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A comprehensive health and safety audit combines detailed safety inspections and essential safety checks. Using expert knowledge and practical experience, Bison Assist can help you identify, manage and reduce workplace risks while ensuring legal compliance.
Our experienced consultants deliver professional audits nationwide, identifying potential risks and providing detailed advice to ensure your premises are fully compliant.
When you join the Bison Assist herd, support doesn’t stop at our visits; we’re here whenever you need guidance.
What Is a Health & Safety Audit?
A health and safety audit is a systematic and independent review of your organisation’s health and safety management systems, policies and procedures.
It assesses compliance with legal requirements, identifies health and safety hazards and evaluates how effective your current controls are in practice.
Often described as an “MOT” for your workplace, a health & safety audit includes document reviews, on-site safety inspections, employee engagement and operational safety checks to ensure that risks are being identified and managed effectively across all areas.
Who Needs a Health and Safety Audit?
If you operate any type of workplace, you have a legal duty to protect employees, visitors and contractors. Regular health and safety audits and routine safety inspections and safety checks help confirm that your policies, procedures and working conditions remain suitable, sufficient, and compliant with regulations.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. A structured health & safety audit provides confidence that you are meeting your responsibilities – and doing the right thing for your people.
A typical health and safety audit includes:
- Systematic review of your health and safety management system against legal standards
- Compliance checks to confirm regulatory requirements are met
- Effectiveness evaluation of existing controls and procedures
- Hazard identification to uncover new or unmanaged risks
- Documentation review, including policies, risk assessments and training records
- On-site safety inspections of the workplace
- Operational safety checks to verify that controls are functioning properly
- Employee input to assess real-world application of procedures
- Reporting, with clear findings and practical recommendations
Regular health and safety audits help to:
- Prevent accidents and incidents by identifying issues early through proactive safety inspections and safety checks
- Avoid penalties and reduce the risk of enforcement action
- Improve safety culture by demonstrating commitment to employee wellbeing
- Support continuous improvement across your health & safety systems
Most organisations should complete a health and safety audit at least annually. Higher-risk environments may require more frequent audits and additional safety inspections, particularly following incidents or operational changes.
Key Factors That Affect Frequency
- Risk level of your workplace
- Business changes, such as new equipment, key personnel or processes
- Regulatory requirements specific to your industry
- Previous audit findings and performance trends
To discuss the right audit schedule for your business, contact us today.