Do you need a health and safety policy?
If you employ five or more people, you are legally required to have a written health and safety policy. Businesses with fewer than five employees still have health and safety duties – they just do not need to write them down (though doing so is still good practice).
This requirement comes from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The policy is not bureaucracy for its own sake – it forces you to think through how you manage health and safety and communicate that to your workforce.
A good health and safety policy template does more than satisfy legal requirements. It creates a reference point for decisions, sets expectations for staff, and demonstrates to clients, insurers, and regulators that you take safety seriously.
The three essential sections
Every health and safety policy must contain three parts:
Part 1: Statement of intent
A declaration of your commitment to health and safety, signed by the most senior person in the organisation. This sets the tone and demonstrates leadership accountability.
The statement should cover:
- Your overall commitment to ensuring health and safety
- Compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act and relevant regulations
- Specific commitments relevant to your business
- Recognition that adequate resources will be provided
- Date and signature of a senior director or owner
Keep it concise. One page is usually sufficient. The statement is about intent, not detail.
Part 2: Organisation
This section explains who is responsible for what. Health and safety duties cascade through the organisation – everyone has some responsibility, but specific people have specific duties.
Typically include:
- Directors or owners: Overall responsibility for health and safety, providing resources, setting policy
- Managers and supervisors: Implementing policy in their areas, conducting risk assessments, ensuring safe working practices
- Employees: Following safe systems of work, using equipment properly, reporting hazards
- Competent person: Named individual responsible for day-to-day health and safety management
- Safety representatives: If you have them, their role and how they engage with management
Use names or job titles. Make it clear who does what so there are no gaps or overlaps.
Part 3: Arrangements
The practical detail of how you manage specific health and safety matters. This is typically the longest section and should cover:
- Risk assessment procedures
- Fire safety arrangements
- First aid provision
- Accident and incident reporting
- Training and competence
- Equipment maintenance
- Workplace welfare
- Specific hazards relevant to your work
The arrangements section either contains these procedures directly or references separate documents where they are detailed.
Related reading: RIDDOR reporting: what incidents must you report?
What to include in the arrangements section
Risk assessment
Explain how you identify hazards, assess risks, and implement controls. Include who is responsible for conducting assessments, how often they are reviewed, and where they are recorded.
Fire safety
Cover fire risk assessment, prevention measures, detection and warning systems, evacuation procedures, fire marshal roles, and fire drill frequency.
First aid
Detail first aid provision based on your assessment of needs: number and location of first aiders, first aid equipment, and how first aid needs are reassessed as the business changes.
Accident reporting
Describe how accidents, incidents, and near misses are reported, investigated, and recorded. Reference RIDDOR requirements for serious incidents.
See how it works: MyRiskLog provides structured workflows for incident reporting and investigation.
Training
Cover how training needs are identified, how training is delivered and recorded, and how competence is verified. Include induction training for new starters.
MyTrainingTracker tracks training completion and certification expiry.
Consultation
Explain how you consult employees on health and safety matters – directly, through representatives, or via safety committees.
Specific hazards
Address hazards relevant to your work. Construction businesses need sections on working at height, manual handling, and site safety. Offices may focus on display screen equipment and workplace stress. Tailor this to your actual risks.
Making your policy useful
Many health and safety policies sit in folders gathering dust. That defeats the purpose. A useful policy is one that people actually read and follow.
Write in plain English
Avoid jargon and legalese. If staff cannot understand the policy, they cannot follow it. Write as you would explain things to a new employee.
Keep it proportionate
A small office does not need 50 pages of policy. Match the length and detail to your actual risks. Complex, high risk operations need more detail. Simple, low risk businesses need less.
Make it accessible
Staff need to be able to find and read the policy. Whether that means noticeboards, intranet, or physical copies in work areas depends on your workplace. The point is accessibility.
Review regularly
Policies go stale. Review at least annually and after any significant change – new premises, new activities, new equipment, or after accidents that reveal gaps.
Explore the platform: MyPolicyHub manages policy versions and reminds you when reviews are due.
Train people on it
Include the policy in induction training. Remind existing staff when updates are made. A policy nobody knows about is a policy nobody follows.
Common policy mistakes
Copying generic templates without customisation
Downloaded templates are starting points, not finished documents. A policy that does not reflect your actual workplace, your actual hazards, and your actual procedures is worthless – and potentially dangerous if people rely on incorrect information.
Making it too long
Comprehensive does not mean exhaustive. Include what people need to know. Put detailed procedures in separate documents referenced by the policy rather than cramming everything into one massive document.
Forgetting to sign and date it
The statement of intent needs a signature and date. Undated policies suggest they are not taken seriously or may be out of date.
Not updating after changes
A policy written three years ago for different premises with different activities is not compliant. Significant changes require policy updates.
Making it inaccessible
A policy locked in the manager's office or buried in the filing system might as well not exist. People need to be able to find it when they need it.
FAQs: health and safety policy
Can we use a free template from the internet?
As a starting point, yes. But you must customise it for your specific business. Generic policies that do not reflect your actual operations, risks, and arrangements fail to meet legal requirements and may give staff misleading information.
How often should the policy be reviewed?
At least annually as a minimum. Review more frequently if there are significant changes: new activities, new premises, new equipment, new staff roles, or following incidents that reveal policy gaps.
Who should sign the policy?
The most senior person with authority over health and safety matters – typically the managing director, owner, or chief executive. The signature demonstrates senior accountability.
Do we need separate policies for different sites?
It depends. One policy can cover multiple sites if arrangements are similar. But if sites have different hazards, different management structures, or different procedures, separate policies or site-specific annexes may be clearer.
Getting your policy right
A health and safety policy template is your starting point, not your destination. The document needs to reflect your business: your hazards, your people, your procedures. When it does, it becomes a useful reference rather than a compliance burden.
Organisations with effective health and safety cultures treat the policy as a living document. They review it regularly, update it when things change, and ensure staff know what is in it. The policy shapes how they work, not just how they file.
Ready to manage your policies properly? Join the Founding Partner waitlist to see how Compliance Cover helps organisations create, distribute, and maintain health and safety documentation.