Health & safety, in plain English
Practical UK compliance guidance for SME contractors and trades — risk assessments, method statements, CDM and the legislation that actually applies. Original RiskCompli guides plus the latest from our parent brand, SafeCompli.
The H in Health and Safety Stands for Health. So Why Does It Get Ignored?
Falls from height get prosecuted. Occupational asthma develops over 20 years and gets diagnosed after retirement. The Health and Safety at Work Act treats both equally. So why doesn't practice?
Two Fatalities. Early in My Career. Both Working at Height.
Two fatalities, early in my career. Both working at height, both entirely different failure modes. Both entirely preventable. Here's what they taught me.
New Prime Minister: What Does Andy Burnham Mean for Health and Safety?
Andy Burnham is the UK's new Prime Minister. Here's what his background and track record on worker protection means for health and safety compliance.
The Five-Minute Site Walk That Matters More During School Holidays
School holidays mean more children outside and more curiosity around construction sites. Here's the five-minute end-of-day walk that keeps them out.
A Scaffold Tower Fell on Two Members of the Public — And the Company Had Already Been Warned
A scaffold tower fell onto two members of the public on Putney High Street. According to HSE, the company had previously been served a Prohibition Notice for the same type of issue at a separate site…
Is Your Workplace Monitoring More Than Your Staff Realise?
The government has opened a consultation on workplace monitoring technologies. Here is the one question every employer should be able to answer — and a quick test worth running with your team.
Can Severity Change in a Risk Assessment? The Debate Practitioners Can't Agree On
In a risk assessment, can severity actually change once control measures are introduced? It's a debate practitioners can't agree on — and even IOSH, RoSPA and IIRSM don't give a clean answer.
10 Free Health and Safety Tools on SafeCompli — No Sign-Up Required
SafeCompli has 10 free health and safety tools on its website — no sign-up, no paywall. From RIDDOR decision tools to DSE assessments and a QHSE quiz.
Who Owns Safety in Your Business? The Safety Leadership Pyramid Explained
Does the H&S team own safety in your business? Here's why that model fails — and what genuine safety leadership actually looks like.
Chloe Bidwell Was 18. She Was Working Alone. Her Employer Had No Real Answer for Why.
Chloe Bidwell was 18. She was a joiner apprentice on a renovation site in Bangor. She was working alone. Twenty-eight wooden boards had been stacked vertically against a wall. Unsecured. No procedure…
How to Write a Risk Assessment for Building Work UK: What the Law Actually Requires
How to Write a Risk Assessment for Building Work UK: What the Law Actually Requires If you're a builder, contractor, or anyone carrying out construction work in the UK, you need a risk assessment. Mo…
Older Workers and Workplace Safety: What UK Employers Are Missing
Older Workers and Workplace Safety: What UK Employers Are Missing The HSE's annual fatality statistics for 2025/26 contain a figure that deserves more attention than it has received: 40 of the 126 wo…
No Legal Maximum Working Temperature in the UK — But That Could Be About to Change
There's no legal maximum temperature at which work in the UK has to stop. Most people — including many employers — don't know that. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set a m…
Falls From Height: How Lima Construction's £50,000 Fine Happened — and What It Tells UK Businesses
Falls From Height: How Lima Construction's £50,000 Fine Happened — and What It Tells UK Businesses A construction company was fined £50,000 after a worker fell through an unglazed window opening on a…
Self-Employed Safety Duties UK: What Sole Traders Actually Need
Self-Employed Safety Duties UK: What Sole Traders Actually Need The latest HSE annual fatality statistics contain one figure that rarely gets the attention it deserves: nearly half of all constructio…
HSE Issues First-Ever Prohibition Notice Against an Occupational Health Provider: What Employers Need to Know
On 3 July 2026, the Health and Safety Executive issued its first-ever Prohibition Notice against an occupational health service provider. This is a landmark piece of enforcement — and it carries a di…
HSE Annual Fatality Statistics 2025/26: What the Numbers Tell UK Employers
HSE Annual Fatality Statistics 2025/26: What the Numbers Tell UK Employers The Health and Safety Executive has published its annual fatality statistics for 2025/26. 126 workers were killed in work-re…
RiskCompli Is Now Free to Try — Risk Assessments, Toolbox Talks and Method Statements
RiskCompli is now free to try — no card needed. Risk assessments, toolbox talks, and method statements built for the people who actually do the work.
47 Pages. Nobody Read It.
A 47-page risk assessment that nobody reads isn't a safety document, it's a liability document. Here's what actually works instead.
Heat Is Rising Again — Is Your Team Ready?
Temperatures are rising again next week. Even without a Red warning, heat-related illness is a real risk. Here's how to get ready before it matters.
Everyone on That Job Knew
A hard truth about safety culture: near misses and unsafe conditions are often seen by everyone on site, but nobody speaks up.
Near Miss Reported. No Action Taken.
Near miss reported. No action taken. Near miss reported. No action taken. Near miss reported. No action taken. Near miss reported. No action taken. Near miss reported. No action taken. Then it wasn't…
If the Person Who Wrote It Has Never Done the Job
The person who wrote the risk assessment has never done the job. The person who does the job every day wasn't asked. That's not a compliance problem. That's a credibility problem. A risk assessment w…
Five Questions That Matter More Than 'Are You ISO Certified?'
Before you hire a contractor, you'll probably check whether they're CHAS registered, SafeContractor approved, or ISO 45001 certified. That's a reasonable starting point. It's not an endpoint. Certifi…
Your ISO 45001 System Passed the Audit. Would It Pass the 2am Shift?
Audits happen in the daytime. Usually with notice. With prepared records, available staff, and someone who knows how to show the system in its best light. Real risk shows up somewhere else. When Real…
When Workers Know What To Say In An Audit, But Don't Feel Safe To Stop The Job
Ask a worker in a well-audited business what the company's safety policy says about stopping unsafe work. Most of them will get it right. They know the answer. They've been briefed on what to say. No…
UK Red Heat Warning: What Employers Must Do Right Now
The Met Office has issued a rare Red extreme heat warning for parts of England and Wales. Here is what employers must do right now — shift timing, rest breaks, hydration, PPE, and how to recognise he…
Shisa Kanko for UK Workplaces: The Weirdly Simple Habit That Reduces Human Error
A worker points at a forklift's horn and says "horn clear" out loud before starting the engine. To anyone watching, it looks odd. That's precisely why it works. What Is Shisa Kanko? Shisa Kanko — als…
How Health & Safety Documents Help You Win Bigger Tenders
When a main contractor or procurement team shortlists suppliers, they are choosing the lowest-risk option. Your health and safety documents are how they make that call. I've sat with business owners…
Asbestos Is Still the UK's Biggest Workplace Killer. Here's What Tradespeople Need to Know.
Asbestos still kills around 5,000 people in the UK every year. If your workers enter buildings built before 2000, here's what the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require — and what your risk ass…
COSHH Risk Assessment: What UK Businesses Must Cover
Most trade businesses work with hazardous substances every day. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require every employer to assess those risks, and there is no exemption…
Working at Height Risk Assessment Example: What the 2005 Regulations Require
Falls from height kill more construction workers than any other single cause. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set out exactly what employers and contractors must do, and what a proper working at…
How to Complete an IOSH Risk Assessment Form Correctly
A step-by-step guide to completing the IOSH risk assessment form correctly — sections explained, a worked example, the most common mistakes, and how to make risk assessments work in practice, not jus…
RAMS: What It Is, When You Need One, and What to Include
RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. Here's what it is, when UK law requires one, what it must include, and why generic downloaded templates are a liability rather than a protection.
Young Worker Risk Assessment: What UK Employers Must Consider
What UK employers must know before taking on anyone under 18. Covers MHSWR Reg 19, the specific risk factors for young workers, prohibited activities and practical guidance for trades taking on appre…
Manual Handling Risk Assessment Example: The TILE Framework Explained
Learn how to complete a manual handling risk assessment using the TILE framework. Includes a worked example for trade businesses and explains your legal duty under the Manual Handling Operations Regu…
Lone Working Risk Assessment: What UK Employers Must Have in Place
Most people hear "lone working" and think of someone working from home. But a gas engineer visiting a domestic property at 7am, a painter on a scaffold with nobody else on site, a warehouse operative…
Pregnant Worker Risk Assessment: What the Law Actually Requires
Most employers think about the risk assessment the day someone walks into the office and announces they're pregnant. The law requires you to have thought about it before that conversation happens. Un…
EICR Competency Rules Are Changing in October 2026. Here's What Electrical Contractors Need to Do Now.
EICR Competency Rules Are Changing in October 2026. Here's What Electrical Contractors Need to Do Now. From 1 October 2026, an electrician who has been carrying out EICRs for years without a formal L…
IOSH Risk Assessment Example: What One Actually Looks Like in Practice
IOSH doesn't have its own separate risk assessment framework. It uses the same five-step model as HSE guidance. This post explains what that means in practice and walks through a worked example for a…
The Engineered Stone Ban Was Just the Start. Silica Dust Is Still Destroying Workers' Lungs.
The Engineered Stone Ban Was Just the Start. Silica Dust Is Still Destroying Workers' Lungs. The dry-cutting ban on engineered stone was an important step. Two young workers died. HSE acted. The mess…
HSE Risk Assessment Template: What You Actually Need to Comply
The legal standard for risk assessments in the UK is "suitable and sufficient." Most businesses have a risk assessment. Far fewer have one that would actually hold up. Here is what the HSE requires a…
Martyn's Law in Plain English: What It Is, Who It Affects, and Why Evacuation Is Only Part of the Answer
Most organisations have an evacuation plan. Martyn's Law — the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — is asking a harder question: what happens when evacuating people out of a building is exac…
What's the Maximum Legal Working Temperature in the UK?
What's the Maximum Legal Working Temperature in the UK? There isn't one. No number. No threshold. Nothing in law that says "above this temperature, work stops." Most employers — and a surprising numb…
Does Your "Meet Our Team" Page Put Your Staff at Risk? I'm Genuinely Not Sure.
Does Your "Meet Our Team" Page Put Your Staff at Risk? I'm Genuinely Not Sure. A video by Dr. Catherine Knibbs, a child safety and online harms specialist in the UK, circulated this week about someth…
Trade-Specific Safety Packs: Policies, Risk Assessments and Toolbox Talks, Ready to Download
Trade-Specific Safety Packs: Policies, Risk Assessments and Toolbox Talks, Ready to Download Nobody got into their trade to spend the evening writing safety documents. A heating engineer wants to be…
Risk Assessment Is 3,000 Years Old. The Expertise Barrier Is Much More Recent.
Risk assessment is 3,000 years old. The expertise barrier that stops most tradespeople producing a good one is much more recent. It Started Long Before Anyone Called It a Risk Assessment Babylonian m…
Risk Assessment Template (UK): What a Good One Actually Looks Like
Most free risk assessment templates are a blank grid that teaches you nothing. Here's what a 'suitable and sufficient' UK risk assessment actually contains — and the fields that decide whether it sur…
HSE Bans Dry Cutting of Engineered Stone: What You Need to Have in Place Now
Two young workers died. That is what prompted the Health and Safety Executive to issue what it is calling "landmark" guidance this week — banning dry cutting of engineered stone and announcing more t…
Risk Assessments: Easy, Compliant and Done in Minutes
Nobody got into a trade to spend their evening writing a risk assessment. You're a decorator, a gas engineer, a contractor. You're trained in your craft, and the risk assessment is the part of the jo…
AI in Health and Safety: Are You Really Checking the Output?
The risk assessment that looked right but wasn't I've seen AI spit out a risk assessment in 30 seconds that looked perfect on paper. Proper layout. Right headings. Sounded authoritative. It was also…
Method Statement vs Risk Assessment (RAMS): The Difference, Explained
RAMS gets thrown around as one word, but a method statement and a risk assessment do two different jobs. Here's how they fit together, what each must contain, and why principal contractors reject the…