Health and safety course FAQs
The latest H&S stats from the HSE make for sobering reading. Over 31.5 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health in 2022-23. Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 6.6 million days alone.
In this blog, we look at ‘traditional’ H&S courses.
Do UK-based employers have to provide health and safety (H&S) training?
Yes. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to provide adequate staff training to ensure that health and safety procedures are understood and followed.
What can happen if we don’t give our staff effective H&S training?
Failure to train staff makes your employees vulnerable to accidents. It can also put visitors at risk. You risk being fined and paying the cost of an investigation into your H&S breach.
In a worst-case scenario, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter where serious failures in the management of health and safety result in a fatality.
Training is a quick, easy, cost-effective way to protect employees from themselves and others!
What other H&S regulations apply in the UK?
In addition to the Health & Safety at Work Act, there are several other regulations which an employer must comply with. These include:
| Name of regulation | What it’s intended to achieve |
| Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations | To prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by requiring employers to proactively manage safety risks. Elements include risk assessment and control, general duty of care, safe work practices and consultation/cooperation |
| Display Screen Equipment Regulations | To protect workers from the health risks of working with display screen equipment (DSE), such as laptops, PCs and smartphones |
| Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (PPE) | To ensure workers have access to protective equipment to reduce the potential risk of harm |
| Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) | To encourage incident reporting, incident investigations and employer accountability. To inform safety improvements |
| Manual Handling Operations Regulations (MHOR) | To minimise the risk of injury to workers from manual handling tasks, such as lifting, carrying, putting down, pulling or pushing |
What on-site H&S courses do Safe and Sound offer?
We offer on-site courses in general health & safety plus courses in fire safety and manual handling.
How long do Safe and Sound’s H&S courses last?
Our general health & safety courses vary from one day (Level 2 H&S) to three days (Level 3 H&S).
How much do Safe and Sound’s H&S courses cost?
You can find pricing on the relevant course page. If you’d like to combine courses, please contact us for a quote.
Does Safe and Sound offer online H&S courses?
We offer online H&S courses via our partner organisation, Elearn Here Direct.
What are the key benefits of H&S training for businesses?
Training is the best way to reduce the chance of an employee unknowingly risking their own or other people’s safety. If you can eliminate the chance of a H&S breach, you also reduce the risk of a sizable fine and damage to your reputation.
Can we insure against a H&S breach instead?
As far as we know, this isn’t possible.
What are the benefits of H&S training for employees?
Nobody wants to be responsible for injuring a colleague, visitor or member of the public.
H&S training helps employees understand the importance of doing things properly and keeping themselves and others safe.
Do Safe and Sound courses offer recognised qualifications?
Our Level 2 and Level 3 H&S courses include a certificate from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).
Should we record/document H&S training?
Yes, it’s important to keep records of all employee training (who, what, when). Remember to make a note of certificate expiry dates so you know when refresher training is due.
If you take a course with Safe and Sound, we will send you a reminder three months before training needs to be updated. We can also send you replacement certificates if you are missing any.
Do you need more information about H&S courses?
You can find information about our general H&S courses, including CPD points and refresher training, in our blog about which H&S course to pick. You may also find our fire safety course FAQ helpful.
