Health and Safety for Sole Traders — Your Legal Obligations

The Accounted Business Team·2 March 2026·9 min read

Health and safety might sound like something that only applies to factories, construction sites, and large offices. But if you're a sole trader — whether you're a personal trainer, a mobile hairdresser, a freelance photographer, or a plumber — you have legal health and safety obligations too.

The good news is that for most sole traders, these obligations are proportionate and manageable. You don't need to hire a health and safety officer or produce a mountain of paperwork. But you do need to understand the basics, take reasonable precautions, and be aware of where the law draws the line.

Do Health and Safety Laws Apply to Sole Traders?

Yes, but with some important nuances. The main piece of legislation is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), which places duties on employers and the self-employed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of themselves and others affected by their work.

The Key Distinction

If you're a sole trader with no employees, your obligations are somewhat lighter than those of an employer. Under the HSWA, self-employed people who pose no risk to others through their work were granted an exemption by the Deregulation Act 2015. This exemption applies if your work activities pose no potential risk to the health and safety of other people — such as a writer working from home or a self-employed artist working alone in their studio.

However, if your work could affect other people — clients, members of the public, other contractors, visitors to your premises — then the full health and safety obligations apply. And in practice, this covers the vast majority of sole traders. If you ever work on someone else's premises, have clients visit yours, work in public spaces, or provide a service that involves any physical interaction, you're covered by the law.

Regulations That Apply

Beyond the HSWA, several sets of regulations may apply depending on your specific work:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 — requires risk assessments and preventive measures
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 — covers workplace conditions (if you have a fixed workplace)
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 — if you need PPE
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 — if your work involves lifting and carrying
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) — if you work with chemicals or hazardous materials
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 — if you work with electrical systems

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website has detailed guidance on which regulations apply to specific industries and activities.

Risk Assessments

A risk assessment is the foundation of health and safety compliance, and it's a legal requirement for most sole traders whose work affects others.

What Is a Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment is a systematic process of identifying hazards in your work, evaluating the risks they pose, and deciding what measures to take to minimise those risks. It doesn't need to be complicated — the HSE explicitly states that risk assessments should be "suitable and sufficient," not perfect.

Do You Need to Write It Down?

If you have fewer than five employees (which, as a sole trader, you do), you're not legally required to write your risk assessment down. However, there are very good reasons to do it anyway:

It demonstrates due diligence if something goes wrong
It helps you think through risks systematically rather than relying on assumptions
Clients, landlords, or contractors may ask to see it
Some insurance policies require documented risk assessments

How to Do a Risk Assessment

The HSE recommends a five-step approach:

Identify the hazards — walk through your work activities and think about what could cause harm. A hazard is anything with the potential to cause injury or ill health.
Decide who might be harmed and how — consider clients, members of the public, other contractors, and yourself. Think about how they might be exposed to each hazard.
Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions — for each hazard, consider how likely it is that harm will occur and how serious it could be. Then decide what steps you'll take to reduce the risk. Follow the hierarchy of controls: eliminate the hazard if possible, then substitute, then engineer controls, then administrative controls, and finally personal protective equipment.
Record your findings and implement them — even though it's not legally required for sole traders, writing it down is strongly advisable. List the hazards, the people at risk, and the control measures you've put in place.
Review and update regularly — risk assessments aren't static. Review them whenever your work activities change, when you identify new hazards, or at least annually.

Examples for Common Sole Trader Activities

To make this more concrete, here are some examples:

Mobile hairdresser: hazards might include electrical equipment (straighteners, dryers), chemical products (dyes, bleach), slipping on wet floors, and repetitive strain injuries. Control measures: PAT testing equipment, using products in well-ventilated areas, proper storage of chemicals, taking regular breaks.
Personal trainer: hazards include clients injuring themselves during exercise, equipment malfunction, working in outdoor spaces with uneven ground. Control measures: client health questionnaires, regular equipment checks, site assessments before outdoor sessions, appropriate warm-ups.
Photographer: hazards might include trips and falls from equipment cables, heavy equipment causing back strain, working at height (for some shoots), and electrical risks from lighting. Control measures: cable management, using trolleys for heavy kit, not working at height alone, PAT testing.

Insurance Requirements

Health and safety and insurance go hand in hand. Here's what you need to know.

Employers' Liability Insurance

If you have employees — even temporary or casual ones — you are legally required to have employers' liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5 million. This is a legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, and failing to have it can result in a fine of up to £2,500 per day.

If you're a sole trader with no employees, this doesn't apply. But if you ever take on staff, even on a short-term basis, you'll need it immediately.

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance isn't legally required in most cases, but it's strongly advisable if your work brings you into contact with clients or the public. It covers claims for injury to third parties or damage to their property arising from your business activities.

Many clients, venues, and events will require you to hold public liability insurance before they'll work with you. Cover levels of £1 million to £5 million are standard. For a full rundown of insurance options, have a look at our business insurance guide for sole traders.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

If you provide advice or professional services, professional indemnity insurance protects against claims of negligence or errors. While not directly a health and safety requirement, it's worth considering as part of your broader risk management.

Working on Client Premises

If you work on other people's premises — whether that's a client's home, office, or a construction site — there are additional considerations.

Duty of Care

You have a duty of care both to yourself and to anyone affected by your work on those premises. You should:

Assess the risks specific to each location before starting work
Ensure you have the appropriate equipment and PPE
Report any hazards you identify to the premises owner
Not carry out work that you're not competent or equipped to do safely

Client Responsibilities

The occupier of premises also has duties under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 (for lawful visitors) and the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 (for trespassers). If you're injured on a client's premises due to their negligence, they could be liable. But this doesn't remove your own responsibility to work safely.

Construction Sites

If you work on construction sites, even occasionally, be aware of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM). These impose specific duties on everyone involved in construction projects, including sole traders. You may need to comply with site-specific health and safety plans and hold a CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) card.

Record-Keeping and Documentation

Good record-keeping supports your health and safety compliance and protects you if something goes wrong.

What to Keep

Risk assessments — even if not legally required, keep them on file
Training records — any health and safety training you've completed
Equipment maintenance records — PAT testing certificates, servicing records, equipment inspection logs
Incident records — details of any accidents, near misses, or safety incidents
Insurance certificates — current and recent past certificates

RIDDOR Reporting

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), you must report certain work-related injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences to the HSE. This includes:

Deaths and specified injuries (fractures, amputations, loss of consciousness, etc.)
Injuries to non-workers that require hospital treatment
Certain occupational diseases
Dangerous occurrences (near misses with serious potential)

You can report these through the HSE's online reporting system. Failure to report is a criminal offence.

Working from Home

If you work from home, your health and safety obligations are generally lighter, but they don't disappear entirely.

Your Own Safety

You should ensure your workspace is safe and comfortable. Consider:

Ergonomics — a proper desk and chair, screen at the right height, keyboard and mouse positioned to prevent strain
Electrical safety — don't overload sockets, keep cables tidy, get equipment PAT tested if appropriate
Fire safety — working smoke detectors, clear escape routes, a fire extinguisher if appropriate
Mental health — isolation and overwork are genuine health risks for sole traders working from home

If Clients Visit

If clients ever visit your home workspace, your duty of care extends to them. Make sure the space is clean, safe, and free from hazards. Consider whether your home insurance covers business visitors — standard household policies often don't.

Staying Up to Date

Health and safety law evolves, and it's important to stay current. The HSE website is the best primary source for guidance. They offer free resources, templates, and industry-specific guidance that are tailored to small businesses and sole traders.

Industry bodies and trade associations often provide health and safety guidance specific to your profession, and some offer training courses and resources as part of membership.

Keeping your business records organised — including insurance certificates, risk assessments, and training records — is much simpler when the rest of your admin is in order too. Accounted keeps your financial records tidy, so you can focus your energy on running your business safely.

A Proportionate Approach

The key word in UK health and safety law is "reasonably practicable." You're not expected to eliminate every conceivable risk — you're expected to take sensible, proportionate steps to manage the risks that your work creates. For most sole traders, that means understanding the basics, doing a risk assessment, having the right insurance, and keeping decent records. It's not onerous, and it protects both you and the people you work with.

Accounted helps UK sole traders stay on top of their bookkeeping and tax. Start your free 30-day trial at getaccounted.co.uk

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