News
New Health & Safety Poster Requirements
20 May 2014
Have you updated your Health & Safety poster yet?
There are many legal and regulatory changes to be aware of these days, and one that may have escaped your attention was made effective in April 2014. You must now ensure that Health & Safety posters displayed at your premises are the new-style ones introduced in 2009.
What exactly has changed?
In 2009, the current “Health and Safety Law – What you need to know” poster was introduced. The 2009 version came about because research showed the previous version (which dated back to 1999) was not visually appealing enough and was therefore being ignored. So a new design (see the image on the right) was introduced, but businesses were allowed to keep their 1999 versions if they preferred. However, as of April 2014, the HSE (Health & Safety Executive) now insist that all places of work display the 2009 version of the poster.
What are my obligations?
If you employ people, you should display the 2009 version of the poster at any premises used by your employees. To meet your obligations, your options are to either:
Buy new posters from the HSE – you can buy them here.
Give a Health & Safety leaflet to all staff, which is available as a free download here.
Either of these solutions is quick and simple. Whilst having a poster and leaflets alone won’t change much, it could reflect badly on you if an employee was injured at work and you did not display or distribute the relevant information.
