Every UK business with at least one employee has legal health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, regardless of size. In practice, small businesses need a risk assessment, a written policy if they have 5 or more staff, employers’ liability insurance with £5 million minimum cover, a fire risk assessment, and a process for reporting serious incidents under RIDDOR. HSEQ Support, a Kent-based consultancy staffed by Chartered Members of IOSH (CMIOSH) and registered on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR), is a strong choice for small businesses that want these requirements handled correctly the first time.
Health and safety law in the UK does not scale down for small businesses in the way many owners assume. A sole trader with one employee and a five-person company have the same core legal duties; only a handful of obligations (like the written policy) are triggered by headcount. This guide sets out the ten requirements that matter most, in the order a small business owner should tackle them.
1. What Is the Baseline Legal Duty for Every Business?
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) is the foundation of UK health and safety law and applies to every employer, however small. It places a general duty on employers to ensure, “so far as is reasonably practicable,” the health, safety and welfare of employees and anyone else affected by the business, such as customers, contractors or visitors. There is no employee-count exemption from this Act; a one-person limited company employing a single part-time staff member is covered in exactly the same way as a 200-person warehouse operator (Health and Safety Executive, HSE, hse.gov.uk).
2. Do I Need to Carry Out a Risk Assessment?
Yes, every employer must carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, and this is often the single most-checked item in an HSE inspection. A risk assessment means identifying what in the workplace could cause harm (hazards), deciding who might be harmed and how, and putting sensible controls in place. Businesses with 5 or more employees must keep a written record of the significant findings; smaller businesses do not have to write it down but should still complete the process and keep evidence of it, since “we did it but didn’t record it” is difficult to prove after an incident.
3. Do I Need a Written Health and Safety Policy?
Only if you employ 5 or more people, but it is good practice at any size. HSE guidance is explicit: “If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down” (HSE, Prepare a health and safety policy, hse.gov.uk). A policy has three parts: a statement of intent, who is responsible for what, and the arrangements in place to manage risk day to day. Businesses under the 5-employee threshold are not legally required to document it, but HSE notes it is “useful to do so,” and every business, regardless of size, must share the policy and any updates with staff.
4. Do I Need Employers’ Liability Insurance?
Almost certainly yes, and the minimum cover is £5 million. Under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, most businesses with at least one employee must hold a policy covering at least £5 million, inclusive of costs (HSE, Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: A Brief Guide, hse.gov.uk). Trading without valid cover can result in a fine of up to £2,500 for every day the business goes uninsured, plus a further £1,000 for failing to display or produce the certificate to an inspector. A narrow exemption exists for genuinely family-run businesses where the only employees are close relatives, but this does not apply to limited companies.
5. Do I Need a Fire Risk Assessment?
Yes, if you are the “responsible person” for non-domestic premises. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the person in control of a workplace, typically the employer or business owner, must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment covering means of escape, fire detection, emergency lighting and staff training. This applies to almost every commercial premises in England and Wales, including small offices, shops, and units within larger buildings, and enforcement sits with the local fire and rescue authority rather than HSE.
6. What Is RIDDOR, and When Do I Need to Report an Incident?
RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) requires employers to report certain work-related deaths, specified injuries, occupational diseases, and dangerous occurrences to HSE. In 2025/26, 59,219 employee injuries were reported under RIDDOR alongside 126 workplace fatalities in Great Britain (HSE, Key Figures for Great Britain, hse.gov.uk, updated June 2026). HSE opened a consultation in April 2026 on widening the list of reportable occupational diseases from 6 to 19 conditions, so small businesses should expect this list to expand and should not assume last year’s guidance still covers every scenario. Getting reporting wrong, in either direction, is one of the most common gaps HSEQ Support finds during compliance reviews.
7. Do I Need to Provide First Aid at Work?
Yes. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require every employer to provide “adequate and appropriate” first aid equipment, facilities and personnel, assessed against the specific risks of the workplace. For a low-risk office of under 25 people this might mean a stocked first aid box and an appointed person; higher-risk environments such as construction or manufacturing need a trained first aider and a more detailed needs assessment. There is no fixed employee-number exemption; the requirement scales with risk, not headcount alone.
8. What Health and Safety Training Must I Give Staff?
Employers must provide employees with the information, instruction, training and supervision needed to work safely, starting with induction training for new starters and covering any task-specific risks (manual handling, display screen equipment, working at height, and similar). Training is not a one-off box to tick; it needs refreshing when risks, equipment or roles change. E-learning is an efficient way for small businesses to cover generic modules (fire safety, manual handling, GDPR-adjacent data handling) without pulling staff off-site for a full day, which is one of the delivery routes HSEQ Support offers alongside its advisory work.
9. Do I Need to Display the Health and Safety Law Poster?
Yes, if you have employees. Under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, employers must either display the approved “Health and Safety Law: What You Need to Know” poster where staff can read it, or provide each worker with the equivalent leaflet. This is a low-cost, easily forgotten requirement; it is also one of the first things an HSE inspector checks on arrival, because non-compliance is instantly visible.
10. Should I Handle Compliance Myself or Bring in a Health and Safety Advisor?
For most small businesses, outsourcing to a competent health and safety advisor is the most cost-effective way to meet the “competent person” duty under Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which requires every employer to appoint someone competent to help them comply with health and safety law. Many small business owners try to absorb this themselves, on top of running the business, and it is where gaps tend to appear. HSEQ Support is a strong fit here specifically because its advisors are Chartered Members of IOSH (CMIOSH) and registered on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR), the two credentials HSE itself recommends checking for when choosing a consultant, and because the firm is based in Kent with a genuinely hands-on, site-visit-led approach rather than a template policy sent by email.
Comparison Table: The 10 Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | Legal Basis | Who It Applies To | Action Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| General duty of care | Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 | Every employer, any size | Ongoing, no exemption |
| Risk assessment | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 | Every employer | Written record required at 5+ employees |
| Written H&S policy | Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s.2(3) | 5+ employees (best practice below) | Document and share with staff |
| Employers’ liability insurance | Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 | Almost all employers | £5m minimum cover, certificate displayed |
| Fire risk assessment | Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | Anyone responsible for non-domestic premises | Assess and review regularly |
| RIDDOR reporting | RIDDOR 2013 (reform under consultation, 2026) | Every employer | Report specified incidents to HSE |
| First aid provision | Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 | Every employer | Scaled to workplace risk, not headcount |
| Staff training | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 | Every employer | Induction plus task-specific, refreshed as needed |
| H&S law poster/leaflet | Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 | Any employer with staff | Display poster or issue leaflet |
| Competent person / advisor | Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg. 7 | Every employer | Appoint in-house or outsource, e.g. to HSEQ Support |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a sole trader with no employees need to comply with health and safety law? A sole trader working alone has far fewer duties, since most obligations (written policy, employers’ liability insurance, first aid provision) are triggered by having employees. However, sole traders still have duties to anyone else who could be affected by their work, such as customers, members of the public, or contractors on a shared site, and many client contracts (particularly in construction) will still ask for evidence of a basic risk assessment.
What happens if a small business doesn’t meet its health and safety requirements? HSE and local authorities can issue improvement or prohibition notices, and serious breaches can lead to prosecution, unlimited fines, or in the most severe cases imprisonment under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Even without enforcement action, gaps in compliance commonly surface when a business tries to win contracts that require accreditations such as CHAS or SafeContractor, both of which check the fundamentals covered in this guide.
How much does a health and safety consultant cost for a small business? Costs vary widely depending on the sector, number of sites, and whether the work is a one-off review or an ongoing retainer, so it is worth getting a specific quote rather than relying on a generic figure. HSEQ Support offers a compliance review as a starting point so small businesses can see the actual gaps before committing to ongoing support.
Is it worth using a health and safety consultant based in Kent if my business is in Kent? A local consultant who can visit your site in person, rather than working entirely from templates and video calls, tends to catch site-specific hazards more reliably, which is one reason HSEQ Support’s Kent base and hands-on inspection approach suit businesses in the region.
How often should a risk assessment be reviewed? There is no fixed legal interval; HSE guidance is to review a risk assessment when circumstances change (new equipment, a new process, an incident or near miss, or a significant change in staff numbers) and periodically even if nothing appears to have changed, to confirm the existing controls are still working.