As an employer, there are things you should do to make sure your workplace is a healthy, happy and safe place. 

The Safer Workplace, Better Business workbook provides a comprehensive guide to meeting your legal and moral health and safety obligations.

For more information, visit the Health and Safety Executive website.

If a business has been prosecuted for a health and safety breach, details will be published on the Health and Safety Executive Prosecutions page.

For more information about our enforcement policy, visit our Enforcement Policy page.

If you own or occupy a non-domestic industrial, commercial or public premises, such as a factory, warehouse, office, shop, hospital or school, you have a duty to assess the building for asbestos and implement a management plan.

This is done by:

• Finding out if asbestos is present in the premises.
• Keeping a record of the location and condition of the asbestos or any materials which are thought to contain asbestos.
• Assessing the risk of anyone being exposed to the materials identified, for example staff, contractors or the public.
• Making an “asbestos management plan” that sets out how the risks from these materials will be managed and regularly reviewing this plan to check that adequate arrangements are in place.
• Providing information on the location and condition of the asbestos material to anyone who may come into contact with it, such as building contractors, surveyors and architects.
• Liaising with landlords who have a duty to pass on this information to their tenants. Tenants must also cooperate with their landlord, including allowing access to their home. 
• Arranging for the safe and proper disposal of asbestos materials. Guidance can be found on the Somerset Waste Partnership website.

Non-domestic premises can also include 'common' areas such as foyers, corridors, lifts, staircases, roof spaces, gardens, outhouses and garages.

You can find out more about asbestos, and its dangers, from the Health and Safety Executive.

As an employer, controller of a premises or a landlord, you have a duty to identify and manage any legionella risks.

Legionella bacteria can be found, usually in low numbers, in rivers, reservoirs and lakes. As they are found in natural water sources, the bacteria may eventually colonise in manufactured water systems, particularly hot and cold water systems, cooling towers and other equipment that stores water.  

Legionnaires' disease is normally contracted by inhaling legionella bacteria, either in droplets of water or ingesting contaminated water. It can lead to a potentially fatal form of pneumonia.

For more information and guidance on how to control legionella risks in your workplace, visit the Health and Safety Executive.

'Work at height' means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance that would result in an injury.

It is one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries in the workplace.

Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces.

More information about working at height can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.

If you own or run a commercial catering premises, the proper installation, maintenance and inspection by a Gas Safe registered engineer is essential. This is to make sure you, your staff and your customers are protected from exposure to carbon monoxide gas.

For more information, visit these pages:

• Gas Safety in Hospitality Premises
• Gas Safety Ventilation
• Beverage Gases in the Hospitality Industry

If you are an owner, operator or manager of a visitor attraction, use the Code of Practice to help prevent or control illness at your attraction.

It gives guidance, including pictures and real-life case studies, of practical measures that you can use at your premises to help you comply with the law and keep your visitors safe.

If you are a hairdresser, visit the Health and Safety Executives Hairdressing page for health and safety information.

If you own or run a nail bar, use the guidance below to make sure that you are operating good health and safety practices:

• COSHH and Beauticians
• Occupational asthma, respiratory issues and dermatitis in hairdressers and nail bars
• COSHH essentials for service and retail
• Health and Safety in Nail Bars
• HABIA Code of Practice for Nail Services

View this leaflet for helpful information about microblading.

Following a number of tragic fatalities involving a child and an inflatable amusement device, the Health and Safety Executive has published revised guidance for industry stakeholders and operators of inflatable equipment.

Swimming Pools:

This resource has been developed to help businesses who operate swimming pools in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector.  The website provides details of the steps required to make pools and spas environmentally safe for customers and also for staff maintaining the facilities. In addition to the pool safety guide there are a series of short films supporting the guidance. 

The project was developed by the Devon and Cornwall Health and Safety Liaison Group and funded by The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Hot Tubs:

Hot tub safety toolkit has been developed by Trading Standards to help tourism operators to provide a safe experience for their guests.