Consulting employees on health and safety: what employers must arrange

Identify which consultation regulations apply

Two sets of general regulations govern health and safety consultation. Where an employer recognises a trade union for collective bargaining, the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 apply and the union may appoint safety representatives. The employer must consult those representatives about matters affecting the employees they represent.

For employees not covered by union-appointed safety representatives, the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 apply. The employer may consult those employees directly or through representatives elected by them. A business can therefore be covered by one set of regulations or both, for example where a recognised union represents one part of the workforce but not another.

Do not assume that a management meeting or open-door policy automatically satisfies either route. Record which groups are represented and how employees outside that arrangement will be consulted.

HSE: what the law says about consulting workers ↗ · Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 ↗

Consult early enough to affect the decision

Consultation is not a veto and the employer remains responsible for the final decision. It must, however, happen in good time. Give employees or representatives enough information to understand the proposal, reasonable time to consider it and a workable way to respond before the outcome is settled.

HSE identifies five broad subjects for consultation: changes that may substantially affect health and safety; arrangements for appointing competent help; information about risks and precautions; planning health and safety training; and the health and safety consequences of new technology. Relevant changes can include new equipment, work methods, premises, procedures or shift patterns.

For example, a Teesside engineering business introducing a new guarded machine should not wait until commissioning to ask operators what could go wrong. Those who set, clean and maintain it may identify access, isolation, visibility or manual-handling issues that were missed during purchasing. Consultation should inform the final assessment, safe system, training and supervision arrangements.

HSE: what employers must consult on ↗ · Related guide: risk assessments reaching the workplace →

Choose a method that reaches the workforce

Direct consultation can work well in a small business through one-to-one discussions, walkarounds, team meetings, toolbox talks or focused working groups. Indirect methods such as surveys, an intranet or suggestion scheme can support the process, but distributing information is not the same as creating an exchange of views.

Match the method to the workforce. Night shifts, mobile engineers, remote workers, agency arrangements, low literacy, different first languages and employees on family leave can all affect who is heard. HSE says the aim for workers with language or literacy difficulties is the same standard of understanding and involvement as for an English speaker.

Close the loop. Record the issue, the workforce view, the employer's response, the action owner and the completion date. Where a suggestion is not accepted, explain why. A process that repeatedly collects concerns without decisions or feedback will quickly lose credibility.

HSE: ways to involve employees ↗ · Related guide: near-miss reporting →

Elect representatives fairly where that route is used

An employer using elected representatives under the 1996 Regulations cannot simply nominate a preferred supervisor. Representatives are elected by the employees they represent. HSE says the process should be practical, fair and open, reflecting jobs, locations, work patterns and risk.

There is no fixed statutory number suitable for every organisation. A small office might use one representative; a multi-site or shift-based employer may need several constituencies. Explain the role, term, support and election arrangements before inviting candidates. If no acceptable candidate comes forward, the employer remains obliged to consult and must do so directly.

Union-appointed representatives follow the 1977 Regulations and are appointed by the recognised trade union, not elected through the employer's 1996 process. Keep these routes distinct while ensuring that uncovered groups still have a lawful consultation channel.

HSE: electing health and safety representatives ↗ · Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 ↗

Give representatives the time and resources to act

HSE says employers must allow union-appointed and workforce-elected representatives the paid time reasonably necessary to perform their functions and undertake appropriate training. For elected representatives, the employer must meet reasonable training costs, including travel and subsistence. Candidates in an election also require reasonable paid time for their candidate functions.

Representatives need facilities and assistance appropriate to the workplace: access to relevant risk assessments and accident information, a way to communicate with the people they represent, suitable storage, private discussion space where needed and time with management. Information can be withheld in limited circumstances, including where disclosure would breach a legal prohibition or reveal information about an individual without consent; do not use confidentiality as a blanket reason to refuse useful information.

Representatives contribute to consultation and may investigate hazards, complaints and incidents within their functions. They do not take over the employer's duty to manage risk, provide competent assistance or supervise work.

HSE: employer duties to representatives ↗

Use a safety committee to make action visible

A committee can provide a consistent forum for reviewing risk assessments, incidents, inspections, training, emergency arrangements and changes affecting health, safety or welfare. Give it clear membership, meeting frequency, agenda ownership and authority to assign actions. Minutes should identify decisions, owners and deadlines and be accessible to the workforce.

A committee is not automatically required in every workplace. However, where the employer recognises a trade union and two or more union-appointed safety representatives request a committee in writing, HSE states that the employer must establish one within three months. Outside that trigger, a proportionate committee may still be a useful consultation method.

Avoid turning the meeting into a monthly list of old actions. Examine trends, agree what will change and verify whether completed actions worked. Serious incidents or major changes may justify an additional meeting rather than waiting for the routine calendar.

HSE: health and safety committees ↗

Health and safety consultation checklist

Legal requirements and HSE guidance were checked on 26 September 2026. Consultation arrangements should reflect the workforce, recognised unions, risk profile and work locations; seek specific advice where representation or information-disclosure rights are disputed.

• Map the workforce groups covered by recognised unions and those covered by the 1996 Regulations.
• Confirm whether consultation will be direct, through representatives or a combination.
• Start consultation while the proposal can still be changed.
• Provide clear information about the risk, proposal, constraints and intended timetable.
• Include substantial changes, competent assistance, safety information, training and new technology.
• Use accessible methods for every shift, site and working pattern.
• Run fair and open elections where workforce-elected representatives are needed.
• Provide representatives with necessary paid time, training, information, facilities and assistance.
• Create a committee within three months if the statutory union-representative trigger applies.
• Record views, decisions, owners and deadlines and explain why suggestions are not adopted.
• Review whether actions worked and whether employees trust and use the arrangement.