Is health and safety training a legal requirement?

Yes. The Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require employers to provide the information and instruction and training and supervision needed for people to work safely. On recruitment and when their job changes and when new risks appear. What that training consists of is decided by your risk assessment and not by law.

Do I legally need a trained first aider?

You must have adequate first aid provision based on a needs assessment. The law allows a small low risk workplace to have an appointed person with no formal training and a first aid kit. We say train that person on the one day Emergency First Aid at Work course anyway. It is £115 and an appointed person is not trained to treat anyone. Higher risk workplaces or larger numbers need trained first aiders on the one day or the three day First Aid at Work course. Use the First Aider Calculator on this site for a starting point.

Do I need a fire marshal?

The Fire Safety Order requires you to nominate enough competent people to help with evacuation. In a small premises that might be one person. Their training can be in house if someone who knows the fire risk assessment and the evacuation plan delivers it and records it. A one day fire marshal course is good practice for anyone with that role and not a statutory requirement.

Is manual handling training a legal requirement?

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations require you to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable. Then assess what remains and reduce the risk. That includes giving people the information and training they need. Where staff lift regularly training is expected. For an office it is usually a short briefing and not a course.

Do I need DSE training for office staff?

The Display Screen Equipment Regulations require you to assess workstations for regular screen users. Then provide information and training on using them safely and offer eye tests. The training can be an in house briefing or a short e-learning module. It does not require an external course.

What is the difference between IOSH and NEBOSH?

IOSH Managing Safely is a three or four day course for managers who need to understand their responsibilities. NEBOSH General Certificate is a longer examined qualification for people who will run health and safety for the business. Neither is a legal requirement. Most small businesses need neither. One manager with IOSH Managing Safely is a sensible investment for a business with 20 or more staff.

Do I need to keep training records?

There is no specific statutory training record for general workplace training, but you must be able to show that people were trained. A simple record of who was trained in what and when and by whom is the evidence. Keep it.

Buyer guide

Required by law

What safety training do I actually have to provide?

The law requires you to give staff the information and instruction and training they need to work safely. It names very few specific courses. Which training is a legal requirement and which is good practice. Which is a course provider filling the calendar. First aid and fire marshals and manual handling and DSE and working at height. And what a sensible small business spends.

Written by David SmithFounder & Editor, Compliance Buyer

Legal position checked 10 September 2026Updated 10 September 2026

Applies to: Great Britain under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management Regulations. Northern Ireland applies the same duties under its own legislation.

Looking for the technical detail? Read the version for professionals → HSWA section 2 and MHSWR regulation 13. The specific regulations that carry training duties. Competence frameworks and the accreditation landscape.

Do I have to train my staff? Yes. The law requires you to give people the information and instruction and training they need to work safely. On recruitment and whenever the risks change.

Does the law say which courses? Almost never. It says train people for the risks they face. Your risk assessment decides what that is. A training company's brochure does not.

Where are buyers oversold? Named courses sold as statutory requirements when the law names none. Annual refreshers on a calendar that is not in any regulation. Everyone in the business on a course that two people needed.

What the law actually requires

Required by lawThe general training duty

Section 2(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 says every employer must provide the information and instruction and training and supervision needed for the health and safety of employees. Regulation 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 says when. On recruitment. When someone is exposed to new or increased risks such as a change of job or new equipment. Repeated periodically where appropriate. Adapted to new risks. During working hours.

That is the framework. "Necessary" and "appropriate" are decided by your risk assessment.

Required by lawSpecific regulations that carry a training duty

First aid (Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981): adequate and appropriate provision based on a needs assessment. The law allows an appointed person for the smallest low risk workplaces. We say train them.
Fire (Fire Safety Order, articles 15 and 21): nominate competent people to help with evacuation. Give employees fire safety training on induction and when risks change.
Manual handling (Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992): information and training where manual handling risk remains after avoidance and reduction.
Display screen equipment (Health and Safety (DSE) Regulations 1992): information and training for users on their workstations.
Work at height (Work at Height Regulations 2005): competence for anyone working at height. That includes using ladders.
COSHH and noise and vibration and PUWER and asbestos: each requires information and instruction and training for the people exposed.

None of these names a course or a provider or a duration or a refresher interval. Asbestos awareness is the closest to a named requirement and only for people whose work could disturb it.

Good practiceRecognised courses and conventional intervals

Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work certificates are valid for three years by convention. HSE recommends annual refresher training but does not require it. Fire marshal training is conventionally refreshed every one to three years. Manual handling and DSE are usually refreshed when the job changes. These are the industry's intervals and they are sensible. They are not statutory.

Insurers, landlords or clients ask for itInsurers, clients and tenders

Employers' liability insurers will ask for training records after a claim. Public sector tenders and larger clients often specify named courses. IOSH Managing Safely for site managers. CSCS cards for construction. Food hygiene Level 2 for catering. Those are contractual requirements. You meet them because you want the work and not because the law says so.

Northern Ireland: the same duties apply under the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

What this means for your business

Small office or shop, low risk: induction covering fire and first aid arrangements and the risk assessment. DSE briefing for screen users. One person on the one day first aid course. A nominated fire marshal briefed on the evacuation plan. Almost all of it deliverable in house by a trained manager.

Restaurant or café or salon: the above plus food hygiene where it applies. Manual handling for stock. A COSHH briefing for cleaning chemicals. Usually one trained first aider.

Workshop or warehouse or trades: trained first aiders and manual handling. Work at height where relevant. Equipment specific training such as forklift or abrasive wheels. A manager with IOSH Managing Safely or equivalent.

Construction and higher risk sectors: their own frameworks such as CSCS and CDM competence sit above this page.

Your options

In house, from your own risk assessment

Induction and the fire briefing can be delivered by a competent manager using HSE's free materials. So can DSE and COSHH and manual handling for low risk tasks. Competent here means the manager has been trained on the subject themselves and knows your risk assessment. Someone reading a slide pack they have not understood is not training anyone. Record it on a simple training log. This is what most small businesses should be doing for most of their training.

Accredited courses where they earn their place

First aid from a provider that meets HSE's guidance on due diligence. Fire marshal where the role is real. Manual handling where people lift for a living. IOSH Managing Safely for the person who owns health and safety in a growing business. Buy per course and per person. Group delivery in house is usually cheaper than sending people to open courses.

E-learning

Fine for awareness level training such as DSE and fire awareness and COSHH and asbestos awareness. Not fine for anything practical such as first aid or manual handling technique or work at height. £40 a head and the record is automatic.

What it should cost

EFAW £115 a person. FAW £300. Fire marshal £70. Manual handling £55. E-learning modules £40. IOSH Managing Safely £450. A ten person office meets its legal training duty for about £420 a year. Most of it is first aid.

Figures are typical prices taken from published commercial price guides and checked October 2026. Same method on every page. Larger or more complex premises sit above them.

What you shouldn’t be sold

Any course described as "required by law" for every employee. The law names none. Ask which regulation and then check the regulation.
Annual refreshers on the provider's calendar. Three years for first aid is the convention. Other refreshers follow the job and not the diary.
Everyone on the course. The risk assessment says who needs what. Two first aiders and not fifteen. One fire marshal per floor and not all staff.
A training platform on a multi year licence for a business that needs six modules a year.
NEBOSH for a small business owner. IOSH Managing Safely is the right level for a manager. NEBOSH is for someone whose job is health and safety.
First aid training from a provider that cannot show it meets HSE's due diligence guidance. Ask for the trainer's qualifications and the course content before you book.
Training bundled into a compliance contract with no per course price. You cannot tell what you are paying for it. You cannot stop paying when you do not need it.

Check what else your business needs

Training follows the general risk assessment. Use the First Aider Calculator for a starting point on first aid provision. Run the Compliance Check to see the full picture for your business.

Quick answers

Is health and safety training a legal requirement?: Yes. The Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require employers to provide the information and instruction and training and supervision needed for people to work safely. On recruitment and when their job changes and when new risks appear. What that training consists of is decided by your risk assessment and not by law.
Do I legally need a trained first aider?: You must have adequate first aid provision based on a needs assessment. The law allows a small low risk workplace to have an appointed person with no formal training and a first aid kit. We say train that person on the one day Emergency First Aid at Work course anyway. It is £115 and an appointed person is not trained to treat anyone. Higher risk workplaces or larger numbers need trained first aiders on the one day or the three day First Aid at Work course. Use the First Aider Calculator on this site for a starting point.
Do I need a fire marshal?: The Fire Safety Order requires you to nominate enough competent people to help with evacuation. In a small premises that might be one person. Their training can be in house if someone who knows the fire risk assessment and the evacuation plan delivers it and records it. A one day fire marshal course is good practice for anyone with that role and not a statutory requirement.
Is manual handling training a legal requirement?: The Manual Handling Operations Regulations require you to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable. Then assess what remains and reduce the risk. That includes giving people the information and training they need. Where staff lift regularly training is expected. For an office it is usually a short briefing and not a course.
Do I need DSE training for office staff?: The Display Screen Equipment Regulations require you to assess workstations for regular screen users. Then provide information and training on using them safely and offer eye tests. The training can be an in house briefing or a short e-learning module. It does not require an external course.
How much should safety training cost?: Emergency First Aid at Work £115 a person. First Aid at Work £300. Fire marshal £70. Manual handling £55. E-learning modules £40. IOSH Managing Safely £450. A ten person office meets its duty for about £420 a year.
What is the difference between IOSH and NEBOSH?: IOSH Managing Safely is a three or four day course for managers who need to understand their responsibilities. NEBOSH General Certificate is a longer examined qualification for people who will run health and safety for the business. Neither is a legal requirement. Most small businesses need neither. One manager with IOSH Managing Safely is a sensible investment for a business with 20 or more staff.
Do I need to keep training records?: There is no specific statutory training record for general workplace training, but you must be able to show that people were trained. A simple record of who was trained in what and when and by whom is the evidence. Keep it.

Find and check

Who can I use for this?

We do not recommend suppliers. Here is the official register and what to check before you book.

The register

HSE guidance on choosing a first aid provider The due diligence HSE expects you to do.
Ofqual register of regulated qualifications Check a course is a regulated qualification.
IOSH approved training providers For IOSH Managing Safely.

Check

The trainer’s own qualifications and how recent.
That first aid courses meet HSE’s due diligence guidance.
What the certificate is and who issues it.

Ask

Which regulation requires this course for this role?
Can you deliver it in house for a group rather than per head on an open course?
What is the refresher cycle and is it statutory or your recommendation?

Insist on

Only the people the risk assessment says need training.
Per course pricing. No training platform on a multi year licence.
A record of who was trained in what and when.

How do I find and check a training provider near me?

General information about UK compliance, written for the person paying the bill. Not legal advice. If your situation is unusual, get a professional to look at it. See our editorial standards.