Workplace Health and Safety law
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers to provide healthy and safe conditions for their employees.
However, there are still over one million injuries at work every year in the UK and many of these could be prevented by employers taking their health and safety responsibilities more seriously.
So the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 has been passed and will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers for employers.
The 2008 Act, which came into force in January 2009, raises the maximum penalty that can be imposed for breaching health and safety regulations in the lower courts from £5,000 to £20,000. It also broadens the range of offences for which an individual can be imprisoned.
If you were looking for information on working temperatures, rest breaks, working alone, personal protective equipment or number of first aiders required, see our article 'Health and safety at work'.
How to comply with health and safety law
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website is the most important source of information for businesses but these top tips, adapted from its website, can be used as a basic checklist to get you started:
Registering your business
Since 6 April 2009, most new businesses no longer need to register with HSE.
Assessing your risks
You need to undertake a risk assessment which is where you assess what could cause harm to people and how to take precautions against the risks. Take a walk around your business and look for things that can cause an accident: rubbish bins in walkways, litter or spilt drinks around rest room areas, trailing cables, sharp edges, shelves stocked dangerously, and so on. Look also at the activities that your staff undertake and the associated risks: lifting things, driving, whether they have the right protective equipment, whether they have the right tools for the job.
Creating a health and safety policy
A health and safety policy states how you are going to manage health and safety in your business. If you have 5 or more employees you need to write this down. You should share this policy with your staff via email, staff briefings, posters etc, and you should review and, if necessary, update the policy regularly so it continues to stay relevant to your business.
More support on risk assessments and health and safety policies
Take a look at the HSE publication An Introduction to Health and Safety (pdf 700kb) for two ready-made self-assessment forms for a risk assessment and a health and safety policy.
Taking out employer's insurance
If you employ people you need Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance and you must display the certificate in your workplace. There's more information on the HSE website.
Get a quote and apply for Employer's Liability insurance here.
Training your staff on health and safety awareness
You must provide free health and safety training for your workers so they know what hazards and risks they may face and how to deal with them. You can purchase health & safety training DVDs from Now Let’s Get Started. Or find out about face to face health & safety training courses, these can be held either on your site or at a central London location.
Taking care of your staff
If you have employees you must display the health and safety law poster or provide workers with a leaflet with the same information. The Health & Safety Executive has recently updated the posters. Visit the HSE bookstore and search for ' health and safety law poster'.
You must also provide toilets, washing facilities and drinking water for all your employees, including those with disabilities.
Health and safety advisors
You must have competent advice to help you meet your health and safety duties. This can be workers from your business, external consultants/advisers or a combination of these.
Consulting your staff on health and safety
You must consult employees on health and safety matters. They are in a much better position to identify potential dangers than you are.
Report health and safety incidents
If you are an employer, self-employed or in control of work premises, by law you must report some work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. This is covered by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 - better known as RIDDOR.
Workplace Health and Safety law
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers to provide healthy and safe conditions for their employees.
However, there are still over one million injuries at work every year in the UK and many of these could be prevented by employers taking their health and safety responsibilities more seriously.
So the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 has been passed and will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers for employers.
The 2008 Act, which came into force in January 2009, raises the maximum penalty that can be imposed for breaching health and safety regulations in the lower courts from £5,000 to £20,000. It also broadens the range of offences for which an individual can be imprisoned.
If you were looking for information on working temperatures, rest breaks, working alone, personal protective equipment or number of first aiders required, see our article 'Health and safety at work'.
How to comply with health and safety law
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website is the most important source of information for businesses but these top tips, adapted from its website, can be used as a basic checklist to get you started:
Registering your business
Since 6 April 2009, most new businesses no longer need to register with HSE.
Assessing your risks
You need to undertake a risk assessment which is where you assess what could cause harm to people and how to take precautions against the risks. Take a walk around your business and look for things that can cause an accident: rubbish bins in walkways, litter or spilt drinks around rest room areas, trailing cables, sharp edges, shelves stocked dangerously, and so on. Look also at the activities that your staff undertake and the associated risks: lifting things, driving, whether they have the right protective equipment, whether they have the right tools for the job.
Creating a health and safety policy
A health and safety policy states how you are going to manage health and safety in your business. If you have 5 or more employees you need to write this down. You should share this policy with your staff via email, staff briefings, posters etc, and you should review and, if necessary, update the policy regularly so it continues to stay relevant to your business.
More support on risk assessments and health and safety policies
Take a look at the HSE publication An Introduction to Health and Safety (pdf 700kb) for two ready-made self-assessment forms for a risk assessment and a health and safety policy.
Taking out employer's insurance
If you employ people you need Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance and you must display the certificate in your workplace. There's more information on the HSE website.
Get a quote and apply for Employer's Liability insurance here.
Training your staff on health and safety awareness
You must provide free health and safety training for your workers so they know what hazards and risks they may face and how to deal with them. You can purchase health & safety training DVDs from Now Let’s Get Started. Or find out about face to face health & safety training courses, these can be held either on your site or at a central London location.
Taking care of your staff
If you have employees you must display the health and safety law poster or provide workers with a leaflet with the same information. The Health & Safety Executive has recently updated the posters. Visit the HSE bookstore and search for ' health and safety law poster'.
You must also provide toilets, washing facilities and drinking water for all your employees, including those with disabilities.
Health and safety advisors
You must have competent advice to help you meet your health and safety duties. This can be workers from your business, external consultants/advisers or a combination of these.
Consulting your staff on health and safety
You must consult employees on health and safety matters. They are in a much better position to identify potential dangers than you are.
Report health and safety incidents
If you are an employer, self-employed or in control of work premises, by law you must report some work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. This is covered by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 - better known as RIDDOR.