Placement Agreement (including Health & Safety)

Placements are part of a student’s degree and therefore require the explicit three-way agreement of student, placement provider and Harper Adams University.

Responsibilities of Harper Adams University

• Maintain contact with the student, whether in person, by telephone, email or other means, during placement.
• Support the student in achieving placement outcomes through an appointed Placement Tutor.
• Provide points of contact for both student and placement provider through Placement Tutor, Placement Manager and Placement Office should the need for liaison arise.
• Keep students informed of social events at University and other items of interest (Student Union Secretary).
• Work to ensure that placement providers are aware of, and fulfil their responsibilities as outlined below (Placement Manager and Placement Tutor).
• Comply with data protection laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (as amended or superseded from time to time) and guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Responsibilities of the Placement Provider  

The responsibilities of the placement provider are those normally required in any working situation. Because of the emphasis on supporting learning and development and because the placement is part of the student’s degree, the University does not usually support probationary periods.

Placement Providers will :

• Provide support for the identification and implementation of a company project, the aims and objectives of which should be negotiated between the placement provider, the student and the placement tutor.
• Provide regular feedback on the student’s performance and help them to improve their employability skills and attributes.
• Provide as many opportunities for acquiring new skills as possible.
• Ensure that accommodation for the student, where provided by the placement provider, meets basic hygiene and environmental standards.
• Negotiate the terms of the placement in advance and issuing the student with either a contract of employment or detailed volunteer agreement. As appropriate to any employee or volunteer , this would include details of disciplinary procedures.
• Hold current Employers’ and Public Liability insurance for any student whether employee or volunteer and notify their insurers of the student’s name for their records where required to do so.
• Comply with legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and operate and Equal Opportunities Policy.
• Comply with data protection laws including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (as amended or superseded from time to time) and guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
• Ensure that, where any students will be in contact with children and/or vulnerable adults, any DBS and other necessary checks and training are carried out.
• Provide a full induction covering all areas of the business including health and safety.
• Have relevant Health and Safety Policy in place and carry out risk assessments as relevant.
• Report any accidents, incidents or near misses at work involving the student to the University.
• Facilitate access to the student by the Placement Tutor (for the two reviews via MS Teams or face to face visit as appropriate) and support those three-way reviews with performance feedback including an employability score at the second review.
• Notify the university where sickness absence on placement amounts to more than three weeks, or where a student is absent for two days without notifying the placement provider.
• Provide feedback to the Placement Manager at the end of the placement period on how well the University has prepared students for placement, liaised with them in organising the placement period and supported the students whilst on placement.

Responsibilities of the Student

• Regularly check HAU email during placement.
• Establish and maintain regular contact with their placement tutor.
• Prompt the employer to review appropriate Health and Safety issues on commencement of employment, (see Placement Handbook Part 3 & Appendix III Health and Safety Guidance notes for Students on Placement) evidenced by the submission of the Student Checklist.
• Submit their student checklist on their PIMS record within two weeks of the start of their placement.
• Work with their placement provider to achieve goals in the action plan agreed for the placement.
• Respond to regular feedback from their placement provider.
• Record events and reflections, which may provide evidence for their personal development plan.
• Act as a functional member of the workforce displaying a positive attitude at all times.
• Maintain the highest standards of health and safety and general tidiness.
• Respect employer/client confidentiality at all times.
• Alert the placement provider and the University to problems that may prevent satisfactory progress or completion of the placement.
• Accept that the University policies apply to students on placement including the Respect Policy which itself includes expectations of conduct on social media.
• Act as ambassadors of the University at all times.
• Inform the University of any change of address.
• Where a placement provider is UK based but the student will carry out any part of their placement period overseas, the student must inform Harper Adams Placement Office prior to going overseas so that the University can assure itself that the student has appropriate insurance cover.
• Report any accidents, incidents or near misses at work involving the student to the University.
• Appreciate that their level of performance as identified for example in their reviews with their placement provider and tutor may affect their assessment and future placements.
• The student will not act in a manner that could bring the reputation of Harper Adams University or the placement provider into disrepute, either physically or virtually, such as through the use of social networking sites.

In the event of problems during placement

Harper Adams University will :

• Provide (via the tutor or Placement Manager), a source of advice and help for the student to discuss a problem before approaching the placement provider.
• Encourage students to communicate with their placement provider in the first instance, and intervene on the student’s behalf, if requested by the student.
• Follow the Procedure to Resolve Serious Issues on Placement in the instance that an issue between student and placement provider cannot be amicably resolved.
• In the event that a student’s health and safety is at risk, or they are suffering from bullying or sexual harassment, University staff will act rapidly and decisively to support the student.

The student will :

• Contact the appropriate member of University staff to discuss the issue.
• Not take any action which will jeopardise their employment without first discussing it with a member of University staff.
• Follow University procedures including the Procedure to Resolve Serious Issues on Placement.

Employment with a close member of the student’s or student partner’s family, or in any other circumstance which will affect impartiality of relationships and assessment, is not normally permitted and such placements will not qualify as a placement period.

By uploading placement details to Harper Adams University you accept the arrangements and responsibilities as set out above on behalf of the Placement Provider.