Writing a Health and Safety Policy

If you have five or more employees working for you it is necessary to write down your health and safety policy. Any fewer employees still require you to have a policy although there is no need to keep a written record of it. When you are working on your health and safety policy it is a good idea to set it out in three sections. These three sections need to include:

• Your general policy statement - in this you need to put what your commitment is to managing health and safety and your goals.
• A section pointing out who is responsible for the specific actions in the policy.
• The arrangements that you will be doing in order to achieve the goals and the aims that are set out in your policy statement.

It is important to make sure that in the arrangement section you clearly point out how you aim to meet your commitments. This is the place to include how you plan on reducing and eliminating the risks in your company. The risks come from potential hazards.

Hazards come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; they could be electrical, chemical and the working environment. The hazards cause risks and these risks need to be controlled no matter how big or small the risks are. The arrangements section is also where you need to include any additional actions that are required.

Remember to include important points such as:

• Health and safety training and job training
• Adding new equipment that can reduce the risks, such as protective clothing
• Adding anti-slip flooring
• Improving the lighting and ventilation
• Replacing harmful chemicals with ones that are less harmful
• Placing clear signs to highlight the hazards and risks for employees and for visitors

When you write your health and safety policy be sure to give more attention to the risks that could cause the most damage or harm to people. These will need to be focused on carefully to avoid accidents and incidents. Other risks still need to be managed but keep things in proportion.

Health and safety courses can provide you with the skills you need to create an effective and adequate policy.

Related Courses

• IOSH Managing Safely
• NEBOSH General Certificate
• NEBOSH Construction Certificate
• NEBOSH National Diploma
• NVQ Health and Safety
• Construction NVQ

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