Your responsibilities for health, safety and the environment

Comply with key health and safety rules

You're responsible for the health and safety of everyone affected by your business and its activities. This includes:

• employees working at your premises, from home, or at another site
• visitors to your premises such as customers or subcontractors
• people at other premises where you're working, such as a construction site
• members of the public even if they're outside your premises
• anyone affected by products and services you design, produce or supply

The first step is to conduct a thorough assessment of the risks your business faces. Risk is the chance, high or low, that someone or something could be harmed by a hazard. Hazard means anything that can cause harm, eg chemicals, electricity, a slippery floor. See our guide on risk assessment - an overview.

You must have a policy for how you look after health and safety. If you employ five or more people, this policy must be in writing. Read about health and safety policies on the HSE website.

You also need to comply with certain specific legal requirements, eg on recording and reporting accidents. You must consult employees or their safety representatives on health and safety matters. You must also ensure your employees understand and carry out their responsibilities for health and safety, such as following the safety rules you have set up. See the page in this guide for a checklist: key steps to protect health, safety and the environment.

Other specific requirements can include:

• registering your business - see the page in this guide: do I need to license or register my business?
• taking out employers' liability insurance - see the page in this guide on how to make sure your business is properly insured

Download the introductory guide to health and safety from the HSE website (PDF) or call the HSE Infoline on Tel 0845 345 0055.

You must also ensure your business complies with its environmental obligations - see the page in this guide on how to comply with key environmental rules.

Get information on health and safety issues for businesses in Northern Ireland at the HSENI website.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Comply with key health and safety rules
• Comply with key environmental rules
• Who ensures that health and safety and environmental law is being complied with?
• Do I need to license or register my business?
• Make sure your business is properly insured
• Substances covered by health, safety and environmental law
• Activities covered by health and safety laws
• Maintain high standards of occupational health
• Health, safety and the environment in specific sectors
• Checklist: protecting health, safety and the environment
• Here's how my business approaches health and safety issues

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