Preparing for an HSE inspection: a Health & Safety checklist

In this free guide:

• What the law says and your legal responsibilities as an employer
• What inspectors could look out for during their visit
• A checklist of key Health & Safety considerations to get you on the right track

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Health & Safety should always be right at the front of your mind as an employer, whether you’re being inspected or not. However, we know that the prospect of an inspection can be intimidating, and it can make you second-guess whether your Health & Safety measures are properly up to scratch.

In 2020/21, 185 cases were successfully prosecuted – or referred to COPFS for prosecution in Scotland – by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and there was £26.9 million in fines resulting from those convictions.

Although fewer fines were issued than the year before, the average fine per case has increased from £107,000 to £145,000. This makes it more important than ever to make sure you’re getting Health & Safety right in your business – because the financial and reputational hit if you don’t could be huge.

Citation’s Health & Safety experts have created this handy guide, exploring some of the most important things to keep in mind when preparing for an HSE inspection.

Simply fill in your details above for your FREE copy.

Why are health and safety inspections in the workplace important?

Regular Health and Safety inspections in the workplace are essential for reducing risks and keeping your employees safe. We know they can be stressful or feel like a headache, but actually, health and safety inspections are really important for making sure businesses across the UK are providing safe, healthy work environments for their people. And the benefits of doing that as a business are pretty great  – for example: 

• Improved employee safety and wellbeing
• Safeguard and protect your business
• Reduce costs on workplace repairs 

For further reading, why not check out our handy blog about the benefits of conducting regular health and safety inspections in the workplace?

How often should health and safety inspections be carried out?

Wondering how often Health and Safety inspections should be carried out? It basically depends on your workplace – for example, construction sites are likely to have an inspector pop by a lot more often than some other industries, just because of how dangerous a lot of their work activities are. Inspectors look for different things in different workplaces, but there are a few basic things you can do to make sure you’re prepared – which is what you’ll find in our free checklist.

Are there different types of HSE inspection checklists?

Every year, the HSE releases areas of focus for inspections across sectors that are informed by the previous year’s inspection activity. We understand the importance of being mindful of potential hotspots to best prepare for your upcoming HSE inspection. 

With that in mind, Citation has put together some helpful resources covering a range of sectors. Take a look and find an industry-specific HSE inspection checklist tailored just for you and your business.

Download your free Health and Safety inspection checklist today

Coming on board with Citation gives you 24/7 access to our team of qualified health and safety consultants. You’ll be able to use our range of smart, cloud-based Health & Safety management tools using our Atlas hub. We also provide an annual on-site visit, so you have the peace of mind that everything is up to scratch and standards remain sky-high! 

So, simply fill in your details to download your free Health and Safety inspection checklist template today. 

If you want a little further reading on how to prepare for a health and safety inspection, check out our blog post below.