Journey
Set up a public administration body
Learning path for public administration bodies — government departments, local authorities, defence establishments and agencies carrying out compulsory social security. Work out which regulations apply, put your workplace health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality (including the Public Sector Equality Duty) and data protection duties in place, and verify everything with a compliance checklist.
What this journey is for
Running a public administration body — whether a government department, a local authority, a defence establishment or an agency delivering compulsory social security — puts you among the employers that carry the same core workplace duties as the private sector, plus obligations that go further. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 binds Crown employers with full force. The Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010 requires you to have due regard to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality and fostering good relations. That is a stronger duty than the private-sector equivalent. And as a public authority, you face tighter data-protection constraints, including the inability to rely on legitimate interests as a lawful basis. This journey walks you through that path in order, from working out which regulations apply through to checking you have everything in place.
It does not give you the step-by-step instructions or the figures — those live in the guides it points to. This map shows you where you are, why each stage matters, and which guide to open next.
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Work out which regulations apply to you
Start by getting the picture right. Public administration covers a wide range of functions — from office-based policy work and benefits administration to field-based roles in defence, emergency planning and public infrastructure. The workplace duties are the same, but the risks you need to assess depend on what your organisation does. Use the router guide to identify which duties apply and where to focus.
Which public administration regulations apply to your organisation
Work out which workplace, equality and data-protection duties apply to your public administration body. A reference guide that routes you to the spine and the compliance checklist.
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Put your workplace and employment foundations in place
Whatever your function, this is the universal spine. Risk-assess the work — office workstations, lone working, site visits, driving and any specialist risks. Carry out your fire risk assessment, noting that Crown premises may have specific fire-safety arrangements, and hold employers' liability insurance. Embed the Public Sector Equality Duty and establish your data-protection regime with the right lawful bases and your Freedom of Information publication scheme. Build this in from the start rather than retrofitting it.
Set up and run a safe public administration operation
The duties every public body carries — general health and safety (including Crown employer provisions), fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality (including the Public Sector Equality Duty) and data protection (including public-authority constraints and Freedom of Information).
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Verify you have covered everything
Once things are underway, review everything to confirm it holds together. A compliance checklist lets you confirm, in one place, that each obligation is genuinely met rather than assumed. That covers health and safety, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection. Use it as your readiness review, and come back to it as your organisation's functions change.
Public administration: compliance checklist
Verify you have covered everything — workplace health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, the Public Sector Equality Duty, and data-protection obligations including lawful bases and Freedom of Information.
You will also need the general employer duties
Alongside the path above, every employer carries general obligations that are not unique to public administration but are just as compulsory. As you set up the organisation you will also need to:
- protect the people who work for you — meet your workplace health and safety duties, including risk assessments for the full range of activities your body carries out.
- hold employers' liability insurance once you take anyone on.
- handle personal data lawfully — as a public authority you must complete data protection registration with the ICO and maintain a Freedom of Information publication scheme.
- meet your fire safety duties for the premises you work from.
These general duties run in parallel with the path above rather than after it, so set them up as you establish the organisation. The spine and the compliance checklist bring the core duties together so you can confirm they are covered.
Where this leaves you
You now have the shape of the whole task. Work out which regulations apply and put your workplace and employment foundations in place. That includes the Public Sector Equality Duty and the tighter data-protection rules that public bodies carry. Then verify the lot. Work the guides in order and you will have a clear, defensible position from the outset.