How to review a health and safety policy

Blogs 20 Dec 2024

Find out how to review your health and safety policy, when you should conduct your review, and what the process involves with help from health and safety experts.

Content reviewed October 2024

Creating a good health and safety policy for your small business is important but, as health and safety is an ongoing concern in business, it should be reviewed at least once a year. By law, you’re required to have a health and safety policy, and it should be in writing if your business employs five or more people. You have a legal obligation to ensure your policy is up to date, appropriate for your business sector, and meets all legal regulations to help keep your staff safe and to help prevent accidents from happening. If your policy is seen to be out of date, it won’t comply with legal requirements.

Why should you review your health and safety policy?

Over time, your business, and the world around it, will change. Your company will most likely grow, new hazards in your workplace might develop, and changes might be made to the health and safety laws that your company must follow. You should therefore make sure your health and safety policy changes too when required.

When to conduct a health and safety policy review

You should carry out a policy review each year to make sure it’s effective and complies with current business laws. You should also conduct a review if:

You make changes to your business

This could include:

Altering your work procedures, such as processes staff must follow to carry out certain tasks
Creating a new position, team or department or starting a new service
Redesigning your office layout, extending part of a building, or revamping your company premises
Introducing new equipment or machinery for staff to use to do their jobs

An incident happens or you discover current procedures are failing

This could include:

You or one of your team suffers a major incident or injury in the workplace
You suspect current procedures are no longer sufficient for your staff to work safely
You discover procedures across your business sector or industry are found to be failing

What should a health and safety policy review involve?

Annually, and whenever a change or discovery is made, you should look at your policy and check that it accurately reflects your business in its current form. You should check that the goals you outline in the policy are still being met – for instance, because of changes you’ve made to your business – and that your priorities in health and safety are still present, accurate and effective.

You should also look at those areas of your business where changes or discoveries have been made, or an incident has taken place, and conduct a risk assessment. This can include:

Conducting a thorough inspection of that area
Checking equipment and safety gear
Speaking to key staff to discuss issues or incidents
Designating a senior employee to make regular checks, such as on machinery and equipment
Making sure maintenance procedures are set up, such as for machinery

It’s important to record your findings from the risk assessment and amend your policy accordingly. You should have already carried out a risk assessment when first putting your health and safety policy together, but a second assessment should be made to check that all current hazards have been identified.

How to create a health and safety policy for your small business

Every small business needs a clear and effective health and safety policy. It’s not just about meeting legal requirements—it’s about creating a safe environment where your employees and customers feel confident. If your business has five or more employees, you’re legally

required to have a written policy. Even if you have fewer employees, a written policy is good practice and shows your commitment to safety.

Here’s how you can create a health and safety policy tailored to your small business:

Step 1: Write your statement of intent

Start by outlining your commitment to maintaining a safe workplace. This statement should clearly express your dedication to protecting employees, customers, and visitors.

Example Statement of Intent:

"Our business is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy environment for everyone who interacts with our workplace. We aim to prevent accidents, manage risks, and comply with all relevant health and safety laws."

This statement should be signed by the most senior person in your business and reviewed annually to ensure it remains relevant.

Step 2: Define responsibilities

Assigning clear responsibilities is essential for effective health and safety management. In a small business, this could mean:

Nominating one person to conduct regular safety checks.
Assigning someone to ensure staff are trained on safe working practices.
Ensuring the business owner or manager oversees compliance with health and safety laws.

By outlining who is responsible for what, you create accountability and make it easier to manage safety effectively.

Step 3: Set out your arrangements

This section explains the practical steps your business will take to achieve its health and safety goals. These arrangements will vary depending on your industry but could include:a

Conducting regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate hazards.
Providing appropriate training to employees.
Having clear procedures in place for emergencies, such as fire evacuations or first aid.
Keeping records of incidents and reviewing them to prevent recurrence.

Review your arrangements regularly to ensure they remain effective and up to date.

Why small businesses need a health and safety policy

A clear health and safety policy isn’t just about compliance—it’s a practical tool that benefits your business. It helps to:

Reduce risks to employees, customers, and visitors.
Build trust and confidence within your team.
Avoid costly fines or legal action by meeting legal obligations.

Updating your health and safety policy

Once you’ve conducted your risk assessment and all relevant information has been collated and recorded, you should update your policy to include your new procedures and the key goals you hope to achieve. For instance, the safety checks you’ll start to ensure equipment is continuously safe for your staff use, or the role you’ve created to carry out regular inspections.

Sign and date the updated policy to show when it was last reviewed
Replace your previous policy with the updated version
Make everyone in your business aware - this could include displaying a copy in your premises in an area that’s accessible to all employees, like adding it to your employee handbook or uploading it to your company intranet for staff to download and read

Facing a health and safety inspection?

If a Health and Safety Executive inspector arrives on your premises unannounced, remember they have wide powers of inspection and investigation. In order to prepare for this eventuality, it is essential to keep your health and safety paperwork in order so that you can locate this during an investigation. If you receive a written notice of contravention following a site inspection, you should seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity because strict time limits for appealing apply.

If you find out that health and safety inspectors are on the way or at your door, you need to move fast to protect your business interests. At the Federation of Small Businesses, our experienced advisers will understand your concerns and recommend the right actions to make sure that you can continue trading during the inspection process. FSB members have access to template health and safety documents on the FSB Legal and Business Hub and to expert health and safety advice on the FSB legal advice line.

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