A day in the life of an Environmental Health Officer
What is your current role and how long have you been at Eastleigh Borough Council?
I am a Senior Environmental Health Officer. I’ve been here 1 ½ years.
What are the main responsibilities in your role?
I’m lead officer for Health and Safety at Work. This means I am responsible for making sure that other Health and Safety enforcement officers (including my manager) are kept up to date with the latest information on this subject. I am also responsible for managing a relationship with a large multi-national company which impacts enforcement officer’s work throughout the country.
What is a typical day for you?
My workload consists of carrying out routine food hygiene and health and safety inspections, investigating complaints and accidents and leading and contributing to project work. It’s very much down to me how I manage my day. There is a good mix of work out on site and back in the office. Every day is different and you never know what’s coming around the corner. You need to be flexible and able to juggle lots of different work.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?
As a Senior EH Officer I am expected to lead on matters related to my specialism. This means I have to keep up to date with all the relevant legislation and guidance whilst keeping the rest of my work going. It is also a challenge getting the message across. There is a lot of myth and misinformation relating to health and safety at work and businesses are often surprised that we will always try to help first.
Why would you recommend a career in Environmental Health with Eastleigh Borough Council
It’s great to be involved in a role which makes a difference to people’s lives. The job is challenging but very rewarding.