We’ve all seen articles or heard people talking about ‘health and safety gone mad’ and for small businesses, it may feel impossible to keep on top of all of the various legislation to adhere to. Nevertheless, the safety of employees and customers is critical morally, operationally and financially, and a serious accident can incur irreparable reputational damage to a business. Companies potentially face unlimited fines if found guilty of significant breaches of legislation, whilst directors can be made to serve up to two years in prison.

Most people will have heard of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 during training, but understanding how it applies to a workplace can be a daunting task for employers. Whilst arguably the most important piece of health and safety legislation, there are many more that need to be considered depending on the work environment. Furthermore, if your business has 5 or more employees, you are legally required to have a written health and safety policy, as well as risk assessments, which must be made available to your employees. These must be ‘suitable and sufficient’, a phrase with different meaning depending on the environment in which it is applied.