# Health and safety policy template > Who is responsible for safety, reporting, first aid, emergencies and wellbeing. A complete policy to adapt with your own rules. Category: Policies Canonical: https://shuffl.ai/templates/health-and-safety-policy **A starting point, not legal advice. Leave, pay and expense rules differ by country, state and city. Use the checks on this page to see what to look up where your people work, and have someone qualified review your policy before you publish it.** ## When to use it A health and safety policy names who is responsible for safety, how to report hazards and accidents, and what happens in an emergency. It covers office, home and travel, and wellbeing as well as physical safety. ## Health and safety Words in [square brackets] are for you to fill in. The policy has every section a real handbook policy has, but no allowances, dates or amounts of its own. ```markdown # Health and safety ## Purpose Everyone should go home as healthy as they arrived. This policy sets out how we keep work safe and what everyone needs to do. ## Our commitment [Named senior person or role] is responsible for health and safety overall. We assess risks, provide safe equipment and training, and consult you on anything that affects your safety. ## Who this covers Everyone who works here or visits, in our offices, at home and when travelling for work. ## Responsibilities - **The company:** assess risks, provide safe workplaces and equipment, and act on what we find. - **Managers:** make sure their team knows the risks and how to work safely, and act on concerns quickly. - **Everyone:** follow safety instructions, look after yourself and others, and report hazards. ## Reporting hazards, accidents and near misses Report anything unsafe, any accident and any near miss to [who or where] straight away, even if nobody was hurt. ## First aid First aiders: [names or where the list is kept]. First aid kits are at [locations]. ## Fire and emergencies [How the alarm sounds, where to go, who checks everyone is out, and where the emergency plan is kept.] ## Working at a desk or from home [How to set up a workstation, how to ask for an assessment or equipment, and eye test arrangements for screen users.] ## Wellbeing and stress [Support available, for example an employee assistance programme, and how to raise workload or stress concerns.] ## Training [Training everyone gets when they join, and any role-specific training.] ## Where local law differs If the law where you work gives you more protection, the law applies. These places have their own rules: [list them, or "none"]. ## Related policies Remote work and hours, Sick leave and Travel. ## About this policy Owned by [team or person]. Applies in [countries or states]. We may update this policy and will tell you at least [number] days before a change takes effect. This policy is not part of your employment contract. ## Questions Contact [team or person] at [email or channel]. ``` ## Check before you publish Rules that often catch teams out, by place. They are not part of the policy, and not legal advice. - United Kingdom: Employers with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy and record their risk assessments. Some injuries and incidents must be reported under RIDDOR, and screen users are entitled to workstation assessments and eye tests. - United States: OSHA’s general duty clause requires a workplace free of recognised serious hazards, and many employers with more than 10 employees must keep injury logs. California requires a written injury and illness prevention program and, for most employers, a workplace violence prevention plan. - European Union: The framework directive requires a risk assessment and consultation with workers or their representatives. Many countries add rules for home workers and a named safety representative. ## How to adapt it - Name a senior person who is responsible overall. - Ask people to report near misses, not only accidents. - Explain how home workers get a workstation set up. ## Work still harms people - **2.5M** nonfatal injuries and illnesses reported by US private employers in 2024 (BLS) [bls-soii] - **1.9M** working people in Great Britain had a work-related illness in 2024/25 (HSE) [hse-key-figures] - **5,070** fatal work injuries in the US in 2024, one every 104 minutes (BLS) [bls-cfoi] ## What the research says US private employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, 2.3 cases for every 100 full-time workers.[bls-soii] There were 5,070 fatal work injuries the same year, a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time workers.[bls-cfoi] In Great Britain, 1.9 million working people had a work-related illness in 2024/25, and 964,000 of them had work-related stress, depression or anxiety. 680,000 were injured at work, and 40.1 million working days were lost to work-related illness and injury.[hse-key-figures] So a policy for an office or remote team still matters. Stress, display screen work, travel and lone working are real risks, and the employer’s duties follow people home.[hse-home-workers] ## What the law requires In the US, employers must provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards and must not discriminate against employees who exercise their rights under the OSH Act.[osha-employer-responsibilities] Many employers with more than 10 employees must record work-related injuries and illnesses on OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301, and some industries are exempt. All employers must report a work-related fatality to OSHA within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours.[osha-recordkeeping] In Great Britain, a business with five or more employees must write its health and safety policy down.[hse-policy] Employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for people working at home as for any other worker.[hse-home-workers] Check the rules in each country and state where you have people. ## Common mistakes - Copying a factory template for an office team. Cover the risks you actually have: screens, stress, travel and lone working. - Leaving out mental health. Stress, depression or anxiety account for about half of work-related illness in Great Britain.[hse-key-figures] - Making reporting feel risky. If people expect blame, small problems stay hidden until they become serious. - Never reviewing it. Revisit the policy after an incident, an office move or a change in how people work. ## Common questions **Does a small business need a written health and safety policy?** In Great Britain, a business with five or more employees must write its policy down, and HSE says writing it down is useful even below that. In the US, OSHA’s duties apply whether or not you have a written policy. A short written policy also helps people know who to tell when something goes wrong. **Who is responsible for health and safety at work?** The employer has the legal duty. The policy should name who does what, from the senior person with overall responsibility to the people who handle first aid, reporting and workstation checks. **Do health and safety rules apply to people working from home?** Yes. HSE says employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for anyone else, including stress and safe use of computers. Ask home workers to check their setup and give them a way to request equipment. ## Sources (read 2026-10-13) - [bls-soii] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employer-Reported Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, 2023-2024” (January 22, 2026): https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm - [bls-cfoi] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2024” (February 19, 2026): https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm - [hse-key-figures] Health and Safety Executive, “Key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025” (Updated 30 June 2026): https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overview.htm - [hse-home-workers] Health and Safety Executive, “Managing home workers’ health and safety” (No date stated; read October 2026): https://www.hse.gov.uk/home-working/employer/index.htm - [osha-employer-responsibilities] Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Employer Responsibilities” (No date stated; read October 2026): https://www.osha.gov/workers/employer-responsibilities - [osha-recordkeeping] Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Recordkeeping” (No date stated; read October 2026): https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping - [hse-policy] Health and Safety Executive, “Prepare a health and safety policy” (No date stated; read October 2026): https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/policy/index.htm ## In Shuffl Use in Shuffl: [Knowledge draft](https://shuffl.ai/app/knowledge?template=health-and-safety). Opens a Knowledge draft with this policy, its checks and what Shuffl already knows, like your HR contact and countries. Draft with Mello can write the rest and show where each value came from. Nothing is published until you choose Publish. Guide: [Add a policy to Knowledge](https://shuffl.ai/docs/knowledge#add) ## Related terms - [Burnout](https://shuffl.ai/glossary/burnout) - [Employee handbook](https://shuffl.ai/glossary/employee-handbook) All templates: https://shuffl.ai/templates Agent documentation index: https://shuffl.ai/llms.txt