What to Include in a Health & Safety Policy at Work

What should a health and safety policy for employers include?

Well, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974 says a -olicy should contain three separate parts:

1. A 'Health and Safety Policy Statement of Intent' (your aims and objectives)

2. The organisation of health and safety (who has responsibility for what)

3. Your arrangements for health and safety (how risks are managed)

Let's take a look at each of these sections in a little more depth, these explain in detail how you can achieve business health and safety compliance.

Section 1: Health & Safety Policy Statement of Intent

This first part covers your statement (sometimes referred to as the Statement of Intent). This sets out how your organisation intends to manage health and safety issues and meet UK requirements. The statement should contain your organisation’s:

• Safety aims (which are not measurable)

• Objectives (which are measurable)

When writing your statement, use clear and simple language so your intentions can be easily understood. It doesn’t need to contain a lot of detail and can be fairly brief. It may be broken down using bullet points or a series of smaller statements. Ultimately, your statement should make specific, realistic commitments, including to:

• Identify the principal hazards to employees and others affected by your work, and control the associated risks adequately

• Meet the basic requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act – namely to maintain, so far as is "reasonably practicable", healthy and safe working conditions. For example, ensuring a safe plant, safe access and egress, safe equipment, safe systems of work, etc.

• Meet the additional health and safety requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999, including conducting risk assessments, developing emergency procedures and providing health surveillance

• Make sure employees have the necessary competency to carry out the tasks expected of them and provide appropriate and adequate health and safety training

• Consult employees on hazardous issues, possibly using a safety committee, and provide them with the necessary information, training and supervision to carry out their role without putting themselves or others at risk.

• Regularly review and, if required, revise your documentation

• Meet specific immediate and long-term health and safety performance targets.

• Have the resources to achieve the objectives outlined in the statement

Setting health and safety performance targets

Your targets are an important as they indicate management’s commitment to continually improving workplace health and safety performance, as well as motivating staff to achieve set goals. The type of targets chosen will very much depend on the areas which need improving most in your organisation. Common aims include:

• A specific reduction in the number of accidents incidents, and cases of work-related ill health

• A reduction in sickness absences

• A specific increase in the number of health and safety trained employees

• Increased reporting of minor accidents and near misses

• A reduction in civil claims

• No enforcement notices

• Achieving recognised health and safety standards and accreditations such as OHSAS 18001 or a RoSPA award

To demonstrate managerial commitment to health and safety, the statement should be signed by your organisation’s most senior person, normally the Chief Executive Officer or Managing Director. This shows where ultimate responsibility lies.

Who is responsible for communicating your policies?

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, responsibility for ensuring the health and safety policy is communicated to all employees rests with the organisation's most senior person.

Your policy should have been signed within the last 12 months. In other words, you should review your policy at least annually, noting within the policy the date it was last revised.

Section 2: Organisation of health and safety

This second part should set out the names, positions and duties of those within your organisation who have specific responsibility for health and safety. This is most often done with an organisational chart that shows the hierarchy of seniority within your organisation and identifies named persons' roles in health and safety. As well as directors, managers, and supervisors, this'll include specialists such as safety advisers or works engineers etc.

In small organisations, with very few management or control levels, a simple list may be enough.

In defining each person’s health and safety duties, the organisational structure must not contain overlaps or have the chains of command blurred. Each individual must be clear about their responsibilities and the limits of those responsibilities. Don’t get too job specific, you only want to outline the responsibilities relating to managing health and safety.

Your employees should also have a precise summary of their duties, namely to take reasonable care of their own and others’ health and safety at work (particularly those defined in the MHSWR).

Non-compliance with the managerial duties detailed in your organisation documentation may be seen by the courts as amounting to negligence by managers/supervisors. Similarly, employees' duties set out in the policy will define what amounts to taking “reasonable care” of themselves and others. Duties laid out in the policy may include summaries of regulatory requirements as well as your own rules. 

Section 3: Arrangements for health and safety

The final part of your policy identifies the arrangements you have in place to manage and control business hazards to the health and safety of people carrying out your activities or who might be affected by them.

Here, you should give details of the specific systems and procedures used to implement company-wide standards. This'll include details of first aid and washroom facilities, as well as your health and safety rules and procedures, including your procedure for reporting accidents.

Health and safety risk assessments (including COSHH, PPE and employee's manual handling duties) are commonly included within the arrangements section, particularly for hazards referred to. Arrangements for fire and other emergencies, as well as your arrangements for ensuring staff are provided with information, instruction, training and supervision, should also be included.

The arrangements part is likely to be the largest section. Importantly, your policy is not supposed to be a long-winded or complicated document, it should reflect what you do and how you manage risk in line with all relevant requirements. Remember, you want everyone to quickly understand what you are trying to achieve.

How to write a work health and safety policy​

The contents of your policy will depend on the type of work you undertake. Depending on the nature of your business and the risks involved, you may need to include information on:

• Employee health and safety Codes of Practice

• Arrangements for reporting health and safety issues (accident and illness reporting, investigation procedures, etc.)

• Emergency/fire drill procedures

• Risk assessment procedures

• First aid procedures

• Control of exposure to specific hazards (noise, vibration, manual handling, hazardous substances, etc.)

• Machinery safety

• Maintenance and PAT testing of electrical equipment

• PPE use

• Monitoring procedures, including health and safety inspections

• Procedures for ensuring the safety of contractors, visitors and members of the public

• Provision of welfare facilities

• Health and safety training and induction procedures

• Catering and food hygiene procedures

• Arrangements for consulting with employees

• Your health and safety policies and procedures for occupational driving

• Your smoking, drugs and alcohol policy

Depending on the size of your organisation, this list can become quite lengthy, and you may need to add to it over time. As such, ensuring your policy remains effective isn't always an easy task. Hands-on help from a named consultant will ensure your arrangements are not only robust but remain up to date year on year.

You should provide information about how particular arrangements are managed. Each arrangement should have its own heading. For example, under the heading “PAT testing”, you should outline:

• What you do to manage the risks associated with using electrical equipment

• Who or which position within your organisation is responsible for making sure PAT testing takes place

Get expert support with business your health and safety documentation

At WorkNest, we provide experienced, outsourced support to thousands of employers across the UK. Our unlimited, fixed-fee service gives you access to a named, highly-qualified health and safety consultant for advice and guidance at any time, plus bespoke policies, downloadable templates, and on-site assistance with risk assessments to keep your business on the right track. To discuss your specific needs, claim your free consultation now: 0345 226 8393.