Health and safety for small businesses – a guide to health and safety policy

Are you up to speed with the health and safety rules for small businesses? Our simple guide explains everything you need to know.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) is the main piece of legislation covering health and safety at work in the UK. If you run a small, low-risk business, it’s usually quite straightforward to abide by the UK’s health and safety laws.

In this article, we look in detail at small business health and safety policy requirements, including risk assessments, plus everything else you need to know to make sure you’re complying with health and safety law.

Who is responsible for health and safety in the workplace?

As a business owner or employer, the majority of the responsibility for workplace health and safety will belong to you. According to the Health and Safety Executive website (HSE), “it is an employer’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business.”

The HSE website also sets out your core responsibilities as an employer. These include:

creating a health and safety policy
managing risks and risk assessment at work
reporting accidents and illnesses
providing information and training
consulting your workers
organising first aid in work
having the right workplace facilities
displaying the law poster

We’ll go into more detail about each of these responsibilities throughout this guide where relevant.

What is a health and safety policy?

Whether you’re self-employed, run a partnership, or a limited company, a health and safety policy is an important document that all businesses need to have.

A health and safety policy provides more structure for growing businesses that are hiring new staff, implementing new processes, or moving to new premises.

Every business’s policy will be different depending on how many employees they have and what sector they operate in. However, all policies will include information on key topics such as first aid and risk assessments.

A good health and safety statement will be clear, accessible, and easy for employees to understand.

Does a small company need a health and safety policy?

Generally speaking, health and safety laws apply to all businesses. Whether you’re an employer or self-employed, you’re responsible for the health and safety of employees or members of the public in your workplace.

That said, HSE understands that running a one-person IT operation is vastly different to owning a construction business with hundreds of staff. That’s why their rules only require you to take an approach that’s proportionate to the size and type of business you run.

For businesses with fewer than five employees, for example, the HSE doesn’t even require you to write down your risk assessment or health and safety policy.

All that’s required of many businesses is to make sure people are protected from harm caused by their business’s work activities. By doing that, you’ll also be safeguarding the reputation and success of your business.

How to write a health and safety policy

Most health and safety policies are split into three parts:

a statement of intent
responsibilities
arrangements

Keep reading to learn more about each part and how they ensure you’re keeping your employees and customers safe.

Statement of intent

This section will give an overview of your company’s approach to health and safety.

It’ll usually give details of the policy’s aims, such as:

maintaining safe and healthy working conditions
managing risks effectively
reviewing and revising the policy regularly
training staff on health and safety

Responsibilities for health and safety

This section will outline who’s responsible for each health and safety responsibility and their role in the business.

As we’ve already mentioned, employers are ultimately held responsible for health and safety in the workplace. But your health and safety policy allows you to set out who in your business is able to support you. For example, your HR director may also be your designated first aider. It’s important to make sure that you appoint people with the right skills for each position.

Arrangements for health and safety

This final part of the policy will explain how you’ll achieve the health and safety aims set out in the statement of intent. It’ll give details of the arrangements you have in place, such as:

completing risk assessments
putting up relevant safety signs
training employees regularly
reporting workplace accidents
reviewing your health and safety policy

The arrangements section is also where you’ll set out what’ll happen if people don’t follow the company’s health and safety procedures.

How often should a business review its health and safety policy?

Your health and safety at work policy should be reviewed at least once a year. It’s likely you’ll need to review the policy if you make any significant changes to your business, such as:

working with new equipment or machinery
starting a new department within the business
moving to a new location or refurbishing your current premises

Another reason you may need to review your health and safety policy is if an incident occurs, such as staff raising safety concerns about processes or someone getting seriously injured because of an accident.

How to review a health and safety policy

Reviewing your health and safety policy is an important process, but it shouldn’t be too complicated.

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

look over your policy and make sure it reflects the business as it’s currently operating
conduct new risk assessments and inspections, speaking with key members of staff to make sure everything is covered
make a record of discussions and suggested changes to the policy

Once you’ve decided what changes you’re going to make, you’ll need to update your policy with any new information and a refreshed date. You’ll then need to make it available to staff and replace the old version anywhere you have it on file.

Managing risk assessment at work

What counts as a risk?

A hazard, or anything that may cause harm, is a risk. You should work out whether anyone could be harmed by each hazard, and how serious the harm could potentially be.

The HSE’s health and safety toolbox provides links to content relevant to specific types of work, such as:

electrical safety
fire safety
manual handling
slips and trips
working at height

How do I control the risks in my workplace?

Controlling risks is an essential part of managing health and safety in your workplace.

First, take a thorough look around your business and identify things that may cause harm to people. If you have employees, ask for their opinions, as they may see risks you’re not aware of.

You then need to take reasonable steps to stop those risks causing actual harm. Consider who could be harmed if there was an accident, and think about what steps you’re already taking.

All that’s really being asked of you here is to work out common sense ways to make sure accidents don’t happen.

Everyday risks are assumed, so you only need to write down any significant findings – unless you have fewer than five employees, in which case there’s no paperwork necessary.

You’re not expected to bend over backwards to remove every single risk in your workplace, but rather to take reasonably achievable steps to control those risks.

Do different types of business pose different risks?

If your business is an office or a shop, the HSE has provided online tools to help you complete your risk assessment.

Businesses with higher risk factors, such as construction or forestry, can consult the HSE’s A-Z of guidance by industry for advice on responsibilities specific to their line of work.

Do I need to do a risk assessment if I’m self-employed and work on my own?

As of October 2015, if you’re self-employed and your work doesn’t pose a risk to the health and safety of other workers or members of the public, health and safety law doesn’t apply to you.

However, the HSE makes it clear that you need to judge for yourself whether your work poses a risk or not.

They give the example of a fairground ride operator whose business is to let members of the public use the ride. This business owner needs to take steps to protect customers from harm.

Reporting workplace accidents and illnesses

You’re required by law to report certain work-related injuries and illnesses. If you have more than 10 employees, then this must also be recorded in an accident book (this can also be helpful if you need to make a claim on your insurance).

What type of accidents need to be reported?

The Health and Safety Executive is a government resource, which details the specific types of reportable incidents and injuries. These include:

certain injuries to workers, such as fractures and serious burns
loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
occupational diseases (for example carpal tunnel syndrome or occupational dermatitis)
dangerous occurrences and near-misses (such as electrical incidents causing a fire)
gas incidents

The HSE also explains when an incident should be recorded but not reported, and when you need to do both.

How to submit a report

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) is the legislation that requires businesses to report such work-place incidents. Only ‘responsible persons’ can submit a report, and you’ll need to use the relevant form on the HSE website.

When recording people’s personal information, make sure you’re following GDPR and data protection legislation.

Health and safety information and training

As an employer, you’ll need to provide workers with relevant information and training about health and safety. Most of this information will be in your health and safety policy, and you can also display the HSE-approved health and safety law poster, which we’ll touch on later.

There’s also a range of health and safety training available for workers, managers, and employers to make sure everyone’s knowledge is as up to date as possible.

Health and safety awareness course

If you work in construction specifically, you might want to take the health and safety awareness course, or offer the same to workers or managers. The course highlights potential hazards when working on site and provides practical advice on keeping yourself and your colleagues safe. It covers your individual and employer’s responsibilities, including what you can do if you think anyone’s health and safety is being put at risk.

Consulting your workers about health and safety

As an employer, you’re legally expected to consult with your workers about health and safety in your workplace. This means sharing relevant information, but also taking feedback and allowing them to influence your decisions and policy.

In a smaller business you’ll likely want to speak to employees in small groups or one to one. It can also be worth including health and safety updates as agenda points in routine team meetings. You can also carry out staff surveys, employee suggestion schemes, or notice boards.

Emergency first aid at work

Although not a part of your health and safety policy, it’s important to have adequate first aid resources available in your workplace. As an employer, it’s your responsibility that your employees receive immediate attention if they suffer an accident or illness at work.

Supplies and facilities

After determining your risk level and completing a first aid needs assessment, you’ll get a better idea of what first aid requirements are needed in your workplace. In a low risk environment, you’ll need:

a first aid kit
someone in charge of first aid arrangements (checking supplies and calling for help)
clear information regarding your first aid processes to all staff

In a more high risk workplace with industry-specific hazards and risks, this list will increase and you may need additional first aid kits and a number of trained first-aiders to be on hand in an emergency.

Specialist first-aiders

In a workplace with more risks, you may decide you need a dedicated first-aider. First-aiders have been instructed by a qualified training provider or on an emergency first aid at work course. Once your chosen staff member has trained as a first-aider, they’ll be awarded a certificate. These usually last for up to three years, after which your first-aider will have to retrain to continue providing care.

One of the most important aspects of any workplace first aid policy is clear communication. Make sure all your employees know where to go, or who to ask for help, when they’ve been injured.

What is the health and safety law poster?

HSE has a health and safety law poster which you must display if you have any employees. It explains British health and safety laws and lists what workers and employers are responsible for.

You can also choose to add the details of any employee safety representatives or health and safety contacts.

The poster should be displayed in any relevant common area. As an alternative, you can give each worker a health and safety law leaflet with the same information.

How does health and safety affect my business insurance?

If your business has staff, it’s likely that employers’ liability insurance is a legal must-have. This cover can protect your business when health and safety issues occur if your employees get injured or sick as a result of working for you.

Public liability insurance is also a key cover to consider.

Insurers tend to take a common sense approach to health and safety, expecting their policyholders to take the necessary steps to meet their responsibilities.

If you need some further guidance, trade unions, employers’ organisations, and trade associations are good places to start, and HSE web resources also provide useful information.

What steps are you taking to ensure health and safety regulations are met in your business? Let us know in the comments.

What steps are you taking to ensure health and safety regulations are met in your business? Let us know in the comments.

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