What you need to do about health and safety

Your business has legal responsibilities to provide safe and healthy conditions for your employees, customers, suppliers and anyone else who could be affected by your activities.

Your business can also benefit from good health and safety at work. Effective health and safety practices pay for themselves, because they help you avoid staff illness, accidents and the costs associated with them. They can also improve your reputation with customers, regulators and employees.

This guide offers an introduction to the essentials of health and safety for your business.

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Employers’ health and safety responsibilities – an overview

In general, the laws apply to all businesses, no matter how small. As an employer, or a self-employed person, you are responsible for health and safety in your business. You need to take the right precautions to reduce the risks of workplace dangers and provide a safe working environment.

Decide who will help you with your duties

As an employer, you must appoint someone competent to help you meet your health and safety duties. See our guide on how to decide who will help with your health and safety duties.

Write a health and safety policy for your business

Describing how you will manage your health and safety in your business will let your staff and others know about your commitment to health and safety. This will be your health and safety policy. See our guide on how to write a health and safety policy for your business.

Manage the risks in your business

You should use a risk assessment as the main health and safety tool to identify workplace hazards. It will also allow you to put measures in place to control and minimise the hazards and risks you find. See our guide on managing the risks in your business.

Consult your employees

You should find out what your employees and their representatives think about any changes that might affect their health and safety and the quality of your health and safety information and training. See our guide on how to consult your employees on health and safety.

Provide training and information

Everyone who works for you needs to know how to work safely and without risks to health. See our guide on how to provide training and information.

Provide the right workplace facilities

Every workplace must meet some basic standards of comfort and sanitation. See our guide: what workplace facilities do you need to provide?

First aid, accidents and ill health

Under health and safety law you must report and keep a record of certain injuries, incidents and cases of work-related disease. See our guide on first aid, accidents and ill health.

Display the health and safety law poster

If you employ anyone, you must display the health and safety law poster, or provide each worker with a copy of the equivalent pocket card. You must display the poster where your workers can easily read it.

The poster outlines British health and safety laws and includes a straightforward list that tells workers what they and their employers need to do. You can also add details of any employee safety representatives or health and safety contacts if you wish to do so.

You can read about the health and safety law poster and order copies online on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website- Opens in a new window.

Register your business

If your business works with hazardous substances such as asbestos or explosives, or in a hazardous industry like construction or diving, you may need to apply for a licence or notify the HSE or your local authority. For more information, see our guide on hazardous substances and the environment – the basics.

Find advice on notifying the HSE about hazardous work activities on the HSE website- Opens in a new window. You can also find contact details for your local authority using our Contacts Directory.

Get insurance for your business

If your business has employees you will probably need employers’ liability insurance. See our guide on getting insurance.

Keep up to date

Following news and events in your industry will help you keep your health and safety policies and risk assessments up to date. HSE provide several services to businesses to help keep up to date, including:

• RSS news feeds to your computer or mobile – sign up for health and safety RSS new feeds on the HSE website- Opens in a new window
• free e-bulletins – subscribe for free e-bulletins on the HSE website- Opens in a new window
• podcasts – find out about health and safety podcasts on the HSE website- Opens in a new window
• SMS text alerts to your mobile – you can subscribe for SMS text alerts on the HSE website

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Business benefits of good health and safety at work

If you have good health and safety practices, you will see six main business benefits.

Protect your staff

Effective health and safety practices help you protect your staff from injury, which may mean you are more likely to retain skilled and loyal employees by preventing:

• back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders – eg upper limb disorders – see our guides on how to ensure employees’ safety when lifting and carrying and prevent RSI and upper limb disorders
• injuries from slips and trips – see our guide on how to avoid slips and trips
• falls from height – see our guide on how to work safely at height or in a confined space
• accidents involving vehicles at work – see our guide on transport in the workplace
• aches, pains and strain from using display screen equipment – see our guide on how to ensure your employees are operating computers safely

Looking after your employees’ health will mean that your staff are less likely to suffer from:

• the effects of noise and vibration
• asthma – see the page on how to manage risks from substances which can cause or worsen allergies in our guide on diseases, infections and allergies
• work-related skin disease
• asbestos-related illness – see the page on key occupational health issues in our guide on occupational health and welfare: an overview

Reduce absences and sick leave

Another benefit of good health and safety measures at work is that employees are less likely to take sick leave. This saves the business the direct and indirect costs of staff absence.

Retain staff

If you reduce staff absence due to illness or accidents at work, you will save the time and costs of recruiting and training a new member of staff.

Reputation

Good health and safety measures will help you to build a positive reputation with your clients and staff and their friends and associates. The resulting good public relations will help to increase sales and generate more leads.

Productivity and profits

Good health and safety measures mean that your staff can do their work more easily and safely. This will boost morale, increase productivity and reduce costs.

Save insurance and legal costs

A good standard of health and safety in the workplace can reduce your insurance premiums, as well as the costs of accidents that aren’t covered by your insurance, such as sick pay, production delays or repairs to plant or equipment. Uninsured costs can be greater than insured costs, and they have to be paid out of your business’ income.

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