A health and safety audit is a structured review of your organisation’s policies, procedures, and practices to assess compliance with legal requirements and identify areas for improvement. It goes beyond basic inspections by evaluating the effectiveness of your entire safety management system.

While audits themselves are not mandatory, employers are legally required under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of employees. Audits are a proactive way to demonstrate compliance and due diligence and they help you to allocate resources where they are most needed.

Any business, regardless of size or sector, can benefit from a health and safety audit. It’s especially important for:

• High-risk industries (e.g. manufacturing, construction)
• Businesses with multiple sites or complex operations
• Organisations preparing for external accreditation (e.g. ISO 45001)
• Organisations who have undergone major changes, mergers or experienced have experienced a serious accident, incident
• Organisations who have experienced enforcement action and wish to establish if there are other areas of vulnerability and risk in their business

 Our audits typically cover:

• Review of health and safety policies and risk assessments
• Evaluation of training records and incident reporting
• Review of other documents such as safe systems, maintenance records etc
• Site walk-throughs to assess physical hazards
• Interviews with staff and management including senior level/board
• Detailed report with Executive Summary, prioritised recommendations and detailed finings to support this

An inspection checks for immediate hazards and compliance issues. An audit is broader, it assesses the effectiveness of your safety systems, culture, and governance. It will include inspection as part of this process.

Most organisations benefit from an annual audit. However, frequency may vary based on:

• Risk level of your operations
• Changes in legislation
• Incident history
• Insurance or client requirements

You’ll receive a detailed report outlining:

• Areas of compliance
• Non-conformities or risks
• Practical recommendations
• A prioritised action plan

We can also support you with follow-up services such as training, policy updates, audit reviews and a comprehensive Competent Person support service.

• Legal: Demonstrates your status of legal compliance and helps you with forward thinking approaches to address weakness and gaps in minimum compliance
• Moral: Protects employees and promotes a safety culture. By demonstrating your commitment it helps to promote engagement with your teams.
• Financial: Prevents costly incidents and insurance claims. An audit also helps you to prioritise and allocate limited resources to areas where they are most needed,
• Operational: Improves efficiency and reduces downtime. Identifies where further improvements may be needed.
• Reputational: Shows commitment to safety for clients and stakeholders and are helpful when liaising with clients, applying for tenders and dealing with suppliers.