HSE Workplace Regulations 1992: HSE Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Rules

Regulatory citation: The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3004)

What Are the Workplace Regulations?

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set basic standards for the buildings and spaces where people work. They cover the working environment, building safety features and welfare facilities. Duties fall on employers and on others who control a workplace.

Why Workplace Standards Matter

Many common injuries come from the building itself, such as slips, trips, vehicle collisions and falls. Poor welfare facilities also affect health. These regulations set a baseline for offices, shops, factories, warehouses and most other workplaces.

Core Obligations

1. Maintain the Workplace and Equipment (Regulation 5)

The workplace, and the equipment, devices and systems covered by the regulations, must be kept in efficient working order and good repair. Where needed, this includes a suitable system of maintenance.

2. Provide a Healthy Working Environment (Regulations 6 to 8)

Enclosed workplaces need enough fresh or purified air. Indoor temperatures must be reasonable during working hours, and enough thermometers must be available so people can check them. HSE guidance says a reasonable minimum is usually at least 16°C, or 13°C where work involves heavy physical effort. There is no legal maximum. Lighting must be suitable and sufficient, with natural light where reasonably practicable and emergency lighting where needed.

3. Keep It Clean and Give People Enough Space (Regulations 9 to 11)

Workplaces, furniture and fittings must be kept sufficiently clean, and waste must not be allowed to build up except in suitable containers. Workrooms need enough floor area, height and free space. HSE guidance uses a minimum of 11 cubic meters per person, counting room height up to 3 meters. Workstations and seating must suit the worker and the task.

4. Make Floors and Traffic Routes Safe (Regulations 12 and 17)

Floors and traffic route surfaces must be suitable for their use, free from holes, slopes or unevenness that create risk, and kept free of obstructions and slip hazards so far as reasonably practicable. Traffic routes must let pedestrians and vehicles move safely.

5. Prevent Falls and Falling Objects (Regulations 13 to 16)

So far as reasonably practicable, suitable measures must prevent people falling a distance likely to cause injury and being struck by falling objects. Transparent doors and partitions must be of safety material or protected, and marked where needed. Windows, skylights and ventilators must be safe to open and close, and it must be possible to clean them safely.

6. Fit Safe Doors, Gates, Escalators and Walkways (Regulations 18 and 19)

Doors and gates must be suitably constructed. Sliding doors must not come off their tracks, upward-opening doors must not fall back, and powered doors must not trap people. Escalators and moving walkways must work safely and have easy-to-reach emergency stops.

7. Provide Welfare Facilities (Regulations 20 to 25)

Employers must provide suitable and sufficient toilets and washing facilities, including hot and cold or warm running water, soap and a means of drying. Wholesome drinking water must be readily available. Rest facilities must be readily accessible, with suitable facilities for pregnant workers and nursing mothers, and somewhere to eat meals where meals are regularly eaten at work.

Common Compliance Approaches

Run Routine Workplace Inspections

A regular checklist covering floors, lighting, temperature, doors and welfare facilities catches problems early. Track defects to closure.

Plan Maintenance for Safety-Critical Features

Put emergency lighting, powered doors, ventilation systems and escalators on a planned maintenance schedule with records.

Example: Workplace Standards in Practice

A distribution company leases a warehouse. During an inspection the site manager finds a cracked floor slab near a loading bay, a broken thermometer in the packing area and a toilet block with no hot water. She arranges a floor repair and cones off the area in the meantime, replaces the thermometer and logs a reading, and asks the landlord to fix the water heater under the lease agreement.

Related regulations: HSE Management Regulations 1999, HSE Work at Height Regulations, HSE DSE Regulations, OSHA walking-working surfaces.

Note: These regulations apply in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland has equivalent regulations, which are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a maximum workplace temperature?

No. The law requires a reasonable temperature but sets no upper limit. Employers should manage heat with measures such as cooling, shading and rest breaks.

Do the regulations apply to construction sites?

Construction sites are mainly covered by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. A site used only for construction work is mostly outside these regulations, though some provisions still apply indoors.

Who is responsible in a shared or leased building?

Employers are responsible for workplaces under their control. Anyone else who controls a workplace, such as a landlord managing common areas, also has duties for matters within their control.