Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) is the foundation of workplace safety in the UK. It places clear duties on employers, employees, and anyone who works in or visits a workplace. For security officers, this law is especially important because you operate in environments where slips, trips, and falls are among the most common risks.
Knowing what HASAWA means in practice helps you not only protect yourself but also show professionalism in line with standards set by organisations like the Security Industry Authority (SIA), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the British Standards Institution (BSI), and the National Security Inspectorate (NSI).
Key Duties under HASAWA
Here’s what the Act means for you and your employer in plain terms:
Employers must:
Provide a safe workplace, including clear walkways and safe flooring.
Carry out risk assessments for hazards like wet floors, poor lighting, or uneven ground.
Provide training (such as this course!) and suitable PPE, including safe footwear.
Employees (that’s you) must:
Take reasonable care for your own health and safety.
Follow procedures and training designed to reduce risk.
Report hazards immediately, whether it’s a spillage, damaged flooring, or missing signage.
Key Point: HASAWA makes safety a shared responsibility — if either side fails, accidents are more likely.
Risk Assessments in Action
HASAWA requires employers to carry out risk assessments, but as a frontline officer you play a key part in making them effective.
What it means for you: Risk assessments are not just paperwork. They guide how you patrol, what footwear is issued, and what signage or lighting is used on site.
Your role: When you spot a new hazard, such as a loose carpet edge or an unlit stairwell, reporting it helps keep the risk assessment up to date. Without your input, the paperwork is incomplete — and people are left at risk.
Example: A warehouse added new shelving but didn’t update the risk assessment. You notice packaging spilling into walkways. Reporting it ensures the assessment reflects the real hazard and action is taken.
Tip: Think of yourself as the “eyes and ears” of the risk assessment. If you don’t feed in the hazards, they don’t exist on paper.
Personal Responsibility Under HASAWA
The Health and Safety at Work Act isn’t just about what employers must provide — it also sets duties for you as an individual security officer.
Stay alert: If you see a hazard and ignore it, you may be held partly responsible if someone gets hurt.
Follow procedures: Incident logs, radios, and reporting lines exist for a reason — using them protects you legally as well as practically.
Don’t cut corners: Taking shortcuts, such as skipping checks on stairs or ignoring footwear rules, increases the chance of an accident and puts your compliance at risk.
Be proactive: HASAWA expects employees to take “reasonable care” — that means thinking ahead, not waiting for accidents to happen.
Real-world link: An officer once failed to report a broken stair rail during patrol. A week later, a visitor fell, leading to an HSE investigation. Both the company and the officer were questioned — because HASAWA makes responsibility a shared duty.
Did You Know?
Slips, trips, and falls aren’t minor mishaps — they make up over one-third of all major workplace injuries in the UK.
The price tag? More than £500 million every year in medical costs, lost productivity, and compensation.
As a security officer, you’re on the move constantly — lobbies, stairwells, car parks, warehouses — which puts you firmly in the high-risk group.
Takeaway: These accidents are predictable, costly, and preventable. Every hazard you spot is money saved, time protected, and trust earned.
Real-World Example
Imagine you’re patrolling a shopping centre. A leaking air conditioning unit drips water onto a tiled floor. The area hasn’t been cordoned off.
If ignored: A shopper slips, breaks an arm, and the HSE launches an investigation. The employer could face fines, the client could lose trust, and you could be questioned about why the hazard wasn’t reported.
If acted on: You report it, place temporary barriers, and ensure cleaning is arranged. No one gets hurt, and you’ve upheld the law, the contract, and your own professionalism.
Practical Tips to Stay Compliant
See it, sort it: Never step past a hazard. Fix it if you can, or report it fast. Walking by makes you part of the risk.
Know the rules of your site: Every location has its own reporting system. Whether it’s radios, apps, or paper logs — use the right channel every time.
Respect your PPE: Boots are more than uniform — they’re protection. Make sure the tread grips properly and meets site standards.
Stay ahead of accidents: Prevention is professionalism. Acting early keeps you compliant and shows you’re in control.
Keep the team in the loop: Radios, handovers, and incident logs aren’t just paperwork — they keep everyone aware and safe.
Remember: Compliance isn’t box-ticking. It’s daily actions that prove you’re professional, reliable, and safety-focused.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
The Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA) isn’t just words on paper — it’s the law that protects people at work. Ignoring your duties under it can trigger a chain of serious outcomes:
Personal: Injuries to yourself or others, loss of pay during recovery, disciplinary action, or even losing your SIA licence if negligence is proven.
Company: Investigations by the HSE, enforcement notices, fines, higher insurance premiums, or termination of contracts when clients lose confidence.
Industry: Every accident chips away at public trust. If security officers are seen as careless, the whole profession’s reputation suffers.
Legal: In severe cases, both employers and individuals can face prosecution under HASAWA — with consequences that may affect careers permanently.
Real-World Example: An officer failed to report loose flooring in a shopping centre. A visitor tripped, leading to an HSE investigation. The company was fined, the contract was lost, and the officer was formally disciplined for negligence.
Remember: Law in Action
The Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA) is the backbone of UK workplace safety. It isn’t optional — it’s a legal duty that shapes how every site should operate.
Shared responsibility: Safety is never just the employer’s job. Officers on the ground play a crucial role in spotting and reporting hazards.
Predictable and preventable: Slips, trips, and falls don’t come out of nowhere — they happen when risks are left unchecked. The law exists to make sure those risks are managed before accidents occur.
Professionalism in practice: Every hazard you report shows vigilance and builds trust with the public, your employer, and your colleagues. Ignoring hazards does the opposite — it puts lives, jobs, and reputations at risk.
Key Message: Following HASAWA isn’t just about avoiding fines — it’s about proving every day that you are a professional who takes safety seriously.
