Workplace Safety Awareness: HR & Employee Responsibilities UK
Thursday Awareness Day
National Workplace Safety Awareness: HR & Employee Responsibility
Creating a safe workplace is not solely the responsibility of management — employees also play an important role in maintaining workplace health and safety standards.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers have legal duties to protect employees, but employees must also cooperate with safety procedures, report hazards, and follow workplace policies.
In 2026, businesses continue to focus on:
- Workplace risk assessments
- Manual handling awareness
- Stress and mental wellbeing
- Display screen equipment assessments
- Lone working procedures
- Slips, trips and falls prevention
- Safe remote and hybrid working arrangements
A proactive safety culture helps reduce accidents, improve morale, and demonstrate that businesses take employee wellbeing seriously.
Matthew Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR, comments:
“Health & Safety should never simply be treated as a paperwork or compliance exercise — it needs to form part of the everyday culture of a business. One of the things I often say when speaking to business owners, managers, and employees is that when you ask people, ‘Who is responsible for Health & Safety?’, the answer you often hear is ‘Management’. In reality, that is not the case at all — every single one of us has a responsibility for Health & Safety in the workplace.
Throughout my career, including when I worked for organisations such as Forte Restaurants and Welcome Break, training teams on Health & Safety was always a major part of my role. I would regularly explain that we are all different people, with different experiences, different ways of thinking, and different ways of seeing risk. Because of this, everybody must take personal responsibility every day for looking out for potential hazards and reporting anything that does not look right.
This is why effective Health & Safety training during induction — and then reinforced regularly afterwards — is so important for every member of the team, regardless of role or seniority. Good communication, ongoing training, and employee engagement all help businesses create safer, more positive, and more productive working environments.
It always reminds me of my time working at South Mimms Services on the M25, where we experienced a major fire that resulted in the entire premises being destroyed on an extremely busy day with hundreds of customers on site. I remember having to activate the fire alarm and evacuate the building quickly and safely. Thankfully, because the team had received the correct training and understood the procedures, the evacuation was carried out successfully, calmly, and professionally, with no casualties or serious incidents. That experience has always stayed with me and reinforced just how important proper Health & Safety awareness and training is for every business.”
— Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, BA (Hons)
Owner, Consensus HR
Consensus HR works closely with businesses and specialist Health & Safety partners to support employers with practical Health & Safety guidance, workplace procedures, employee training support, and management advice aligned to UK best practice.
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Health & Safety HR Support – Consensus HR
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