If you’re responsible for health and safety in your workplace, you may wonder why health and safety training is important and what difference it actually makes.
The answer goes beyond simply giving employees a certificate.
Appropriate training helps employees understand the risks associated with their work, follow safer working practices and know what to do when something goes wrong.
It also forms an important part of an employer’s wider health and safety responsibilities.
The right training will depend on the work your employees carry out, the risks they face and the responsibilities they have.
At 1st Choice Safety Training & Consultancy, we provide health and safety training for businesses and organisations across the Midlands and throughout the UK.
What is health and safety training?
Health and safety training gives employees the knowledge and skills they need to work safely.
It can cover many different subjects depending on the workplace.
For example, training may include:
- First aid
- Fire safety
- Manual handling
- Risk assessment
- COSHH
- Workplace equipment
- Emergency procedures
- Health and safety awareness
The training your business needs should reflect the risks within your workplace.
An office, warehouse, construction site and manufacturing facility can all have very different hazards. Therefore, they are unlikely to need exactly the same training.
How does health and safety training support legal compliance?
Employers have responsibilities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and others who may be affected by their work.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to provide information, instruction, training and supervision as necessary to ensure health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Other health and safety regulations can also contain specific requirements depending on the activities being carried out.
This means appropriate training should form part of your wider approach to health and safety compliance.
However, compliance isn’t simply about sending employees on courses and keeping certificates on file.
Training needs to be suitable for the work being carried out and the risks employees may face.
How can training reduce workplace risks?
Employees who understand workplace hazards are better placed to recognise risks and follow the correct procedures.
Training can help employees understand:
- The hazards associated with their role
- How risks should be controlled
- How to use equipment safely
- What to do in an emergency
- When to report a safety concern
- How their actions can affect other people
For example, employees who regularly move materials may benefit from appropriate manual handling training.
Similarly, employees with responsibility for workplace fire procedures may need appropriate fire marshal or fire warden training.
Training therefore needs to reflect the actual work employees do.
What are the benefits of health and safety training?
There are several reasons why appropriate workplace training is important.
1. It helps employees recognise risks
Employees may encounter hazards every day without fully understanding the risks they present.
Training can help them identify hazards and understand the procedures used to control them.
2. It supports safer working practices
Employees can use the knowledge gained through training in their day-to-day work.
This can include following safe procedures, using equipment correctly and responding appropriately to workplace hazards.
3. It supports legal compliance
Appropriate training forms part of an employer’s wider health and safety arrangements.
Keeping employees suitably trained can help businesses demonstrate that they are taking their responsibilities seriously.
4. It improves confidence
Employees who understand what they should do in a particular situation are more likely to feel confident responding to workplace risks or emergencies.
This can be especially important for employees with additional responsibilities, such as first aiders and fire marshals.
5. It can highlight gaps in knowledge
Training can also help businesses identify areas where employees need further instruction or support.
If employees are struggling to apply a procedure correctly, this may indicate that additional training or a review of the process is needed.
Does every employee need the same training?
No.
The appropriate training will depend on an employee’s role and the risks associated with their work.
For example, someone working in an office may have different training needs from someone working in a warehouse or on a construction site.
Businesses should consider:
- The employee’s responsibilities
- The hazards associated with their role
- The equipment they use
- Their working environment
- Any additional responsibilities they have
- The findings of relevant risk assessments
This helps make sure employees receive training that is actually relevant to their work.
When should health and safety training be provided?
Health and safety training should not necessarily be treated as a one-off exercise.
Training may be needed when:
- Someone starts a new role
- An employee changes responsibilities
- New equipment is introduced
- Working practices change
- New workplace risks are identified
- An employee takes on additional responsibilities
- An accident or near miss highlights a potential issue
- Existing knowledge or competence needs to be refreshed
New employees should receive appropriate information, instruction and training for their role.
Training should then be reviewed when circumstances change to make sure it remains suitable.
How often should health and safety training be refreshed?
There is no single refresher period that applies to every type of health and safety training.
The appropriate frequency depends on the subject, the risks involved, the employee’s role and any relevant legal or industry requirements.
Some training may need regular refresher sessions. Other training may need to be reviewed when working practices change or when an employee’s competence needs to be reinforced.
Businesses should therefore consider their training needs as part of their wider health and safety arrangements rather than relying on one fixed timetable for every subject.
For example, first aid and fire safety training have their own specific considerations, while other workplace training may be reviewed based on risk and changes to the work.
Is health and safety training enough to keep employees safe?
No.
Training is an important part of managing workplace health and safety, but it is only one part of the overall approach.
Businesses should also consider how work is designed, what control measures are in place, what equipment employees use and whether workplace risks have been properly assessed.
For example, if employees regularly lift heavy loads, providing manual handling training is useful, but the business should also consider whether the task can be avoided, redesigned or supported with mechanical equipment.
Training should support effective risk control rather than replace it.
How can you improve your health and safety training?
A good starting point is to review the risks within your workplace and the roles your employees carry out.
Ask yourself:
- What hazards do our employees face?
- What training have they already completed?
- Are there gaps in their knowledge or competence?
- Have our working practices changed?
- Have we introduced new equipment or processes?
- Are employees taking on new responsibilities?
- Does our training reflect our current workplace risks?
You should also keep suitable records of completed training, including when training was carried out and when it may need to be reviewed.
Regularly reviewing your arrangements can help you identify where additional or refresher training may be appropriate.
Make Sure Your Team Has the Right Training
Health and safety training is an important part of helping businesses manage workplace risks, support employees and maintain appropriate compliance arrangements.
The right training should reflect the work your employees carry out and the risks they face.
At 1st Choice Safety Training & Consultancy, we provide a range of workplace training courses to help businesses meet their health and safety responsibilities.
Whether you need training for new employees, additional training for your team or support reviewing your current arrangements, we can help you find the right solution.
Contact our team to discuss your health and safety training requirements and find the right training for your workplace.
