What is this document?
INDG232 is the HSE's brief guide to the law on consulting employees about health and safety. Employers have a legal duty to consult with their workforce on matters that affect their health, safety, and welfare at work.
Effective consultation helps identify hazards, develop better solutions, and build a positive safety culture where everyone takes responsibility for health and safety.
Who needs to read this?
- Employers of any size who need to understand their consultation duties
- Managers and supervisors involved in health and safety decisions
- HR professionals setting up consultation arrangements
- Trade union safety representatives wanting to understand their rights
- Employee representatives appointed for health and safety
- Employees wanting to know how they should be involved in safety matters
Key points covered
The HSE guidance addresses:
- Legal duties to consult employees on health and safety
- The two sets of regulations that govern consultation
- What you must consult about - specific topics requiring consultation
- How to consult - directly or through representatives
- Safety representatives appointed by trade unions
- Representatives of employee safety in non-unionised workplaces
- Safety committees when and how to set them up
- Information, training, and facilities for representatives
- Benefits of good consultation for employers and employees
How this applies to you
You must consult
All employers must consult employees, or their representatives, on health and safety matters. This is not optional - it's a legal requirement under two sets of regulations:
- Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 - applies where a recognised trade union appoints safety representatives
- Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 - applies where there are no union-appointed representatives
What you must consult about
You must consult employees on:
- Introduction of measures that may substantially affect their health and safety
- Arrangements for appointing competent persons to help with health and safety
- Health and safety information you're required to provide
- Planning and organising health and safety training
- Health and safety consequences of introducing new technology
How to consult
You can consult:
- Directly with employees - particularly in smaller workplaces
- Through safety representatives appointed by a recognised trade union
- Through elected representatives of employee safety - where you choose to use representatives in non-union settings
Trade union safety representatives
Where a trade union is recognised and appoints safety representatives, those representatives have specific rights including:
- Time off with pay for training and duties
- Access to information from the employer
- Right to inspect the workplace
- Right to investigate accidents and complaints
- Right to be consulted before changes affecting safety
- Right to request a safety committee
Non-union workplaces
Where there are no union-appointed representatives, you can either:
- Consult employees directly
- Elect representatives of employee safety (you must consult on how elections are organised)
Elected representatives are entitled to training and time off but have fewer formal powers than union safety representatives.
Benefits of good consultation
Effective consultation:
- Helps identify hazards you might miss
- Leads to better, more practical solutions
- Increases employee commitment to health and safety
- Reduces accidents and ill health
- Demonstrates your commitment to worker welfare
- Helps meet legal duties
Making it work
Good consultation is more than a legal box-ticking exercise:
- Consult early, before decisions are made
- Provide information employees need to participate meaningfully
- Listen to concerns and respond to them
- Give feedback on how input has been used
- Make it easy for employees to raise concerns
- Treat health and safety as a genuine priority
Related Safety Clarity content
- Workplace Safety Requirements - General employer health and safety duties including consultation requirements
Source: This page summarises HSE guidance document INDG232. For the full official guidance, visit the HSE website.