Appoint a competent person for health and safety

What the law requires

Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires every employer to appoint one or more competent persons to assist with health and safety. This applies from your first employee, regardless of business size or sector.

The competent person helps you meet your duties under health and safety law. They advise on risk assessments, control measures, training needs, and compliance with specific regulations.

What competence means

The law does not require specific qualifications. Competence depends on how complex your workplace risks are, since a simple office has different needs from a construction site. It also depends on whether the person's training, experience and knowledge let them deal with your particular hazards, and on their understanding of health and safety law as it changes.

The test is whether the person can "properly assist" you in meeting your health and safety duties for your particular workplace. What counts as competent for a small office would not be competent for a chemical plant.

Competence is relative to risk

Think of competence as a spectrum:

• In a low-risk workplace, such as an office or small shop, basic health and safety awareness may be enough. The employer can often be the competent person after working through HSE guidance or a short course.
• In a medium-risk workplace, such as a warehouse or light manufacturing, more detailed knowledge is needed. Consider IOSH Managing Safely or similar training for someone in-house, or an external consultant.
• In a higher-risk workplace, such as construction, chemicals or heavy industry, formal qualifications are usually needed, such as the NEBOSH General Certificate, a sector-specific qualification or Chartered Membership of IOSH (CMIOSH).

Can you be your own competent person?

Yes, in many cases. If you run a small, low-risk business and have sufficient knowledge and skills, you can act as the competent person yourself. This is common for:

• Small offices with basic hazards (DSE, slips and trips, electrical equipment)
• Retail shops without significant manual handling or hazardous substances
• Professional services with office-based work

To be competent yourself, you should at minimum:

• Complete the free HSE guidance at hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety
• Understand the main hazards in your workplace
• Know how to conduct a basic risk assessment
• Be aware of your duties under health and safety law
• Keep your knowledge up to date

When you need external help

Consider engaging a health and safety consultant if:

• Your workplace has complex or unusual hazards
• You work in a higher-risk sector (construction, manufacturing, chemicals)
• You lack the time or resources to develop competence internally
• You have had an accident, near miss, or HSE enforcement action
• You are expanding into new activities with unfamiliar risks
• Specific regulations require specialist knowledge (asbestos, ionising radiation, major hazards)

External consultants can provide one-off advice, ongoing retainer support, or help you train internal staff to become competent.

Checking consultant competence

If you engage an external consultant, you must satisfy yourself they are competent. Look for a relevant qualification such as the NEBOSH Diploma or CMIOSH, membership of a professional body such as IOSH or IIRSM, experience of your sector and its risks, professional indemnity insurance that covers you if their advice is negligent, and references from similar businesses.

The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) lists consultants who meet defined competence standards. Using an OSHCR-registered consultant provides assurance but is not mandatory.

Resources and time

You must ensure your competent person has adequate time and resources to do their job effectively. This means:

• Allocating sufficient time for health and safety duties (not expecting it to be done in spare moments)
• Providing access to relevant information about your workplace and activities
• Funding necessary training and professional development
• Giving authority to investigate incidents and recommend improvements
• Supporting them to attend workplace areas and talk to employees

If you have multiple competent persons, you must ensure they cooperate and coordinate with each other.

Common questions

Do I need a competent person if I have no employees?

The Regulation 7 duty applies to employers, so it does not apply if you have no employees. However, you still have general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect yourself and others affected by your work. Having access to competent advice is good practice.

Can my competent person be part-time or outsourced?

Yes. There is no requirement for a full-time health and safety person. Many small businesses use part-time internal arrangements or retain an external consultant. What matters is that competent assistance is available when needed.

Do I need a formal health and safety qualification?

Not necessarily. For low-risk workplaces, completing HSE guidance and understanding your specific hazards may be enough. Formal qualifications become more important as risk complexity increases. The test is whether you can "properly assist" with your specific workplace, not whether you hold particular certificates.

What if HSE inspects and questions my competent person arrangements?

Be prepared to explain who your competent person is, their relevant training and experience, and how they assist with health and safety. If you have assessed your risks as low and are handling competent person duties yourself, be ready to demonstrate you have adequate knowledge for your specific hazards.