What’s in This Health and Safety Policy Template?
It’s an editable health and safety policy for small UK businesses, laid out in the three parts HSE uses. You get:
- a policy details block (business, premises, author and review date);
- Part 1, a statement of intent with a sign-off box;
- Part 2, a responsibilities table with example names to replace;
- Part 3, an arrangements table with an example for each common topic;
- a review record, so you can show when the policy was last checked.
It suits offices, shops, workshops, small warehouses and most low to medium-risk workplaces. Preview it below, then download the Word file. If the people named in Part 2 need the knowledge to back it up, our health and safety training is a good place to start.
Free template
Health and Safety Policy Template
An editable health and safety policy for small UK businesses, following HSE's three-part structure: statement of intent, responsibilities and arrangements.
Preview
How to use this template
- If you have five or more employees, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires you to write your policy down and bring it to the attention of all employees. With fewer than five, a written policy is still good practice.
- Replace every example with what really happens in your business. Delete anything that doesn't apply and add any risks specific to your work.
- Name people, not just job titles, in Part 2. Check each person knows what they are responsible for and has the training to do it.
- Have the most senior person in the business sign and date Part 1, then share the policy with every employee, for example at induction and on a noticeboard.
- Review the policy at least once a year, and straight away after a significant change, an incident or new legal requirements.
Policy details
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Business name | |
| Address of premises covered | |
| Number of employees | |
| Policy written by |
+ 2 more rows in the full template
Also in the full template
- Part 1: Statement of intent
- Statement of intent: sign-off
- Part 2: Responsibilities for health and safety
- All employees should
- Part 3: Arrangements for health and safety
- Policy review record
Do You Need a Written Health and Safety Policy?
HSE’s guidance puts it simply: every business must have a policy for managing health and safety. Whether it has to be written down depends on headcount.
Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires every employer to prepare a written statement of their general policy on health and safety, and the organisation and arrangements for carrying it out. They must revise it as often as appropriate and bring it, and any revision, to the notice of all employees.
The exception is in the Employers’ Health and Safety Policy Statements (Exception) Regulations 1975: an employer with fewer than five employees is excused from that duty. So:
- five or more employees: you must write it down and share it;
- fewer than five: you still need a policy in practice, but you don’t have to write it down. HSE says it is useful to do so.
These rules apply in Great Britain. For the rest of what the Act asks of you, see our guide to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
How to Fill In Part 1: Statement of Intent
HSE says this part should state your general policy on health and safety at work, including your commitment to managing it and your aims. The template gives you a standard list of aims, close to the ones in HSE’s own example: preventing accidents and work-related ill health, consulting employees, safe equipment and substances, training and competence, and reviewing the policy.
Keep the aims that fit and add any that matter in your business, such as providing PPE or protecting staff who work alone. Then the employer or most senior person signs and dates it. Put a review date beside the signature so it doesn’t get forgotten.
How to Fill In Part 2: Responsibilities
List the names, positions and roles of the people with specific health and safety responsibilities. Start with two rows that every policy needs: who has overall and final responsibility (usually the owner or managing director) and who has day-to-day responsibility for putting the policy into practice.
Then work down the template’s list: risk assessments, training records, equipment checks, COSHH, first aid, accident recording and RIDDOR reports, fire safety and consulting employees. Use names, not just job titles, and talk to each person before you write them in. Someone who doesn’t know they’re responsible for first aid isn’t really responsible for it.
Photo: Mathias Reding on Unsplash
How to Fill In Part 3: Arrangements
This is the working part of the policy: the practical arrangements that show how you will meet the aims in Part 1. HSE gives risk assessment, training employees and using safety signs or equipment as examples.
For each heading in the template, replace the example with what really happens. Be specific and brief. “Risk assessments are reviewed every year by Sam Patel and after any change to the workshop” beats a paragraph about commitment. Link out to the detail rather than copying it in: your risk assessment, fire risk assessment, COSHH assessments and accident book all sit behind this part.
Delete headings that genuinely don’t apply. Add any risks particular to your work, such as driving, working at height or lone working.
Signing, Sharing and Reviewing Your Policy
Signing. The most senior person signs Part 1. That makes the commitment visible and puts the overall responsibility where the law expects it.
Sharing. You must bring the policy, and any changes to it, to the attention of all employees. Cover it at induction, put a copy on the noticeboard or intranet, and walk new managers through Part 2 so they know what they own. HSE’s worked example has the manager present the policy at a staff meeting, which is a good model.
Reviewing. The Act says revise it as often as may be appropriate; there’s no fixed legal interval. HSE’s example reviews it every year, and straight away after a significant change. Also review it after an accident or near miss, a new site or process, or when someone named in Part 2 leaves. Record each review in the template’s review table.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Copying a generic policy word for word. An inspector, insurer or client can spot a policy that doesn’t match the workplace. Make every arrangement true.
- Naming people who don’t know. Part 2 only works if the people listed have agreed, understand the role and have the training for it.
- Writing it and filing it. If employees have never seen it, you haven’t met the duty to bring it to their notice.
- Letting it go stale. A policy naming someone who left two years ago tells a reader nothing has been reviewed since.
- Confusing the policy with the risk assessment. The policy says how you manage health and safety. The risk assessment says what the hazards are and what you do about each one. You need both.
What to Do Next
Download the template, block out an hour this week and fill in Part 2 first: once you know who does what, the rest is easier. Have the most senior person sign Part 1, share the policy with your team and put the review date in the diary.
Then make sure the people you’ve named can deliver. Our health and safety training covers IOSH, COSHH and core courses for UK teams, live online, as e-learning or at your premises.