Every employer in Great Britain who employs one or more people has a single, foundational health and safety information duty: either display the HSE-approved health and safety law poster where employees can read it, or give each employee the equivalent leaflet. This duty sits in regulation 4 of the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 (HSIER 1989). It applies from the first day of employment, regardless of business size, and on top of any other health and safety information you give your staff.

This guide covers the operational steps. For the duty to consult employees on health and safety — a separate obligation under HSCER 1996 / SRSCR 1977 — see Consult your employees on health and safety.

Display the H&S law poster or give every employee the leaflet (HSIER reg.4)

Reg.4 HSIER 1989 — every GB employer must either display the HSE-approved health and safety law poster or give each employee the equivalent leaflet.

Regulation 4 of the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 (HSIER 1989) imposes a single, foundational duty on every employer in Great Britain. You must do one of the following for every person you employ: - keep the HSE-approved health and safety law poster ("Health and safety law: What you need to know") displayed in a reasonably accessible position at the workplace, where employees can read it during their normal working hours; or - give each employee the HSE-approved health and safety law leaflet (the same content, in pocket form). The choice between poster and leaflet is the employer's. There is no minimum business size: the duty applies from the first day of employment and irrespective of whether the workplace has any safety representatives. A page on your intranet, a link to GOV.UK, or a self-designed sign does not satisfy regulation 4 — it must be the HSE-approved poster or leaflet. In Northern Ireland the parallel duty is enforced by HSENI and the NI-issued approved poster/leaflet must be used in place of the GB version (see the regional callout in any HSIER guide).

1. Choose between the poster and the leaflet

The choice is yours. The poster suits any workplace where employees attend in person and can read a notice during the working day. The leaflet suits home-based, remote, and peripatetic workers, very small premises with no suitable wall, and hybrid workforces who rarely attend the office. You can mix: a poster on the office wall plus the leaflet for staff who never attend.
2. Obtain the post-2009 approved form

Order the current HSE-approved poster (INDG455) or leaflet from HSE Books or an official HSE distributor. In Northern Ireland, order the HSENI version. Do not print your own version, photocopy an old one, or use a screenshot from a website — these do not satisfy the regulation. The pre-2009 poster, even if you still have it on the wall, has not been compliant since 5 April 2014.
3. Display the poster in a reasonably accessible position

"Reasonably accessible" means employees can read it without difficulty during their normal working day. Common locations include staff rooms, kitchens, corridors near time clocks, and notice boards. Avoid placing it inside a manager's office, behind locked doors, or above eye level where it cannot be read. One poster per location where employees regularly work is the minimum.
4. Or give each employee the leaflet

Where the poster route is not realistic, issue the HSE-approved leaflet. Give it as part of induction for new starters, and to all existing employees. Keep a record (an acknowledged email is enough) that each employee has received it. HSE publishes the leaflet in several languages and in large-print and audio formats — these alternative HSE-issued formats also satisfy the duty.
5. Fill in the safety rep and EMAS panels

Both the poster and the leaflet have designated panels for the names and addresses of any safety representatives (appointed under SRSCR 1977 or elected under HSCER 1996) and for the local Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) office. Complete both. Update the safety rep panel whenever a representative is appointed, replaced, or stands down. If you have no representatives, leave the panel blank but keep a note of why (typically: direct consultation under HSCER 1996).
6. Keep it legible and current

Replace the poster if it fades, gets defaced, or is torn. Re-issue the leaflet (or update intranet copies) if the safety rep panel changes. Add a brief annual check to your health and safety calendar.

Names of safety representatives and EMAS contact (HSIER reg.5)

Reg.5 HSIER 1989 — employer must enter the names and addresses of any safety representatives and the EMAS contact in the prescribed panels of the poster or leaflet.

Regulation 5 HSIER 1989 requires the employer to provide each employee — either by entering the information into the designated panel of the displayed poster, or by attaching it to each leaflet — with two pieces of further information: - the name and address of any safety representative appointed under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (SRSCR 1977), or any representative of employee safety elected under HSCER 1996, who represents that employee; and - the name and address of the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) office for the area. Both panels must be kept up to date. When a safety representative leaves, is replaced, or a new representative is elected, you must update the entry. Leaving the safety-rep panel blank when you in fact have appointed or elected representatives is a breach in itself, separate from the reg.4 duty to display. Employers with no safety representatives and no elected representatives of employee safety can leave the safety-rep panel blank — but should keep evidence of why no representatives are in place (typically: direct consultation under HSCER 1996 reg.3).

HSIER for home, remote, and peripatetic workers

Practical application of HSIER reg.4 where there is no central workplace — the leaflet route, including HSE-issued language and accessibility variants.

HSIER reg.4 applies to every employer of one or more employees, including those without a fixed workplace or with a fully remote workforce. The presumption that "no premises = no duty" is wrong. Where displaying a poster is not realistic — home-based workers, remote workers, peripatetic workers (carers, couriers, sales reps), and small firms without a public wall — the answer is the leaflet route. Give each employee a copy of the HSE-approved leaflet (INDG455). Recommended practice is to issue it as part of the induction pack and to keep a record (acknowledged email is sufficient) that each employee has received it. Where you have employees whose first language is not English, HSE publishes the approved leaflet in a number of additional languages (including Welsh, Polish, Bengali and others). These HSE-issued translations are themselves the approved form for the purpose of regulation 3 and satisfy regulation 4. Hybrid workforces follow the same logic: a poster displayed at the office covers staff who attend the office; staff who never (or only rarely) attend should also be issued with the leaflet.

Most HSIER breaches found by HSE and local authority inspectors are picked up as a side-finding during a wider workplace inspection — typically a pre-2009 poster still on the wall, or a blank safety rep panel. The cost of compliance is the price of a current poster. The cost of breach is an improvement notice and the time spent responding to it.

Penalty for failing to display

Penalty:

<p>Breach of HSIER 1989 is a criminal offence under
section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act
1974, with the penalty levels set out in Schedule 3A of
that Act. On summary conviction the maximum penalty is
an unlimited fine. HSE or the local authority — whichever
is the enforcing authority for your workplace under the
Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998
— can serve an improvement notice for breach. Regulation
7 provides a defence of due diligence: an employer who
took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due
diligence has a defence in proceedings.</p>

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Guvnor

Display the health and safety law poster (or give every employee the leaflet)

1. Choose between the poster and the leaflet

2. Obtain the post-2009 approved form

3. Display the poster in a reasonably accessible position

4. Or give each employee the leaflet

5. Fill in the safety rep and EMAS panels

6. Keep it legible and current

Penalty for failing to display

Compliance Assistant

🚧 UNDER CONSTRUCTION

1. Choose between the poster and the leaflet

2. Obtain the post-2009 approved form

3. Display the poster in a reasonably accessible position

4. Or give each employee the leaflet

5. Fill in the safety rep and EMAS panels

6. Keep it legible and current

Penalty for failing to display

Related guides in Compliance & Legal

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Fire safety duties for Scottish businesses

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Persons with Significant Control (PSC) register requirements

Creditor priority in company insolvency

UNDER CONSTRUCTION