Workplace health and safety inspections
We aim to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and the public from the risks that come with work. Business operators, employers (duty holders) and in some cases landlords are responsible for ensuring safety within premises used as workplaces.
We visit workplaces to inspect whether they are following health and safety rules. These visits are carried out by Environmental Health Officers or Health and Safety Inspectors. They will:
- decide if there are hazards that could cause a risk to a persons health and safety
- determine if the duty holder is complying with the law
- offer advice and guidance
- take enforcement action where needed
What we look for
We consider many factors that cause risk to employees and the public. These include:
- safety hazard (the potential of a machine, activity or methods of work to cause harm)
- health hazard (the potential of a substance, noise, method of work to cause harm)
- safety risk (how likely harm will come about from a single hazard)
- health risk (as safety risk)
- welfare provision (standards of welfare provision that the workplace must provide, like toilets)
- public risk (how likely it is that the public will be harmed by activities in the workplace)
- confidence in management (the management's track record, attitude or systems in place, for example)
What to do if you think a workplace is unsafe
Find out more about how to report health and safety incidents and contact us if you think we should inspect a workplace.
