In short
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies to every employer in Great Britain, whatever its size. You must do what is reasonably practicable to protect your workers and anyone else affected by your work. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 explain how: assess the risks, put sensible controls in place and get competent help. For most small, low-risk businesses, the basics are straightforward.
Example
taking on the first employee
Tom ran a one-man groundworks business for six years. This spring he took on Jay, a labourer, and asked himself what he now had to do. He arranged employers' liability insurance and put the certificate and the law poster up in the site cabin. He walked a typical job with Jay and agreed how they would control the risks from the excavator, open trenches and buried services. He bought a first aid kit and named himself the appointed person. It took days, not weeks.
An illustrative example, not a real case.
What the law says
- Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: you must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of your employees.
- Section 3: you must run your business so that other people, such as subcontractors and the public, are not exposed to risks, so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Section 7: your employees must take reasonable care of themselves and others, and cooperate with you.
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 add more specific duties, shown in the table below.
The basics every employer needs
Policy
- What to do
- Write it down if you employ five or more people.
- The law
- The Act, section 2(3)
Risk assessment
- What to do
- Record the significant findings if you employ five or more.
- The law
- Management Regulations, regulation 3
Competent help
- What to do
- Appoint someone competent to help you.
- The law
- Management Regulations, regulation 7
Consultation
- What to do
- Talk to your workers about health and safety.
- The law
- Consultation with Employees Regulations 1996
Training
- What to do
- Give clear instructions, training and supervision.
- The law
- Management Regulations, regulation 13
First aid
- What to do
- A first aid kit, an appointed person and information for staff.
- The law
- First-Aid Regulations 1981
Welfare
- What to do
- Toilets, washbasins, drinking water and a place to rest and eat.
- The law
- Workplace Regulations 1992; CDM 2015 on construction sites
Reporting
- What to do
- Report certain injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences.
- The law
- RIDDOR 2013
Insurance
- What to do
- Cover of at least £5 million, with the certificate displayed.
- The law
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Law poster
- What to do
- Display the poster or give each worker the leaflet.
- The law
- Information for Employees Regulations 1989
Note: This guide covers the law in Great Britain. A few employers, listed in HSE40, do not need the insurance.
Where to start
- 01
List what you do
Note your work, where you do it and who could be affected.
- 02
Put the basics in place
Work through the table, starting with insurance, risk assessment and first aid.
- 03
Talk to your team
Ask the people doing the work where the real risks are.
- 04
Check it works
Review the controls when the work, the people or the site changes.
Why good advice matters
HSE is clear that paperwork alone does not prove you comply with the law, and that no one has to be hurt for an offence to be committed. Good, practical advice helps you focus on the risks that could seriously hurt someone, not on documents nobody reads.
What the courts have said
R v Associated Octel Co Ltd [1996] 1 WLR 1543
A contractor's worker was badly burned while repairing a tank at a chemical plant. The House of Lords held that having the tank repaired was part of the plant operator's own undertaking, so its duty under section 3 covered him. If contractors do part of your work on your site, you must set reasonably practicable safety conditions for it.
Common questions
Does health and safety law apply to small businesses?
Yes. The Act applies to every employer, whatever its size. The main difference is paperwork: some duties to write things down only apply once you employ five or more people.
Does health and safety law apply if I am self-employed?
It does if you employ anyone, if your work could put other people at risk, or if you do one of six higher-risk activities. Construction is one of them.
What happens if I do not follow health and safety law?
An inspector can give advice, serve an improvement or prohibition notice, or prosecute. If HSE has to help you put things right, you pay for its time under the fee for intervention scheme.
What is the main health and safety law in the UK?
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE calls it the main piece of health and safety legislation in Great Britain. It sets out the general duties of employers, the self-employed and workers, and regulations made under it, such as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, add more detailed duties. The Act does not extend to Northern Ireland (section 84), which has its own law.
Who enforces health and safety law?
HSE or your local council, depending on the main activity at the workplace (Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998). HSE covers places such as building sites, factories and farms. Councils cover places such as offices, shops, hotels, restaurants and leisure premises. Both can give advice, serve notices and prosecute.
What health and safety documents does a small business need?
If you employ five or more people, you must write down your health and safety policy and the significant findings of your risk assessments (section 2(3) of the Act and regulation 3(6) of the Management Regulations). Most employers also need employers' liability insurance, with the certificate displayed, and the law poster or leaflet. HSE says paperwork alone does not prove you comply: what you do to control the risks matters most.
Do I have to display the health and safety law poster?
Yes, unless you give each worker the leaflet version instead. The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 require you to display HSE's approved law poster where your workers can easily see and read it, or to give each of them the approved leaflet. The leaflet is a free download from HSE.
Do I need employers' liability insurance if I only employ family members?
Not if every employee is a close relative, such as your husband, wife, civil partner, parent, child, brother or sister, unless the business is a limited company (HSE40). A company whose only employee is its owner, holding 50% or more of the shares, is also exempt. Otherwise you need cover of at least £5 million, with the certificate displayed.
How NXT-HSE can help
NXT-HSE can help you work out which duties apply to your business, put proportionate arrangements in place and check they work on site. Your legal duties stay with your business.
Sources
- HSE: health and safety basics for your business
- HSE: criminal and civil law
- HSE: when the law applies to the self-employed
- HSE: employers' liability insurance (HSE40)
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- HSE: health and safety law poster and leaflet
- HSE: which authority enforces health and safety at your workplace
Sources checked 28 September 2026 against current Health and Safety Executive guidance and legislation. This guide is general information, not legal advice; your legal duties stay with your business.