FOCUS SIGNAGE
GOOD SIGNS AHEAD
Danny Adamson, Managing Director at Stocksigns looks at the relevant regulations for workplace
signage and provides guidance on how facilities managers can ensure they comply
Ensuring safety in the workplace is
essential. According to figures from
the Health and Safety Executive (HSE),
in 2020/21 there were 142 workplace
fatalities and 441,000 self-reported
workplace injuries, including 102,000
that resulted in an absence from work
that lasted more than seven days. There
are also an estimated 17,000 new cases
of breathing or lung problems caused
or worsened by work each year and
approximately 12,000 lung disease deaths
linked to past exposures at work. The
latest Cost to Britain analysis carried
out by the HSE suggests that the annual
financial impact of workplace illness and
injury could be as much as £16.2 billion.
36 JUNE 2022
SIGNAGE REGULATIONS
The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and
Signals) Regulations 1996 applies in
England, Scotland and Wales to all places
of work covered by the Health and Safety
at Work Act 1974. The Regulations require
employers, as well as duty-holders and
those who have responsibility for the
premises, to ensure that safety signs are
in place and maintained where there is a
significant risk to health and safety that has
not been removed or controlled by other
methods. It relates specifically to ensuring
the safety of employees and does not
apply to non-employees such as visitors to
the building. However, other regulations,
including the Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 do include a duty of care to members
of the public. Therefore, e ective safety
signage can also help to ensure compliance
in this area.
In addition, fire legislation, such as the
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
2005 in England and Wales and the Fire
(Scotland) Act 2005 in Scotland, also
includes duties and provisions that must be
considered when selecting and installing
emergency exit and firefighting equipment
signage.
To determine what signage is required,
employers must carry out a risk assessment
to identify hazards, the risks those hazards
present and the control measures to be