Lewes District Council

Health And Safety Essentials

Employers, employees and self employed operators all have duties under health and safety legislation. Make sure you meet the basic requirements.

If you are an employer

Irrespective of how many people you employ you must take out Employers Liability Insurance. Furthermore you must operate your business in a safe and considerate fashion that shows regard for the health and safety of those employees, contractors, visitors to your business and anyone else who may be affected by your operation.

The documentary requirements with regard to health and safety for businesses with less than 5 employees are reduced and you do not have to have a written policy statement or written risk assessments. However, you must have considered the risks to your staff and those affected by your business and put measures in place to control those risks as far as is reasonably practicable. You must relay safety information to your staff.

If you employ 5 or more people

If you employ 5 or more people you must have a documented Health and Safety Policy Statement that includes a statement of your general policy as well as the organisation and arrangements that are in place to put the policy into practice.

You must also consider what in your operations could cause harm to people and what measures are necessary to control those risks. This process is called ‘risk assessment’.

HSE: Risk Assessment

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Health And Safety Essentials

If you are an employer

If you employ 5 or more people