WORKING POLICY TYPE · HEALTH & SAFETY
Health and safety policies,
built around your business.
A health and safety policy should describe the business it belongs to. Policy Logic is being developed to help you answer practical questions and turn your answers into a structured draft for review.
Working prototype · Browser only · Download your draft before leaving
Questions that get beyond a company name
1. What work do you do, and where?
Describe your activities, locations and the people affected. An office-based business and a site contractor need different detail.
2. Who leads and supports health and safety?
Identify the roles responsible for decisions, supervision and advice, and the routes workers use to raise concerns.
3. What arrangements are in place?
Explain how you plan work, assess risks, provide information and training, maintain equipment and respond to problems.
4. What is still undecided?
Record gaps in responsibility or arrangements so they can be resolved rather than filled with an invented answer.
How the answers would shape the draft
HSE describes a policy in three parts: the business's overall intentions, the people responsible and the arrangements used to put it into practice. The proposed question flow follows that useful distinction, asking for information about each part rather than treating the company name as the only detail that matters.
For example, a business that works at customer premises would be prompted to explain how it checks site information and communicates with the client. A business with its own workshop would also need to describe relevant arrangements for that workplace. These are example prompts, not an assessment of either business.
What needs checking before issue?
The organisation should check that the draft matches actual roles and arrangements, that commitments are achievable and that any unanswered questions have been resolved. The appropriate people need to review and approve the document before it is issued. A generated draft cannot establish that the work itself is being managed safely.
Read HSE's guidance on writing a health and safety policy for the underlying structure. Policy Logic is not an HSE product and does not imply HSE approval.
See the question-to-draft approach
Explore a fictional business example, then use the review checklist when checking a policy. Compare the four policy types →
Policy Logic is in development. These pages explain the proposed approach and example questions.