Health & Safety

Policy and handbook

A robust Health & Safety Policy is the cornerstone of effective risk management. It sets out your general approach and commitment to keeping people safe and outlines the arrangements you have put in place to ensure risk is kept to a minimum.

Whether you’ve got nothing in place or are in need of an expert review, our Health & Safety specialists can provide you with a policy and handbook tailored to your organisation, processes, activities and environment.

Get your FREE consultation

Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch.

Struggling to tackle toxic behaviours?

Discover a wealth of expert guidance and resources on our free employer hub.

FREE WEBINAR | Strengthening Your Sickness Absence Framework | 28 March at 2:00 pm

How we help

A firm foundation for compliance

If you employ five or more people, it is a legal requirement to prepare a written policy describing your health and safety arrangements. You must also bring this to the attention of your employees so that they are aware of risks and can carry out their role safely.

Provided as part of our fixed-fee Health & Safety support, get a robust policy and accompanying employee handbook that reflects the best practice advocated by the regulator in its publication HSG65 (Managing for Health and Safety).

  • Carefully crafted by a dedicated consultant and approved by a Primary Authority
  • Made bespoke to your organisation based on conversations with your consultant
  • Covers up to 50 different risk areas, depending on what’s relevant to your business
  • Reviewed annually to ensure it captures any changes to legislation or how you operate
  • Backed up by ongoing support from a dedicated expert to help keep you compliant

Related resources

Blog

What to Include in a Health and Safety Policy

health and safety fine topshop

Blog

Health and Safety Handbook FAQ

Blog

10 Common Health and Safety Policy Mistakes

Tailored to you for maximum impact

In order for a Health & Safety Policy to be effective, it needs to address the specific risks present within your environment and the particular processes and procedures you have in place. While you may be able to find generic templates online, if this essential document isn’t tailored to your organisation, it’ll do little more than occupy space on a shelf.

That’s why, at WorkNest, we’ll visit you on site to get better understanding of your organisation and its activities, then develop a policy based on genuine insight. We’ll also produce several iterations of the policy until you’re completely satisfied that it covers all bases and provides a clear outline of how you will manage health and safety across your organisation.

Popular FAQs

Common policy and handbook queries and questions about our service, answered by our Health & Safety specialists.

Who will the Health & Safety Policy be written by?

Your WorkNest Health & Safety Policy will be written by an experienced Health & Safety Consultant with recognised qualifications and technical expertise. If you take up our core Health & Safety service, this person will become your dedicated consultant for all health and safety matters – meaning the advice you receive will be consistent and based on a genuine understanding of your business. Plus, for any questions or areas of your policy that require specific technical expertise, as well as support from your named consultant, you’ll be able to rely on a nationwide team of experts with vast and diverse specialisms and experience.

What sections will it include?

Your Health & Safety Policy will be based on the principle of plan, do, check, act. It will include a statement of commitment describing how the business is organised to fulfill its legal responsibilities (refined to reflect post holder titles), followed by an arrangements section covering all risk areas that are relevant to the business and how they will be managed (contractors, fire, first aid, machinery maintenance, lone working, etc.). For each, it will follow a format of “we recognise”, “we will” and “the approach we will take is…”. It will also cover the importance of risk assessment, monitoring and review.

What does the ‘arrangements’ section include?

This is the main section of your Health & Safety Policy. It will outline all the risk areas that are relevant to your business and, for each, set out the specific systems and procedures you have in place manage that risk. Taking noise as an example, it will state that you recognise the chronic effects that excessive or long-term noise exposure may have and your commitment to preventing this harm occurring. In addition, you recognise your obligation to perform a risk assessment and understand that you have a duty to reduce levels of exposure in line with the hierarchy of controls (i.e. eliminating unnecessary sources of noise or, if this isn’t possible, introducing engineering hazards such as hearing protection). It may also make reference to other documents, arrangements and procedures that support this basic plan, such as a noise risk assessment.

How will the Health & Safety Policy be sent to us?

Your Health & Safety Policy will be sent out in electronic format – so you can share it on your intranet – and will be accompanied by a Health & Safety Handbook for employees and declaration form to collate acknowledgement and agreement, thereby improving claims defensibility.

Can I store these documents online?

Your Health & Safety Policy, Handbook and any other important documents can be stored securely via our easy-to-use portal, myWorkNest, for easy access.

Does a Health & Safety Policy only need to cover employees?

No. Your Health & Safety Policy will also set out the arrangements you have put in place to protect the health and safety of other persons not in your employment, including contractors, members of the public, and anyone who may be affected by your work activities. We’ll make sure your policy gives proper consideration to these individuals as well as your employees.

What’s the difference between a Health & Safety Policy and Health & Safety Handbook?

Your Health & Safety Policy should set out your general approach and commitment to creating a healthy and safe working environment, together with the arrangements you have put in place for managing health and safety in your business. It is a cornerstone document that states who does what, when and how. A Health & Safety Handbook condenses the contents of your policy into a more easily accessible document for employees to help them understand their role in your creating a safe working environment. While a Health & Safety Policy is a legal requirement if you employ more than five people, there is no explicit legal requirement to have a Health & Safety Handbook. However you must inform, instruct and train your employees on health and safety matters and a Handbook, whether hardcopy or electronic version, is one way to effectively way to do this. You should also ensure that all employees acknowledge they have read and understand it.

Can we write our own Health & Safety Policy?

When it comes to health and safety, creating a written policy is the biggest task you will need to complete as an employer – and there can be no ‘one size fits all’ answer, so template policies that you can fill out yourself are likely to fall short. It’s well worth having this centrepiece document created by a competent professional, as this is the best way to guarantee it is compliant with health and safety legislation, covers everything it needs to and accurately reflects your approach.

Explore Health & Safety Managed Services

We do more than just policies and handbooks...

Why choose us?

Experts in Health & Safety

We have the expertise to help you simplify complex health and safety legislation, find workable solutions to health and safety challenges, and protect your organisation from the rising cost of non-compliance. 

  • Approved by a Primary Authority
  • Dedicated specialists with recognised qualifications
  • Genuine hands-on experience of managing risk
  • Cost certainty with our unlimited, fixed-fee model
  • The confidence to act as one of your competent persons

Who you’ll be working with

Client stories

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *