Health And Safety Policy: What Your Business Must Include In Writing

If you’re running a small business, health and safety can feel like something only larger employers need to worry about.

But in the UK, your duties around safety at work can apply from day one - even if you only have one employee, a single premises, or you mainly work online.

A well-written health and safety policy isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. It’s a practical document that helps you prevent accidents, avoid disruption, and show you’re taking your responsibilities seriously if something goes wrong.

Below, we’ll break down what a written health and safety at work policy should include in the UK, when it’s required, and how to make it actually work in real life (not just sit in a folder).

Do You Need A Written Health & Safety Policy In The UK?

In the UK, health and safety duties are primarily driven by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (often shortened to HSWA 1974). This is the core piece of legislation that places general duties on employers to protect employees and others who may be affected by the business (like contractors, visitors, and members of the public).

When it comes to a health and safety policy document, the key rule is straightforward:

• If you employ 5 or more people, you’re generally required to have a written health and safety policy.
• If you employ fewer than 5, you may not be legally required to have it in writing, but you still have health and safety duties - and having a policy is strongly recommended.

In practice, many small businesses create a company health and safety policy even before they reach five employees because it:

• clarifies who is responsible for what (especially if you have supervisors or site managers)
• supports training and onboarding
• helps you show compliance if the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) or your local authority ever asks questions
• reduces confusion when something changes (new premises, new equipment, hybrid work, new staff)

It also fits neatly alongside your wider people documentation, like an Staff Handbook and your internal Workplace Policy framework.

What Is A Health And Safety Policy (And What Is It Not)?

A health and safety policy is your high-level written commitment to keeping people safe, plus a practical plan for how you’ll do that.

It’s not the same thing as a risk assessment - but it should explain how your business approaches risk assessments and how you’ll control hazards.

It’s also not a generic policy you download and forget. Templates can be a useful starting point, but if your policy doesn’t match what your business actually does, it can create risk rather than reduce it.

Think of it this way: if there’s ever an incident, your policy is one of the documents that may be reviewed to understand whether your business had a sensible system in place.

A good health and safety at work policy should:

• reflect your real workplace (office, shop, warehouse, construction site, clinic, café, home working setup, etc.)
• match your org chart and responsibilities
• be easy to understand and easy to find
• be kept up to date
• be brought to employees’ attention (for example, during induction and when it’s updated)

What Must Be Included In A Health And Safety Policy UK?

In the UK, the “classic” structure (and the one regulators expect to see) is a 3-part health and safety policy:

• Part 1: Statement of Intent
• Part 2: Responsibilities
• Part 3: Arrangements

Let’s break down what each part should cover in plain English.

1) Statement Of Intent (Your Commitment)

This is the top-level statement where you set out your business’ commitment to health and safety. It’s often signed and dated by the business owner, director, or most senior manager - because leadership matters here.

Common inclusions are:

• your commitment to providing a safe and healthy working environment
• your commitment to complying with health and safety law
• your aim to prevent accidents and work-related ill health
• your commitment to training, supervision, and consultation with staff
• your commitment to reviewing the policy regularly

Tip: keep this section short and clear. Two or three paragraphs is usually enough.

2) Responsibilities (Who Does What)

This section is where many small businesses get caught out - because it’s easy to assume “everyone will just be careful”. But health and safety needs named ownership.

Your responsibilities section should set out, at minimum:

• the employer’s responsibilities (often you, if you’re the business owner)
• manager / supervisor responsibilities (if anyone oversees work, shifts, sites, or teams)
• employee responsibilities (following procedures, using equipment correctly, reporting hazards)
• competent person support (whether this is an internal person, a consultant, or external provider)

You’ll also usually want to name responsibility for specific areas such as:

• first aid arrangements
• fire safety and evacuation
• accident reporting and investigation
• risk assessments
• equipment maintenance and safety checks

If you employ staff, it’s also sensible to align responsibilities with your core employment documents, like an Employment Contract, so expectations are consistent.

3) Arrangements (How You Manage Safety Day-To-Day)

This is the “how we do it in practice” section, and it should be tailored to your business. For small businesses, it can be tempting to keep it vague - but this is the part that makes your policy useful.

Depending on what you do, your arrangements might include:

• risk assessment procedures (how you identify hazards and control them)
• training and induction (how new staff are trained, including refresher training)
• supervision (especially for new starters, young workers, or higher-risk tasks)
• incident reporting (how staff report accidents/near misses and who investigates)
• fire safety (evacuation routes, fire wardens, drills, equipment checks)
• first aid (kits, appointed person, how to get help)
• equipment safety (maintenance schedules, PAT testing where relevant)
• manual handling (lifting/carrying rules, training, use of trolleys)
• workplace welfare (toilets, rest areas, drinking water, ventilation)
• contractors and visitors (sign-in process, induction, supervision)

Which Laws And Topics Should Your Health & Safety Policy Cover?

Your health and safety policy doesn’t need to read like a law textbook. But it should reflect the main legal risk areas that apply to your workplace.

For many small businesses, the key regulations and topics to think about include:

Risk Assessments (Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations 1999)

Most employers must assess workplace risks and take steps to reduce them. Your policy should clearly explain:

• who carries out risk assessments
• when they’re reviewed (for example, annually or after any changes)
• how control measures are implemented and checked

Accident Reporting (Including RIDDOR Where Relevant)

If there’s an accident at work, you’ll want a clear internal process so it’s recorded, investigated, and steps are taken to prevent a repeat.

Some serious workplace incidents must also be reported under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations). Your policy can note who decides whether something is reportable and how it’s done.

Fire Safety

Fire safety is a common enforcement area, especially for customer-facing premises (retail, hospitality, clinics) and workplaces with higher footfall.

Your policy should cover evacuation procedures and basic responsibilities - and your practical documents (like a fire risk assessment and evacuation plan) should sit alongside it.

Workplace Equipment, Machinery And Hazardous Substances (PUWER / COSHH)

If your business uses machinery, tools, chemicals, cleaning products, paints, aerosols, or other hazardous substances, you may need to consider:

• PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations)
• COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health)

You don’t need to reference the acronyms in your policy (unless helpful), but you should explain your controls: safe storage, training, PPE, and maintenance.

Display Screen Equipment (DSE) And Home Working

If your team works at desks, from laptops, or remotely, you should address DSE risks (musculoskeletal issues, eye strain, posture).

This is a good example of where a health and safety at work policy shouldn’t just focus on a physical workplace - home working still counts.

Mental Health And Stress At Work

Health and safety isn’t only about slips, trips, and falls. A sensible policy can also explain your approach to managing workload, preventing stress, and supporting staff.

How To Write A Health And Safety Policy That Works For A Small Business

Plenty of business owners create a health and safety policy, save it as a PDF, and never look at it again.

The problem is: if your policy doesn’t reflect what actually happens in your workplace, your team won’t follow it (and you won’t be able to rely on it as evidence of good systems).

Here’s a simple, small-business-friendly approach.

Step 1: Start With Your Actual Risks (Not A Template)

Before you write, list your real hazards. For example:

• a café: hot surfaces, sharps, cleaning chemicals, slips, customer incidents
• a warehouse: vehicles, racking, manual handling, loading areas
• an office: DSE, stress, lone working, electrical equipment
• a trades business: work at height, power tools, client premises, vehicles

This helps you avoid producing a generic policy that looks fine but doesn’t match your operations.

Step 2: Assign Responsibilities Clearly

Name roles (not just “management”) and make sure the responsible person has time and authority to do the job.

If you have multiple sites, shifts, or team leaders, explain how responsibilities are split and how issues get escalated.

Step 3: Make It Easy To Use

A policy is more likely to be followed if it’s:

• short enough to read
• written in plain English
• stored somewhere accessible (staff intranet, onboarding pack, printed copy on-site)

Crucially, make sure it’s brought to employees’ attention - for example, as part of induction, team briefings, and whenever you make updates.

Step 4: Train Your Team And Keep Records

Even a perfect health and safety policy won’t help if no one understands it.

Make sure you:

• include health and safety in induction
• provide task-specific training (especially for higher risk work)
• keep written training records
• refresh training after incidents or when processes change

Step 5: Review It When Things Change

Your policy should be a living document. Review it:

• at least annually (many businesses pick a set month)
• after an accident or near miss
• when you change premises, equipment, or processes
• when you hire new roles or expand services

If you’re building out your broader compliance documentation, it’s worth ensuring your health and safety approach lines up with how you handle other regulatory responsibilities too, including Health and Safety In the Workplace requirements more generally.

Key Takeaways

• A health and safety policy is a core document that sets out your commitment to safety and your practical arrangements for managing risks at work.
• In the UK, if you employ 5 or more people, you’ll generally need a written health and safety policy - but it’s a smart move even if you have fewer employees.
• Your health and safety at work policy should typically include: a Statement of Intent, Responsibilities, and Arrangements tailored to your real workplace risks.
• Make your health and safety policy document practical by linking it to risk assessments, training, incident reporting, fire safety, and day-to-day procedures.
• Avoid relying on a generic policy that doesn’t match your business - if it’s not accurate, it can create confusion and risk.
• Review and update your policy regularly, especially when your team, premises, or processes change - and make sure staff know where to find the latest version.

If you’d like help putting the right workplace documentation in place (including a health and safety policy that actually fits how your business runs), you can reach us at 08081347754 or team@sprintlaw.co.uk for a free, no-obligations chat.