, the designated member has the right to contact legal authorities.
In the event that a participant is removed or if an incident of higher significance occurs, the designated member in charge of the event must provide a report to the Board and the Board will conduct an investigation to determine if all actions taken were appropriate for the incident and what steps must be taken next for the organization. In an event where legal authorities are involved, the Durham Savoyards and the Board of Governors will comply and cooperate so that the issues are resolved.
The Durham Savoyards will regularly review the procedures of this policy to ensure compliance and make necessary updates.
9. Continual Improvement
This Health and Safety Policy will be reviewed annually or as necessary to ensure its effectiveness and relevance. The Durham Savoyards will maintain open channels of communication with its participants to address health-related concerns and issues promptly. This policy will be available on the Durham Savoyards website as well as communicated to participants at the beginning of any Durham Savoyards production cycle. Any feedback provided will be considered to continually improve the health and safety policy.
10. Policy Review
This Health and Safety Policy will be reviewed annually within the first month of each new fiscal year (September) or as necessary to reflect changes in legislation, organizational structure, or operations.
11. Approval
This Health and Safety Policy has been approved by The Durham Savoyards, Ltd. Board of Governors
Date: October 14, 2024
Download a copy of this policy.