Run a compliant forestry business

Every forestry business — a woodland manager, a nursery, a harvesting contractor or a tree surgeon — shares a set of duties that do not depend on what it does. Health and safety leads by a distance: felling, chainsaw operation, working at height, lone working in remote sites and heavy machinery make forestry one of the highest-hazard sectors HSE regulates. Put these duties in place first, then add the consents and rules for your kind of work.

Manage high-hazard fieldwork

You owe a general duty to protect employees, contractors and anyone else affected by the work — and in forestry that means treating risk assessment, safe systems of work, lone-working arrangements and emergency planning as core operational discipline, not paperwork. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own corresponding order enforced by HSENI.

Keep work equipment, lifting and height work compliant

The fieldwork bundle sits on four sets of regulations. Chainsaws and harvesting machinery must be guarded, maintained and operated by competent people under PUWER — HSE expects recognised chainsaw and arboriculture certificates of competence. Timber-lifting and tree-climbing or rigging equipment needs periodic thorough examination under LOLER. Tree climbing and aerial work fall under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and pesticides, wood dust and chemical exposure under COSHH. These apply in Great Britain, with parallel Northern Ireland regulations. For the equipment duties step by step, see PUWER compliance.

Insure your employees

If you employ anyone — including seasonal and contract forestry workers — you must hold employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. This is a duty in Great Britain; equivalent rules apply in Northern Ireland.

Do not discriminate

You must not discriminate against employees or in services to the public because of a protected characteristic. The Equality Act 2010 applies in England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own equality law enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Handle personal data lawfully

You hold personal data on employees, contractors, landowner clients and suppliers, so the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 apply, and unless exempt you must pay the ICO's annual data protection fee. This applies UK-wide.

For the operational work, see data protection for businesses and register with the ICO.

Next steps

With the shared duties in place, follow the consents and rules for your kind of forestry work:

• Forestry operations, consents and timber rules — felling licences, EIA consent, plant health, timber due diligence, protected trees and pesticides

Then confirm everything with the forestry compliance checklist.