{"id":79928,"date":"2025-07-24T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=79928"},"modified":"2025-07-30T09:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T08:38:30","slug":"health-and-safety-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/health-and-safety-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Health & Safety Policy: Free Template"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For business owners, writing an effective health and safety policy is not only a legal requirement but also an important step in protecting employees from harm. Workplace health and safety should never be overlooked as it plays a vital role in preventing accidents, ensuring legal compliance and enhancing workplace wellbeing and productivity. In this article, we\u2019ll explain what a health and safety policy entails, why it\u2019s so important that your organisation has one and provide some practical guidance on how to create a health and safety policy that\u2019s tailored to your individual workplace. You can also download a free health and safety policy template<\/a> at the end of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is a Health and Safety Policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A health and safety policy is a written document that outlines your organisation’s general approach and overall commitment to health and safety in the workplace. It\u2019s a tailored document that contains information relevant to your individual business, so each aspect of it needs to be carefully considered and not just copied and pasted from elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-considered health and safety policy should explain how employers and business owners will manage health and safety risks in your specific workplace, clearly outlining who<\/strong> has responsibility for what, how <\/strong>risks will be managed and what <\/strong>control measures should be in place to keep people safe from harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When written thoughtfully and applied to everyday working life, a health and safety policy will help to reduce accidents and injuries, minimise hazards and ensure legal compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Creates the Health and Safety Policy in the Workplace?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The workplace\u2019s employer or business owner has overall responsibility for health and safety and so must ensure that a health and safety policy is created. They are known as the \u2018responsible person.\u2019 However, the employer or owner doesn\u2019t have to create the policy themselves, and can instead appoint a competent person<\/a> to put the policy together for them.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Employer<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Management of Health at Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state that business owners should select \u2018one or more competent persons\u2019 to assist with health and safety compliance. This person could be someone within the workplace who has extensive experience and knowledge of its health and safety hazards, or it could be someone external. Generally speaking, the higher the level of risk in your workplace, the higher the level of competence required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Needs a Health and Safety Policy?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By law, all types of organisations, workplaces and settings need a health and safety policy. It doesn\u2019t matter what industry you work in, how many employees you have or what level of risk is present in your workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s only a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for workplaces with five or more employees to keep a written record of their health and safety policy. However, it\u2019s recommended that everyone does so regardless of their organisation\u2019s size, as having a documented health and safety policy is considered good practice and helps to better manage risks, even for very small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Policies and Procedures for Health and Safety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An effective and comprehensive health and safety policy should include information on the procedures that must be followed for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n