Health and Safety for UK Trade Businesses — RAMS, COSHH, Working at Height and Compliance Guide (2026)

Why Health & Safety Matters Beyond Compliance

The obvious reason to take health and safety seriously is avoiding prosecution. The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted 554 cases in 2023/24 and secured convictions in 93% of them. Total fines exceeded £34.8 million in that period, and for serious breaches courts can impose unlimited fines regardless of business size. Custodial sentences are possible where gross negligence is established.

But prosecution is far from the only risk. Three commercial consequences are equally important:

• Insurance: If a worker is injured and your records show no risk assessment was carried out, your public liability insurer may decline the claim entirely, leaving you personally exposed to compensation costs that routinely run into six figures.
• Winning contracts: Principal contractors and commercial clients routinely pre-qualify subcontractors on health and safety. CHAS, Constructionline Gold and SafeContractor all require documented H&S management systems. Without them you simply cannot tender for certain work.
• Protecting workers: In 2023/24, 51 construction workers were killed at work in Britain. Falls from height remain the single biggest cause, followed by being struck by moving objects and contact with electricity. A proper risk assessment and basic controls would have prevented the majority of those incidents.

HSE Enforcement: Notices, Prosecution and Penalties

HSE inspectors have three main enforcement tools, each progressively more serious:

• Improvement notice: Issued when an inspector believes you are breaking the law. You are given a fixed period — at least 21 days — to remedy the breach. Failure to comply is a separate criminal offence. Improvement notices become public record on the HSE website.
• Prohibition notice: Issued where the inspector believes an activity involves a risk of serious personal injury. It stops the activity immediately — your site is shut down until the notice is lifted. You can appeal within 21 days, but the notice remains in force during the appeal unless a tribunal suspends it.
• Prosecution: HSE can prosecute without issuing a notice first, particularly where a serious incident has occurred. Cases are heard in magistrates' court (unlimited fines, up to 12 months custody) or Crown Court (unlimited fines, up to 2 years custody for certain offences). The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 allows prosecution of organisations where a gross breach of a duty of care causes death — with unlimited fines and the possibility of a remedial or publicity order.

HSE inspectors can arrive on site unannounced at any reasonable time. Obstructing an inspector is itself a criminal offence. You are required to cooperate with an investigation, answer questions, and produce documents when asked.

Risk Assessments: The 5-Step Process

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require every employer to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of risks to their employees and to others who may be affected by their work. If you employ five or more people, findings must be recorded in writing. Even below five employees, a written record is the only reliable evidence of due diligence.

The HSE's five-step process is the accepted standard:

1. Identify the hazards. Walk the site before work starts. Consider the task, the tools, the substances, the environment, and the people nearby. Do not overlook housekeeping hazards like trailing cables, poor lighting or unsecured materials.
2. Decide who might be harmed and how. Employees, subcontractors, the client's staff, the public, children, elderly occupants. Consider each group separately and note how they could be harmed.
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on controls. Apply the hierarchy: eliminate the hazard first, then substitute, then engineering controls, then administrative controls, then PPE as a last resort. Assess residual risk after controls are in place.
4. Record your findings. Date the assessment, identify who carried it out, and link it to the specific job or task. A generic template with your firm's name pasted in will not satisfy an inspector — the assessment must reflect the actual work and actual site conditions.
5. Review and update. Review when the job changes, a new hazard emerges, or following any incident. Keep dated previous versions. An assessment written at the start of a long contract and never reviewed is not compliant.

Method Statements and RAMS

A method statement is a document that describes, step by step, how a specific task will be carried out safely. Combined with the risk assessment, the two documents together are known as RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement). RAMS are not legally required for every single job — but they are required whenever the task involves significant risk, and they are routinely demanded by principal contractors as a condition of starting on site.

A compliant method statement should include:

• The name of the company and the person responsible for the work
• A description of the task and the location
• The sequence of work, step by step, in the order it will be carried out
• The plant, equipment and tools to be used, including any required inspection records
• The control measures from the risk assessment, showing how each identified hazard is managed at each step
• PPE requirements for each stage of the task
• Emergency procedures, including first aid arrangements and emergency contacts
• The competencies or qualifications required to carry out the work

RAMS protect you in two specific ways. First, producing them forces you and your workers to think through the task methodically before starting, catching hazards that might otherwise only be noticed mid-job. Second, if an incident occurs, your RAMS show that you planned the work properly and communicated the controls — which is directly relevant to both HSE investigations and insurance claims.

COSHH Assessments: Hazardous Substances in the Trades

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require employers to prevent or adequately control worker exposure to substances that can damage health. In the trades, hazardous substances are present on almost every job.

Substances requiring a COSHH assessment include:

• Silica dust: Generated by cutting, drilling or grinding concrete, brick, tile or stone. Causes silicosis — a permanent, progressive lung disease. The HSE requires water suppression or on-tool LEV (local exhaust ventilation) as the primary control; a dust mask alone is not sufficient.
• Wood dust: From cutting or sanding timber. Hardwood dust is a known human carcinogen. On-tool extraction is required for regular exposure.
• Cement and concrete: Contains hexavalent chromium, which causes occupational dermatitis and potentially lung cancer with prolonged skin contact. Barrier cream and nitrile gloves are the minimum controls.
• Isocyanates: Found in two-part spray paints, expanding foam and some adhesives. Cause occupational asthma; once sensitised, a worker may be unable to return to work involving these substances. Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) with the correct filter type is mandatory.
• Solvents: In adhesives, primers, cleaning products and paints. Many are flammable and harmful to the nervous system with prolonged exposure. Adequate ventilation and appropriate RPE are required.
• Lead paint: Present in properties built before 1980. Disturbing it without controls creates lead dust, which is highly toxic. A specific COSHH assessment is required before any sanding, stripping or drilling in older properties.

For each substance, obtain the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) from the manufacturer — these are legally required to be supplied. Your COSHH assessment must identify who is at risk, what the workplace exposure limit (WEL) is for that substance, what controls are in place, and what PPE or RPE is required. Keep assessments with your job records and review them when products change.

Working at Height: Regulations, Ladders and Scaffold

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury — including from ground level into an excavation or pit. There is no minimum height threshold. If the fall could injure someone, the regulations apply and you must plan the work, use appropriate equipment, and supervise it properly.

The regulations impose a clear hierarchy. First, avoid working at height if it is reasonably practicable to do so — for example, by pre-assembling components at ground level. Second, where you cannot avoid it, prevent falls using collective measures (scaffolding with guardrails, mobile elevated work platforms, edge protection). Third, where collective protection is not reasonably practicable, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall using personal fall arrest systems.

Ladders: When They Are and Are Not Appropriate

Ladders are not banned under the regulations, but they are only appropriate for low-risk, short-duration work where other equipment is not justified. The HSE defines short duration as typically no more than 30 minutes at a time. Work that requires both hands free, involves carrying heavy loads, or exposes the worker to significant side loading is not suitable for a ladder.

Where ladders are used, the 3-point contact rule must be maintained at all times: two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, in contact with the ladder. Ladders must be positioned at 75 degrees (1 unit out for every 4 units up), secured at the top or footed at the base, and inspected before each use. Extension ladders must overlap by the appropriate number of rungs for their length. A visual pre-use check takes under a minute and should be habitual.

When Scaffold Is Required

As a practical guide, work at 3 metres or above that will last more than a short duration requires proper planning and typically scaffolding, a mobile tower or a MEWP. Roofing, render, fascia and gutter replacement, and most external painting at first floor or above should be carried out from scaffold or a MEWP, not a ladder.

Scaffold erected by your workers must be done by those holding a CISRS (Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme) card. Scaffold must be inspected every seven days and after any event that could have affected its integrity (severe weather, a vehicle impact). Inspection records must be kept for the duration of the project. Edge protection — a top rail at 950mm–1,150mm, a mid-rail, and a 150mm toe board — must be in place on all working platforms from which a person could fall.

PPE Requirements by Trade

PPE is the last line of defence, not the primary control measure. But where it is required, it must be provided free of charge to employees, must be suitable for the hazard, and must be CE or UKCA marked. The following table shows minimum PPE for common trade types:

Record PPE issue in writing: the item, the date it was issued, the worker's name, and the date it was replaced. This record is regularly requested by HSE inspectors and by principal contractors during pre-qualification.

Manual Handling

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to avoid manual handling where there is a risk of injury, and where it cannot be avoided, to reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable. Manual handling injuries — back strain, muscle tears, hernias — are one of the most common causes of long-term absence in the trades.

The HSE's guideline weight of 25 kg for a single lift is exactly that — a guideline, not a legal limit. The actual safe weight depends on the posture required, the distance carried, the frequency of lifts, and the individual worker. Repeated lifting of 15 kg bags throughout a working day may present more risk than a single lift of 25 kg. A manual handling risk assessment must consider the task, the individual, the load and the environment (TILE).

Provide handling aids wherever practicable: sack barrows, hand trolleys, pallet trucks, mechanical hoists. Train workers in safe lifting technique, but do not rely on training alone as your primary control — engineering out the need for heavy manual handling is always preferable.

Electrical Safety: PAT Testing and Isolation

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is the inspection and testing of portable electrical equipment to ensure it is safe to use. There is no fixed legal frequency for PAT testing — the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that electrical equipment is maintained in a safe condition, and the appropriate testing interval depends on the type of equipment and the environment it is used in.

For hand-held power tools on construction sites, the HSE recommends PAT testing every three months. For equipment used in offices or low-risk environments, annual testing is typically sufficient. Visual inspection before each use is required regardless of testing frequency. A cracked casing, damaged cable, bent plug pin or non-original fuse are all reasons to take equipment out of service immediately.

Before carrying out any work on electrical installations or equipment, the supply must be isolated and proved dead using an approved voltage indicator (not a mains tester screwdriver). Lock-off devices should be used to prevent the supply from being inadvertently re-energised while work is in progress. The Electricity at Work Regulations create a strict duty not to work on or near live conductors unless it is unreasonable in all the circumstances for the equipment to be made dead — and then only with specific precautions in place.

CDM 2015: Construction Design and Management

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to virtually all construction work in Great Britain. They set out the duties of clients, designers, principal designers, principal contractors and contractors — and understanding which role applies to you matters.

A Principal Contractor (PC) must be appointed whenever a project involves more than one contractor working at the same time. The PC is responsible for planning, managing and coordinating the construction phase health and safety, producing and maintaining a Construction Phase Plan, and ensuring that a site-specific induction is delivered to all workers. If you are the only contractor on a domestic project, CDM duties still apply but there is no requirement to appoint a PC.

The Construction Phase Plan must be in place before the construction phase begins. For a small domestic project it can be brief — a few pages covering the key hazards, emergency arrangements, welfare provisions, and site rules. For commercial or larger projects it must be substantially more detailed. HSE inspectors routinely ask to see the Construction Phase Plan when they attend site.

Projects that will last longer than 30 working days with more than 20 workers simultaneously, or exceed 500 person-days, must be notified to the HSE using the F10 notification form before the construction phase begins.

Toolbox Talks: What They Are and How to Run Them

A toolbox talk is a short, focused safety briefing held on site — typically five to fifteen minutes — covering a specific hazard, task, or regulation. They are not a legal requirement per se, but they serve as evidence of your ongoing training programme and safety culture, both of which inspectors and principal contractors actively look for.

Best practice for active sites is to hold toolbox talks weekly. Any change in site conditions, a near-miss, a new task, or the arrival of a new subcontractor should trigger an additional briefing. Good topics for trade businesses include: working at height controls, COSHH and dust management, manual handling, use of power tools and equipment, hot works procedures, and emergency arrangements.

The format is less important than consistency and documentation. Record the date, the topic, the name of the person who delivered it, and obtain the signature of every attendee. These records are direct evidence of your training programme — and in the event of an HSE investigation into an incident, they can be the difference between a warning and a prosecution.

RIDDOR: Accident Reporting

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) require you to report certain workplace incidents to the HSE. Failure to report when required is a criminal offence in itself.

You must report under RIDDOR if:

• A worker dies as a result of a work-related accident — notify HSE immediately by telephone, then submit a written report within 10 days.
• A worker suffers a specified injury — fractures (excluding fingers, thumbs, toes), amputations, loss of sight, crush injuries, burns covering more than 10% of the body, or any injury requiring hospital admission for more than 24 hours. Report within 10 days.
• A worker is unable to perform their normal duties for more than 7 consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident) — this is the over-7-day rule. Report within 10 days of the accident date.
• A non-worker (member of the public, client) is injured and taken from the site to hospital for treatment.
• A worker is diagnosed with an occupational disease by a doctor — including occupational asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and hand-arm vibration syndrome.
• A dangerous occurrence happens — a near-miss with serious injury potential such as scaffolding collapse, accidental release of flammable substances, or contact with overhead power lines.

Report online at riddor.hse.gov.uk. Keep a copy of every report. Additionally, record all workplace accidents — even minor ones below the RIDDOR threshold — in an accident book. This demonstrates your compliance culture and creates the chronological record that can identify patterns before they become serious incidents.

First Aid Requirements

The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 require every employer to make adequate first aid provision for employees. "Adequate" is assessed against the nature of the work, the number of employees, and the location and hours of working.

For trade businesses, the HSE's guidance suggests:

• Fewer than 5 employees in a low-hazard environment: A first aid kit and an appointed person (someone trained to take charge in an emergency and call for help) is the minimum. No trained first aider is strictly required.
• 5 to 50 employees in a higher-hazard environment (which construction is): At least one trained First Aider holding a First Aid at Work (FAW) certificate or Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) certificate on site at all times.
• More than 50 employees: One FAW-trained first aider per 50 workers, with additional aiders for higher-hazard activities or where remote locations mean emergency services response is delayed.

FAW training is a three-day course and the certificate is valid for three years. EFAW is a one-day course valid for three years, appropriate for lower-risk environments or small teams. First aid kits must be stocked appropriately for the workplace and checked regularly — expired dressings or missing items must be replaced promptly.

CSCS Cards: Which Card for Which Role

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card is the industry standard proof of competence and health and safety awareness on UK construction sites. Most principal contractors require all workers to hold a valid CSCS card before allowing site access. The card colour indicates the level of qualification:

To get a CSCS card, pass the CITB HS&E test at an approved test centre (the test is trade-specific and takes around 30 minutes), then apply online at cscs.uk.com with evidence of your relevant qualification. Cards are valid for five years and must be renewed with a further HS&E test. Certain specialist roles — scaffolders, plant operators, demolition workers — have their own affiliated scheme cards that are accepted on CSCS-registered sites.