Policies, contracts, letters, guidance and HR support tools for UK employers.
View full libraryOur health and safety policy prioritises employee well-being, ensures legal compliance, and fosters a culture of safety in a proactive and accountable manner.
If you are reviewing your workplace safety arrangements, these health and safety policy templates give you a practical set of policies covering responsibilities, risk assessment, implementation, training and review.
1 Overview
1.1 This policy sets out [Company]’s commitment on Health and Safety. It also outlines responsibilities and duties and explains arrangements for maintaining a safe working environment.
2 Scope
2.1 This policy is applicable to all employees of [company name].
3 General principles
3.1 Statement of Intent
3.1.1 [Company] has a legal obligation to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees at work.
3.1.2 We have a duty to ensure the safety of any equipment in use and the safety of our premises and, so far as practicable, to ensure that neither staff nor the general public are exposed to risks to their health and safety.
3.1.3 [Company] will comply with all current health and safety legislation, codes of practice and other authoritative guidance.
3.1.4 [Company] requires its entire staff to co-operate in establishing and maintaining safe and healthy working conditions and to avoid any action which may adversely affect the health, safety and welfare of themselves or others.
3.1.5 Ultimate responsibility for Health and Safety rests with the [CEO | Managing Director]. However each manager has a duty to take care of the health, safety and welfare of their staff and to report and investigate any accident or incident to prevent a recurrence.
3.1.6 Equally all employees have a responsibility to take care of their own health and safety and that of the people they work with.
3.2 Organisation
3.2.1 Coordination of day to day health and safety is the responsibility of [name]. Anything likely to represent a hazard should be reported to [him/her] immediately.
3.2.2 Premises must be kept hazard free and maintained in good order with fire exits free from obstruction and with efficient fire extinguishers and fire alarms (tested at regular intervals).
3.3 Consultation
The organisation recognises the importance of
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The purpose of a health and safety policy is to outline an organisation's commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for its employees, customers, and any other individuals affected by its operations. It serves as a written statement that communicates the organisation's objectives, responsibilities, and procedures related to health and safety management.
The key purposes of a health and safety policy are:
Ensuring Legal Compliance: A health and safety policy helps an organisation comply with applicable laws, regulations, and standards related to workplace health and safety. It establishes a framework for meeting legal requirements and minimising the risk of non-compliance.
Demonstrating Commitment: By having a health and safety policy, an organisation demonstrates its commitment to prioritising the well-being of its employees and others. It conveys a clear message that the organisation values safety and is dedicated to providing a healthy work environment.
Setting Objectives and Goals: The policy sets out the organisation's health and safety objectives, such as reducing accidents, preventing work-related illnesses, and promoting a culture of safety. It also establishes measurable targets and goals that guide the organisation's efforts in improving health and safety performance.
Assigning Responsibilities: The health and safety policy identifies the roles and responsibilities of individuals within the organisation regarding health and safety matters. It clarifies who is accountable for specific tasks and ensures that everyone understands their obligations in maintaining a safe workplace.
Providing Guidelines and Procedures: The policy serves as a reference document that outlines the procedures, guidelines, and best practices for various aspects of health and safety. It provides employees with clear instructions on how to perform their work safely, use protective equipment, report hazards, and handle emergencies.
Promoting a Safety Culture: A health and safety policy fosters a culture of safety within the organisation. It encourages employees to prioritise their well-being and the well-being of others, promotes open communication about safety concerns, and supports continuous improvement in health and safety performance.
Supporting Risk Management: The policy helps identify potential hazards, assess risks, and implement control measures to mitigate those risks. It provides a framework for identifying hazards, conducting risk assessments, and implementing appropriate preventive measures to minimise the likelihood of accidents, injuries, and occupational illnesses.
Overall, a health and safety policy is a fundamental document that guides an organisation's efforts in promoting and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. It communicates the organisation's commitment to safety, outlines responsibilities, and provides a framework for managing health and safety effectively.
Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.
Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.
Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.
Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.
If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the Health and safety policy template, along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.
AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.
It gave managers something concrete to refer to when questions came up. The policy gave us a clear framework to work from.
It was clear enough to use as an actual workplace document. The structure made it easier to spot anything we wanted to add for our own workplace. The document gave us a sensible basis for checking our existing arrangements.
It helped us make the position much clearer internally. We made a handful of changes for our own terminology and were then happy with the result. It helped us tighten up a process that had previously been a little too dependent on individual judgement.
The wording was practical enough to work alongside the processes we already have. The main expectations were easy to find without wading through unnecessary wording.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The Health and safety policy template is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing health and safety HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
Whether you employ 5 people or 50, hrdocbox gives you the structure, documents and expertise needed to manage employees professionally and legally.
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