Free Resources · Checked July 2026
Every genuinely free, official HSE poster you can download today — plus the one poster the law says you must display. All links verified, dead ones removed.
The quick answer
UK employers must, by law, either display the HSE-approved Health and Safety Law poster or give every worker the equivalent leaflet — and the leaflet is a free download. Everything else on this page is optional but useful.
The Health and Safety Law Poster LEGAL REQUIREMENT
The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 require employers to either display the HSE-approved law poster in a readable, prominent position, or provide each worker with the equivalent leaflet. The current poster includes security features so you can verify it’s genuine — a useful check if you’re buying from a third party, and a reminder not to keep an out-of-date version on the wall.
BUY GENUINE
Health and Safety Law poster — all versions
A2, A3, Welsh, Northern Ireland and offshore editions, plus leaflets and pocket cards.
FREE DOWNLOAD
The free alternative to buying the poster — ideal for remote and mobile workers.
Poster vs leaflet: which do you need?
| HSE Law Poster | HSE Law Leaflet | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Must be purchased (genuine copies carry security features) | Free download from the HSE website |
| Meets the legal requirement? | Yes — displayed prominently on the premises | Yes — provided to every worker |
| Best for | Fixed workplaces: offices, sites, factories, shops | Remote, mobile and home-based workers |
Free Posters to Download and Print
The HSE publishes a range of workplace posters as free PDFs. These aren’t legally required, but they’re a low-effort way to reinforce toolbox talks and keep key procedures visible where the work actually happens. Posters work best alongside the basics — a current risk assessment and trained staff.
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COSHH Safe Handling of Chemicals
Do’s and don’ts for handling chemicals, plus hazard pictograms. Free PDF version. A poster supports, but doesn’t replace, a COSHH assessment and COSHH training.
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Six free PDFs: hand washing, dermatitis skin checks, and safe use of reusable and single-use gloves. Occupational dermatitis is usually a COSHH issue rather than a PPE one.
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Including the falls-from-vehicles 10-step checklist and the Shattered Lives site poster. See also construction safety courses.
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Basic advice on first aid at work
Free leaflet version of the HSE first aid poster — casualty response, airways and CPR. Pairs well with accredited first aid training for your appointed first aiders.
Available to buy (no free version)
Basic advice on first aid at work — printed poster — the durable wall version; the free leaflet above covers the same content
Workplace stress posters — awareness poster packs in illustration, infographic and photographic styles
What’s changed: the HSE previously offered personalisable industry posters (retail, catering, manufacturing and similar) and a dedicated slips and trips poster page. Those have been withdrawn and the links no longer work, so we’ve removed them. If the HSE reinstates free versions, we’ll add them back here.
After the Poster: What Else the Law Requires
Most people land on this page because they’ve just taken on staff, won a contract that asks for evidence, or had an inspection scheduled. If that’s you, the law poster is the easiest item on a longer list. Here’s the rest of it — what applies to every employer, what only kicks in at five or more employees, and which items create a training requirement. If you want the background first, start with what health and safety actually means in UK law.
Links marked ↗ open one of our free tools on envicourse.com, our course marketplace, in a new tab. They run in your browser, need no account, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
The five-employee threshold
Two duties change at five employees — your health and safety policy and your general risk assessments must be written down rather than simply held in your head. The duty itself exists below five; only the recording requirement is new. Headcount is what matters, not hours, so part-time and fixed-term staff count.
Fire is no longer one of them. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 removed the five-employee exemption on 1 October 2023. If you’re a responsible person in England or Wales, you must now record both your fire risk assessment and your fire safety arrangements in full, whatever the size or purpose of the premises. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own fire safety legislation, and the rules there differ.
Applies to every employer
| Duty | What it means in practice | Training? |
|---|---|---|
| Law poster or leaflet | Display the HSE-approved poster, or issue every worker the free leaflet. Covered above. | No |
| Employers’ liability insurance | Minimum £5 million cover. The certificate must be displayed or made readily available to employees — electronic display has been allowed since October 2008. | No |
| Health and safety policy | Sets out how you manage health and safety — who does what, when and how. Must be written down at five or more employees. | No |
| Risk assessment | Assess the risks staff and others are exposed to, and act on what you find. Significant findings must be recorded at five or more employees. | Often |
| Competent person | Appoint someone with sufficient training and experience to help you meet your duties. Can be you, an employee, or external. | Yes |
| First aid provision | Based on a first aid needs assessment ↗, not headcount alone. Minimum is an appointed person, a stocked kit and clear information; higher-risk work needs qualified first aiders. | Usually |
| Fire risk assessment | A responsible person must be appointed and the assessment carried out. In England and Wales, since 1 October 2023 both the assessment and your fire safety arrangements must be recorded in full whatever your headcount. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate rules. | Usually |
| Information and training | Staff must be given the instruction and training needed to work safely — at induction, on change of role, and on introduction of new equipment. A training matrix ↗ is the usual way to track who’s covered. | Yes |
| Keeping training current | Most safety certificates expire. Letting one lapse quietly is one of the more common findings at inspection — a certificate expiry checker ↗ tells you when each one runs out and whether a refresher still applies. | Refreshers |
| Accident recording | Keep an accident book, and report specified injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences to the HSE under RIDDOR. | Sometimes |
| Consultation | You must consult employees on health and safety matters — directly, or through elected or union-appointed representatives. | No |
| Welfare facilities | Toilets, washing facilities, drinking water, somewhere to rest and eat, adequate lighting, ventilation and temperature. | No |
These duties apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has equivalent legislation enforced by HSENI, and the detail occasionally differs — check with HSENI if you operate there.
Applies only if it’s relevant to your work
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Display screen equipment
If staff use screens daily for continuous periods, you must assess their workstation and contribute to eye tests on request. Applies to home workers too. See DSE guidance.
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COSHH
Any substance hazardous to health — including cleaning products and dust — needs assessing and controlling. More common than most employers assume. See COSHH training.
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Personal protective equipment
Where risk can’t be controlled another way, PPE must be provided free of charge. Since April 2022 this extends to limb (b) workers — casual and agency staff — not just employees. See PPE guidance.
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Manual handling
Avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable; assess and reduce the risk where it can’t be avoided. Training is the usual control where the task itself can’t be redesigned — see manual handling training.
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Work at height
Any height where a fall could cause injury — including ladders and low platforms. Work must be planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. See working at height courses.
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Asbestos
If you control non-domestic premises built or refurbished before 2000, you hold a duty to manage asbestos — including taking reasonable steps to find out whether it’s present. Also covers communal areas of residential blocks. The asbestos register tool ↗ builds the written plan; see also asbestos training.
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Hand-arm vibration
If staff use power tools regularly, you must assess daily vibration exposure against the action and limit values. The HAVS exposure calculator ↗ works out the A(8) value from the tools your team actually uses.
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Construction projects (CDM)
If you commission construction work you’re a client under CDM 2015, with duties whatever the size of the job. The F10 notification checker ↗ works out whether a project must be notified to HSE and who must be appointed in writing.
Which regulations does each of these come from?
Listed for reference — you don’t need to quote these, but an inspector may.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the general duty, the written policy, information and training, consultation.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 — risk assessment, competent person.
Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 — the law poster or leaflet.
Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 — insurance and certificate.
Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 — first aid needs assessment and provision.
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales), as amended by section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 — responsible person, fire risk assessment, and the recording duty that applies from 1 October 2023. Scotland is covered by the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Northern Ireland by the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.
RIDDOR 2013 — reporting injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences.
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 — welfare facilities.
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 — DSE assessments.
COSHH 2002, PPE at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022), Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, Work at Height Regulations 2005, Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, CDM 2015 — the conditional duties above.
Not sure which apply to you?
Work through it with the free tools rather than guessing. They run in your browser, nothing you enter leaves your device, and there’s no account or email address to give. Links marked ↗ open our free tools on envicourse.com, our course marketplace, in a new tab. They run in your browser and need no account.
Once you know what training you need
Working out the obligation is one job; getting people booked on is another. A few things worth knowing before you start ringing round providers.
Booking more than one or two people
Once you’re sending several staff, a training account keeps bookings, delegate names and certificates in one place instead of scattered across provider emails.
Six or more on the same course
It’s usually cheaper to bring a trainer to you than to send everyone out — and nobody loses a day to travel. See on-site and group training.
Choosing between venues
If your team is spread across sites, the group travel cost calculator ↗ works out which location costs least to get everyone to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to display a health and safety poster in your workplace?
Yes — with one alternative. Employers must either display the HSE-approved Health and Safety Law poster or provide each worker with the equivalent free leaflet. The poster and leaflet explain, in plain terms, what workers and employers must do under health and safety law. All other posters on this page are optional — as are free safety signs, which cover a different requirement.
Under what regulations must the law poster be displayed?
The Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989. These make it a legal requirement to display the current version of the HSE law poster in a prominent, readable position on business premises — or to give every worker the equivalent leaflet instead.
Can I download the Health and Safety Law poster for free?
The free option is the leaflet, not the poster. Giving every worker the HSE law leaflet — a free PDF download — satisfies the same legal requirement as displaying the poster. The poster itself must be purchased from the HSE, because genuine copies carry security features. The offshore version is the one exception: it’s available as a free PDF.
Is a free A3 version available anywhere?
No. The A3 law poster is a priced HSE product, and any site offering a free copy of it is distributing an unauthorised version — which also means you can’t verify the security features. If cost is the issue, the leaflet route is free and equally compliant.
What about employees who work from home?
The leaflet option exists for exactly this situation. Rather than displaying a poster, you can provide remote, mobile and home-based workers with the free HSE law leaflet, which counts as meeting the requirement. Remember that display screen equipment duties follow them home as well.
Do I need Adobe Acrobat to open the posters?
No. The free posters are standard PDFs, and every modern browser opens them directly — just click the link, then print or save.
Other Free Stuff
Free health and safety signs →
Free health and safety tests →
Free tools and calculators → ↗
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All external links checked and verified July 2026. Envico is an independent training intermediary and is not affiliated with the HSE. Regulatory content reviewed against HSE guidance, August 2026.