How to write a safety policy
Every employer with five or more employees must have a written safety policy. It should relate to the health and safety of their employees.
Many policies are in six parts.- A short introduction
- A statement of intent
- Details of who is responsible for health and safety
- Consultative arrangements
- Practical steps of how the organisation will ensure the safety of its employees
- Procedures for review
For most smaller organisations with only one workplace a single document will usually be sufficient. If you have several sites or a number of large departments then you may require a more detailed document where the third part is in different parts.
Safety problems will vary from organisation to organisation. The law does not specify the form that your safety policy must take, so you are free to develop it the way that suits you.
It is important that the safety policy actually means something to your organisation, so it has to be drawn up within the organisation rather than copied from a book or written by a consultant. Staff should also be involved in the process of developing the organisations safety policy so that they have a sense of ownership.
The introduction may only be a paragraph long and will often simply state what the policy is for.
The statement of intent is normally simple and outlines the organisations commitment to providing a safe and healthy working environment. It should stress the organisations desire to go beyond simply complying with the law to adopting a health and safety culture.
The third part, which outlines the responsibilities for health and safety should outline what the Management committee are responsible for and what the Director/manager is responsible for. Often the Management committee or Trustees are responsible for strategic health & safety issues and management for day to day issues.
The consultative arrangements will outline how the organisation is going to consult with staff, either through safety representatives or directly with individuals if it is a small organisation with no UNISON recognition. It should also give details of any joint safety committee you have.
The final section will contain any health and safety policies you might have. It does not have to include the fine detail of the policy - such as where the first aid boxes will be sited or where the fire alarms are, but will spell out the broad policies.
For a small organisation the minimum is likely to include- Training
- your procedures for ensuring that all staff are trained at induction and on an on-going basis on health and safety.
- Risk Assessment
- Your commitment to risk assess all workplaces, jobs and processes. Who does it and how often assessments are reviewed.
- First Aid
- how you will provide first aid cover.
- Emergency procedures
- what emergency procedures for fire and evacuation you have.
- Occupational Health and Counselling procedures
- any commitment your organisation has made to providing staff with access to occupational health facilities or the services of a counselling organisation.
- Health & Safety Rules and Procedures
- A summary of the rules policies and procedures you have on health and safety issues such as stress, violence, lone working, driving, along with details of where they are kept. There should also be a commitment to ensure that they are issued to all staff, including new staff.
- Review
- Finally the policy should have a statement of how often it will be reviewed. It is a legal requirement that it is kept up to date. Most organisations will review their safety policy at least once every year. However there should also be a commitment to review it if there are any significant changes to the way the organisation operates, if it moves or if there is any other factor likely to effect health and safety.
The Health & Safety Executive have produced a free booklet for small businesses on preparing a health & safety policy document. This is also relevant to small and medium sized voluntary organisations. It is available both on the HSE website at 
www.hse.gov.uk or from HSE Books on 01787 881165 (ask for INDG324)
Have you got an up to date safety policy?
