What safety training do I actually have to provide?
The law requires you to give staff the information, instruction and training they need to work safely. It names very few specific courses. Which training is a legal requirement, which is good practice, and which is a course provider filling the calendar. First aid, fire marshals, manual handling, DSE, working at height, and what a sensible small business spends.
Looking for the technical detail? Read the version for professionals → HSWA section 2, MHSWR regulation 13, the specific regulations that carry training duties, competence frameworks and the accreditation landscape.
Do I have to train my staff? Yes. The law requires you to give people the information, instruction and training they need to work safely, on recruitment and whenever the risks change.
Does the law say which courses? Almost never. It says train people for the risks they face. Your risk assessment decides what that is. A training company's brochure doesn't.
Where are buyers oversold? Named courses sold as statutory requirements when the law names none; annual refreshers on a calendar that isn't in any regulation; and everyone in the business on a course that two people needed.
What the law actually requires
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2(2)(c): every employer must provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 13: training on recruitment, on exposure to new or increased risks (change of job, new equipment, new technology, new systems of work), repeated periodically where appropriate, adapted to new risks, and during working hours.
That's the framework. "Necessary" and "appropriate" are decided by your risk assessment.
- First aid (Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981): adequate and appropriate provision, based on a needs assessment. Could be an appointed person; could be trained first aiders.
- Fire (Fire Safety Order, articles 15 and 21): nominate competent people to help with evacuation; give employees fire safety training on induction and when risks change.
- Manual handling (Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992): information and training where manual handling risk remains after avoidance and reduction.
- Display screen equipment (Health and Safety (DSE) Regulations 1992): information and training for users on their workstations.
- Work at height (Work at Height Regulations 2005): competence for anyone working at height, including using ladders.
- COSHH, noise, vibration, PUWER, asbestos: each requires information, instruction and training for the people exposed.
None of these names a course, a provider, a duration or a refresher interval. Asbestos awareness is the closest to a named requirement, and only for people whose work could disturb it.
Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work certificates are valid for three years by convention; HSE recommends annual refresher training but doesn't require it. Fire marshal training is conventionally refreshed every one to three years. Manual handling and DSE are usually refreshed when the job changes. These are the industry's intervals, and they're sensible, but they're not statutory.
Employers' liability insurers will ask for training records after a claim. Public-sector tenders and larger clients often specify named courses (IOSH Managing Safely for site managers, CSCS cards for construction, food hygiene Level 2 for catering). Those are contractual requirements and you meet them because you want the work, not because the law says so.
Northern Ireland: the same duties apply under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.
What this means for your business
Small office or shop, low risk: induction covering fire, first aid arrangements and the risk assessment; DSE briefing for screen users; an appointed person for first aid (or one trained first aider if you prefer); a nominated fire marshal briefed on the evacuation plan. Almost all deliverable in-house.
Restaurant, café, salon: the above, plus food hygiene where applicable, manual handling for stock, COSHH briefing for cleaning chemicals, and usually one trained first aider.
Workshop, warehouse, trades: trained first aiders, manual handling, work at height where relevant, equipment-specific training (forklift, abrasive wheels, and so on), and a manager with IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent.
Construction and higher-risk sectors: their own frameworks (CSCS, CDM competence) sit above this page.
Your options
In-house, from your own risk assessment
Induction, fire briefing, DSE, COSHH and manual handling for low-risk tasks can all be delivered by a competent manager using HSE's free materials, recorded on a simple training log. This is what most small businesses should be doing for most of their training.
Accredited courses where they earn their place
First aid (EFAW or FAW from a provider that meets HSE's guidance on due diligence), fire marshal where the role is real, manual handling where people lift for a living, and IOSH Managing Safely for the person who owns health and safety in a growing business. Buy per course, per person. Group in-house delivery is usually cheaper than sending people to open courses.
E-learning
Fine for awareness-level training (DSE, fire awareness, COSHH awareness, asbestos awareness). Not fine for anything practical: first aid, manual handling technique, work at height. £20 to £60 a head, and the record is automatic.
What it should cost
EFAW £80 to £150 per person, FAW £200 to £400. Fire marshal £40 to £100. Manual handling £30 to £80. E-learning modules £20 to £60. IOSH Managing Safely £300 to £600. A ten-person office should be able to meet its legal training duty for well under £500 a year, most of it first aid.
What you shouldn’t be sold
- Any course described as "required by law" for every employee. The law names none. Ask which regulation, then check the regulation.
- Annual refreshers on the provider's calendar. Three years for first aid is the convention; other refreshers follow the job, not the diary.
- Everyone on the course. The risk assessment says who needs what. Two first aiders, not fifteen. One fire marshal per floor, not all staff.
- A training platform on a multi-year licence for a business that needs six modules a year.
- NEBOSH for a small business owner. IOSH Managing Safely is the right level for a manager. NEBOSH is for someone whose job is health and safety.
- First aid training from a provider that can't show it meets HSE's due-diligence guidance. Ask for the trainer's qualifications and the course content before you book.
- Training bundled into a compliance contract with no per-course price. You can't tell what you're paying for it, and you can't stop paying when you don't need it.
Check what else your business needs
Training follows the general risk assessment. Use the First Aider Calculator for a starting point on first-aid provision. Run the Compliance Check to see the full picture for your business.
Sources
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 — legislation.gov.uk
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 13 — legislation.gov.uk
- Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 and HSE guidance L74 — hse.gov.uk
- HSE, Selecting a first-aid training provider, GEIS3 — hse.gov.uk
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, articles 15 and 21 — legislation.gov.uk
- HSE, Health and safety training: a brief guide, INDG345 — hse.gov.uk
Quick answers
- Is health and safety training a legal requirement?
- Yes. The Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require employers to provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed for people to work safely, on recruitment, when their job changes and when new risks appear. What that training consists of is decided by your risk assessment, not by law.
- Do I legally need a trained first aider?
- You must have adequate first-aid provision based on a needs assessment. For a small low-risk workplace that can be an appointed person with no formal training and a first-aid kit. Higher-risk workplaces or larger numbers need trained first aiders: Emergency First Aid at Work (one day) or First Aid at Work (three days). Use the First Aider Calculator on this site for a starting point.
- Do I need a fire marshal?
- The Fire Safety Order requires you to nominate enough competent people to help with evacuation. In a small premises that might be one person, and their training can be in-house, based on the fire risk assessment and the evacuation plan. A one-day fire marshal course is good practice for anyone with that role, not a statutory requirement.
- Is manual handling training a legal requirement?
- The Manual Handling Operations Regulations require you to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, assess what remains and reduce the risk, which includes giving people the information and training they need. Where staff lift regularly, training is expected. For an office it is usually a short briefing, not a course.
- Do I need DSE training for office staff?
- The Display Screen Equipment Regulations require you to assess workstations for regular screen users, provide information and training on using them safely, and offer eye tests. The training can be an in-house briefing or a short e-learning module. It does not require an external course.
- How much should safety training cost?
- Emergency First Aid at Work, typically £80 to £150 per person. First Aid at Work, £200 to £400. Fire marshal, £40 to £100. Manual handling, £30 to £80. DSE, IOSH Working Safely and similar, £20 to £60 per person as e-learning. In-house group sessions are usually cheaper per head than open courses. Most of what an office needs can be delivered in-house for nothing.
- What is the difference between IOSH and NEBOSH?
- IOSH Managing Safely is a three- or four-day course for managers who need to understand their responsibilities. NEBOSH General Certificate is a longer, examined qualification for people who will run health and safety for the business. Neither is a legal requirement. Most small businesses need neither; one manager with IOSH Managing Safely is a sensible investment for a business with 20 or more staff.
- Do I need to keep training records?
- There is no specific statutory training record for general workplace training, but you must be able to show that people were trained. A simple record of who was trained in what, when, and by whom is the evidence. Keep it.
This is general information about UK compliance, written for the person paying the bill. It isn’t legal advice. If your situation is unusual, get a professional to look at it.