Health and Safety Policy

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires businesses that employ five or more people to have a written statement of their policy for ensuring health and safety. The safety policy should help you to

• Decide on priorities
• Detail health and safety objectives
• Outline the organisation that exists for ensuring they are met
• Decide how the policy is to be implemented

Your organisations safety policy should

• Be specific to your business or undertaking
• Set out your general policy for protecting the health and safety of your employees, contractors and others working at your premises and persons not at work e.g. visitors, affected by your operations
• State personnel with responsibility for risk assessments, recording and reporting accidents, fire safety precautions, first aid etc.
• Describe the organisation and arrangements for putting the policy into practice to eliminate or reduce risks identified in the risk assessments
• Explain the procedures for avoiding or eliminating hazards associated with specific work activities on the premises
• Describe the arrangements for identifying training, information and instruction to employees of workplace risks
• Describe the procedure/arrangement for bringing the policy to the attention of all employees
• Describe the arrangements for reviewing and regularly updating the policy as a result of changed work practices or new legislation
• Should be identifiable as the current and up to date version being signed and dated by the responsible person such as the owner, managing director, etc

Further guidance about writing health and safety policies can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.

Contact us

Health and safety unit
Tel: 020 7525 2000
Fax: 020 7525 5735
ohs@southwark.gov.uk
Chaplin Centre
Thurlow Street
London SE17 2DG