Earlier this year, the Minister for Workplace Health and Safety announced a series of upcoming reforms to the UK’s health and safety legislation, with implementation details expected by early 2026. While not a full legislative overhaul, these reforms aim to modernise and streamline health and safety compliance, particularly for low-risk organisations, while maintaining focus on significant and potentially life-threatening risks.
We have provided a breakdown of the key reforms and what they could mean for organisations across the UK.
Under the proposed changes, small and low-risk organisations will benefit from simplified compliance duties. These businesses will only need to manage critical risks and ensure basic safety provisions are in place, such as:
This reform recognises that the administrative burden placed on very low-risk environments (e.g. small offices) may be disproportionate to the actual risks involved.
A major emphasis of the new reforms is on significant workplace risks, those that can cause serious injury or illness requiring hospital admission or urgent medical care.
The Health and Safety at Work Act will be sharpened to help regulators and duty holders prioritise critical incidents, such as:
This will also reinforce the distinction between everyday minor risks and those that need urgent, expert management.
One major area of confusion for organisations has long been overlapping responsibilities, particularly where multiple regulations or regulators are involved (e.g., HSE, Fire Services, local authorities).
The new reforms aim to:
This will especially benefit sectors where multiple duty holders (e.g., contractors, landlords, building managers) operate simultaneously.
Under the current framework, many organisations must report a broad range of incidents, even those of minimal consequence.
The reforms propose that businesses will only need to notify regulators for major incidents, including:
This streamlined approach will help reduce time-consuming reporting, allowing businesses to focus on risk management rather than bureaucracy.
While some of these proposed changes might raise eyebrows, they reflect a shift toward risk-based regulation. The reforms aim to:
The devil will be in the detail, but the early indicators show a modernised and smarter approach to health and safety compliance.
Expected Implementation Date: Early 2026
At HPC we are currently offering free health and safety health checks, where we will review your health and safety legislation requirements and advise on where improvements are needed.
To arrange a call with one of our Health and Safety Consultants, please get in contact with our team of experts.
T: 0330 107 1037
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