Does my business need a health and safety policy? UK rules explained

Every business in the UK needs a health and safety policy. It sets out your commitment to managing health and safety, who is responsible for what, and how you will do it in practice. HSE puts it simply: your policy should say who does what, when and how.

Do I have to write it down?

• 5 or more employees: yes. Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires you to have a written policy and to bring it, and any changes to it, to the attention of your employees.
• Fewer than 5 employees: you still need a policy, but the law does not require you to write it down. Writing it down is still a good idea. It makes it easier to share and shows clients and insurers that you take safety seriously.

The three parts of a policy

HSE recommends a simple structure in three parts.

1. Statement of intent

A short statement of your general policy and your commitment to health and safety, with your aims. For example, preventing accidents and work related ill health, consulting staff, and providing the training and equipment people need.

It should be signed by the most senior person in the business and reviewed regularly.

2. Responsibilities

Name the people with specific health and safety duties and say what they are. For example:

• who has overall responsibility (usually the owner or a director),
• who carries out risk assessments,
• who looks after first aid and accident reporting,
• who checks equipment and arranges maintenance,
• who arranges training,
• what every employee is expected to do, such as following safe systems of work and reporting hazards.

3. Arrangements

This is the practical part: how you will actually manage health and safety day to day. It usually covers:

• risk assessments and how often they are reviewed,
• training and induction for new starters,
• consulting with employees,
• first aid, accident reporting and investigation,
• fire safety and emergency procedures,
• maintenance and inspection of equipment,
• hazardous substances (COSHH),
• managing contractors and visitors,
• specific risks in your business, such as working at height, driving or lone working.

HSE offers a free example policy and a blank template to help you get started.

Sharing the policy

A policy that sits in a drawer does nothing. Make sure staff know it exists, can find it easily and understand what it means for them. Go through it at induction, tell people when it changes, and keep a record that they have read it.

Reviewing the policy

Review your policy regularly, at least once a year is a sensible habit, and whenever something changes, for example:

• you move premises or open a new site,
• you start a new type of work,
• the people with key responsibilities change,
• there is a serious accident or an inspection finding.

Note the date of each review and the version number, so you can show it is current.

How MYRA helps

MYRA Compliance stores your health and safety policy alongside your other policies, with version numbers, effective dates and review dates in one place, so your team always reads the current version and you can see at a glance when each one is due for review.

Find out more about policies and documents in MYRA Compliance.