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.
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 2026 Changes: What Certified Organisations Need to Know
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 2026 Changes: What Certified Organisations Need to Know I have made a YouTube video. My first ever. Twenty-five years in health and safety, and it took a confirmed ISO revision…
The Job After the Job: Is Set-Up and Pack-Down in Your Risk Assessment?
The Job After the Job: Is Set-Up and Pack-Down in Your Risk Assessment? Most risk assessments are written for the job while the job is “the job”. Dig the trench. Run the laminator. Fit the kit. Asses…
This Is an Advert (We Do Not Usually Do This)
This Is an Advert (We Do Not Usually Do This) This is an advert. Most of what we publish is legislation, plain English, and the odd awkward site question. Today I am doing the shameless bit: honestly…
Fire Marshal on Annual Leave: Can the Building Remain Occupied?
Fire Marshal on Annual Leave: Can the Building Remain Occupied? The nominated fire marshal is on annual leave. Reception wants a yes or no. Can people still come into the building? Often yes. That is…
Excellent RAMS, Different Crew: Are They Still Suitable and Sufficient?
Excellent RAMS, Different Crew: Are They Still Suitable and Sufficient? A contractor submits a clean set of RAMS. Risk assessment, method statement, toolbox talk. The principal contractor signs them…
HSE on AI at work: treat it like any other safety-critical kit
HSE’s message on AI at work is almost disappointingly sensible. If AI affects how people work safely, smart glasses barking instructions, cameras spotting missing PPE, software directing vehicles, tr…
When the traffic plan meets a real delivery
The delivery arrives early. Someone points the driver towards the loading area, a pedestrian takes the usual shortcut, and suddenly the carefully drawn traffic plan is having a rather theoretical mor…
AI on a CV is fine. Leaving the prompt in it is not
I’m hiring at the moment. One CV landed with something I didn’t expect: Gemini had left its own notes in the document. The original prompt. The “considerations.” Sitting in the CV itself. It didn’t p…
HSE’s first joint industry guidance on collaborative robots (cobots)
HSE is writing its first ever joint industry guidance on collaborative robots. Not because the law blocked cobots. Because fear of getting it wrong did. What was announced On 10 June 2026, at London…
Free UK Compliance Tools: RIDDOR, First Aid, DSE, Policy and More
Free UK Compliance Tools: RIDDOR, First Aid, DSE, Policy and More I built a set of free compliance tools because the same questions kept landing in my inbox with a slightly different company name on…
Are Your Near-Miss (Near-Hit) Numbers Lying to You?
Are Your Near-Miss (Near-Hit) Numbers Lying to You? Are your near-miss numbers lying to you? Better question: are your near-hit numbers lying to you? You cannot nearly miss something. You can nearly…
IOSH Magazine Wants Your Ethical Dilemmas (The Real Ones)
IOSH Magazine Wants Your Ethical Dilemmas (The Real Ones) IOSH magazine is asking OSH people for the ethical challenges and moral dilemmas they have actually handled at work. Not the neat case study…
From Consultancy to Partnership: How SafeCompli Is Changing
We're moving away from traditional consultancy towards Health, Safety & Compliance Partnerships, your own outsourced H&S Manager for a fixed monthly investment.
Think You Know QHSE? Beat Your Score on the Free SafeCompli Quiz
Test your health, safety, quality, and environmental knowledge across 21 topics with the free SafeCompli QHSE quiz.
IOSH Approved Managing Safely in Agriculture: what the new course actually offers
IOSH Approved Managing Safely in Agriculture: what the new course actually offers Agriculture employs about 1% of the UK workforce and accounts for roughly 21% of worker fatalities. That is not a Far…
Four July HSE Prosecutions. About £560,000 in Fines. One Pattern.
Four July HSE Prosecutions. About £560,000 in Fines. One Pattern. Four HSE prosecutions that reached court around July 2026. Different sites. Different jobs. Roughly £560,000 in fines between them. T…
Operation Unite: What the EA's 42-Site Waste Crackdown Means for Business Compliance
The Environment Agency's 18-week Operation Unite saw 42 sites inspected, 17 permits suspended or revoked, and 30+ criminal investigations triggered. Here is the key lesson for business compliance.
Would Every Worker on Your Site Be Free to Walk Away?
30 July was the UN's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Would every worker on your site be free to walk away? The questions worth asking if you use subcontractors or labour providers.
18 Vehicle Safety Technologies Are Now Mandatory on New Vehicles in Great Britain
The government has confirmed 18 vehicle safety technologies will be mandatory on new mass-produced vehicles in Great Britain. Here is what it means for businesses running fleets today.
Bertschi UK Fined £425,000 After Warehouse Supervisor Dies in Loading Ramp Fall
Bertschi UK Limited was fined £425,000 after warehouse supervisor Peter Hutchinson, 60, died following a fall from a mobile loading ramp at the company's Middlesbrough site. HSE found the ramp had no…
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…
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…
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…