Introduction to managing health and safety

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1. Overview

These pages provide:

  • an overview of what health and safety management means
  • advice on finding the right guidance for your business
  • practical steps to manage health and safety in small, low-risk businesses
  • relevant health and safety laws

What managing health and safety means

As an employer, you are responsible for managing health and safety in your business. This includes managing risks and taking practical steps to protect workers and others from harm.

Managing risk is just one part of health and safety management. You must also have arrangements in place to:

  • make the right plans
  • implement those plans
  • check they are working
  • act if they are not

By doing this, you should be able to ensure:

  • your risks stay controlled
  • you provide a safe working environment for workers and others

The measures you put in place should be part of your everyday processes for managing your business.

For most small, low-risk businesses you don’t need a formal management system. By following a simple Plan, Do, Check, Act[5] approach you can effectively manage health and safety in your workplace.

Link URLs in this page

  1. Find the right guidance for your businesshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/business-guidance.htm
  2. How to manage health and safetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/how-to-manage.htm
  3. The lawhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/the-law.htm
  4. Go to surveyhttps://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/77V79CQ
  5. Plan, Do, Check, Acthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/how-to-manage.htm
  6. Next page Find the right guidance for your business https://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/business-guidance.htm
  7. View a printable version of the whole guidehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/introduction/print.htm
  8. Managing for health and safety (HSG65)https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg65.htm
  9. Health and safety basics for your businesshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/index.htm
  10. Common workplace riskshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/common-workplace-risks.htm
  11. Vulnerable workershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/vulnerable-workers/index.htm
  12. Using contractorshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg368.htm
  13. Have the right workplace and welfare facilitieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/workplace-facilities/index.htm
  14. Leading health and safety at workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/index.htm
  15. ISO 45001 Health and safety management standardhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/management-system/iso45001.htm

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Updated:2021-03-01