Do I Need a Health and Safety Policy? UK Rules for Small Businesses

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires every employer to have a policy for managing health and safety. If you employ five or more people, it must be written down.

The three parts

• Statement of intent — your commitment, signed by the most senior person
• Responsibilities — who does what
• Arrangements — how you manage risk assessment, training, first aid, fire and more

Review it

Review the policy regularly and whenever something significant changes, and share it with your employees. Our health and safety policy template follows this structure and is ready to brand.