As an employer, you have legal obligations to inform your employees about health and safety laws and regulations. One key requirement of this is displaying the approved Health and Safety Law Poster in a visible location in your workplace.
The Health and Safety Law Poster is a notice that employers are legally required to display in a prominent place on any premises where their employees work.
It informs employees about:
The poster summarises, in a simple list format, the basic health and safety regulations that both employers and employees must comply with under UK law.
It is produced and approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the national independent body responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain.
All employers, regardless of company size or industry, must display the poster if they have employees who work on their premises.
Even if you have one part-time employee, you are still legally required to display the poster. Self-employed contractors doing work for you does not constitute having 'employees', so you would not need to display the poster.
If you fail to prominently display the poster, you risk facing penalties and enforcement action from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This requirement stems from the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989.
Prominently displaying the health and safety law poster serves an important purpose - it informs your employees about their rights and your responsibilities for their health, safety and welfare at work.
Your employees need to easily see what UK health and safety laws apply to them so they can cooperate with you in meeting their legal obligations.
It also encourages engagement between you and your staff on health and safety matters. Fulfilling this basic requirement shows your employees you take their workplace health and safety seriously.
The HSE has updated the poster over the years, so you need to display the current version which you can find here.
Since October 2009, you should have the “Health and Safety Law – What You Need to Know” poster.
This replaced previous versions like the purple 1999 poster.
The poster must be positioned prominently so that employees can easily read it. This includes positioning it near entrances, clocking-in areas, staff rooms, canteens, noticeboards, and other high-visibility locations.
If your business operates across multiple sites or has separate buildings, you need to display a poster in each workplace where your employees work.
For extensive premises, you may need several posters placed in break areas on each floor or wing.
The poster outlines, in a simple list format, the main health and safety responsibilities of employers, employees and the self-employed. Key laws are also summarised, covering topics like:
Contact details for Health and Safety Representatives and your chosen competent safety advisor should also be included on the poster.
Displaying the poster alone is not sufficient to comply with UK health and safety laws.
As an employer, you have extensive legal responsibilities under regulations like the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to protect your employees and others affected by your business activities.
Some key duties include:
Neathouse Partners can fully advise you on all your health and safety duties and help you comply with regulations.
While employers bear the main responsibility, employees also have an important role in maintaining health and safety.
The poster outlines duties like cooperating with employers, attending training, reporting hazards and following safety procedures.
Employees have a duty to take reasonable care of their own and their colleagues' health and safety. You should communicate with staff regularly about additional safety measures and address any concerns they raise.
Displaying the poster is one small part of complying with complex health and safety laws. Neathouse Partners offers complete expert support tailored to your business.
Our Health and Safety specialists can:
With our support, you can feel confident you meet all health and safety requirements.
Contact the team via our quotation form or simply call us on 0333 041 1094.