Health and Safety Responsibilities for Business Owners vs Contractors

As a business owner, you are responsible for having a robust health and safety policy, undertaking Risk Assessments of all your activities, the space you work in and the equipment you use. It is also your responsibility to put in place any procedures, training and PPE that may be required to minimise the likelihood and severity of accidents in your workplace.

You are also responsible for ensuring that third parties who come on to your site also act safely. It is your duty to carry out the relevant checks including reviewing the insurance provision for your contractors. These checks must be conducted every time as you have the same health and safety responsibility for third parties entering your premises. This is particularly important for tradesmen undertaking work at height, heat, or other high risk activities.

If a serious injury or fatality occurs at your premises as a result of work that is being carried out by a contractor, your company will be at risk of punitive fines and punishment as a result of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. The fines and punishments are contingent on a number of issues ranging from the seriousness of the incident, the size (turnover of the business) and just how badly the company breached health and safety regulations. The business’s willingness to rectify breaches in regulatory working practice will also be an important factor. Finally, the incident will be a declarable material fact that will affect your business’s insurance programme in the future.

Key health and safety considerations for business owners

The HSE provide the following health and safety guidance for businesses:

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