Guidance on working in cold and wintry weather

Make sure you protect workers during low temperatures and wintry conditions.

You can find helpful advice from HSE on keeping people as comfortable as possible when working in the cold.

Our website offers information and guidance including:

• advice on how to protect workers in low temperatures
• clarity on what the law says about temperature in the workplace
• how you can assess the risks and manage workplace temperatures to protect workers

In addition, our workplace temperature checklist will help you carry out a basic risk assessment and you can read our guidance on preventing slips and trips in winter weather. 

Engineering company fined after death of agency worker

The company was fined £800,000 after safety failures resulted in an agency worker being fatally crushed by a skip's bale arm.

The incident took place during the construction of a wind farm, as the worker was removing dried concrete from a skip. He had been using a hammer to chip away the concrete when the skip’s bale arm fell on top of him.

HSE's investigation found that the engineering company had failed to:

• identify the risks of the bale arm falling
• put in place a safe system of work to ensure that anyone using, maintaining or cleaning the skip would be protected from harm

Read more in our press release: engineering company fined after death of agency worker.

You can visit our news centre for more on recent enforcement cases, which include:

• £500,000 fine for drinks manufacturer after worker suffers serious burns
• company fined £120,000 after worker breaks leg in fall
  
  

Help us to mark 50 years of HSE

Created by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, HSE was officially launched on 1 January 1975.

Working together with local authorities for the last 50 years, we have played a central role in reducing workplace death and injury, helping Great Britain become one of the safest places in the world to work.

In 1974, 651 workers were killed at work. HSE’s latest annual statistics for 2023 to 2024 show that number has reduced to 138.

You can:

• visit our HSE turns 50 webpage, where you can download a stakeholder pack in the related content section, and get involved in helping us mark 50 years
• find out more in our press release: Health and Safety Executive turns 50
  
  

HSE as a market surveillance authority for workplace products

HSE monitors and enforces legal requirements on the safety of most products used in the workplace, including any risks to health.

HSE has a duty to notify the Secretary of State about unsafe or non-compliant products and of the measures taken and communicated by an economic operator.   

Products notified to the HSE Product Safety and Market Surveillance Unit that present a serious or high risk to the health and safety of the user, and recalled products, are published on GOV.UK's product safety alerts, reports and recalls webpage.    

Recent examples of products notified are:

New year, new job?

Come and join HSE, where you can develop your career and help protect people and places.

We currently have a range of vacancies, which include:

• Contracts administrator apprenticeship
  closes 17 January

• Principal risk and process safety scientist
  closes 24 January

• Senior research and policy officer – building standards
  closes 27 January
  
  

HSE Chief Executive awarded in the New Year’s Honours List

Our Chief Executive, Sarah Albon, has been appointed a Companion of the Order of Bath for her services to the public sector.

Read the full press release to find out more.