Tree surgeon

What you need to know

During the last 10 years 24 tree surgeons/arborists have been killed during tree work and nearly 1,400 have suffered an injury.

The key cause of these accidents are chainsaws[1], falls from height[2] or being struck by falling timber / trees.

What you need to do

  • Your employer must make sure you are trained[3] and competent to do the work.
  • You must maintain all equipment in good condition and report any faults to your employer.
  • Use all personal protective equipment that your employers gives you and report any faults.

Key concerns for tree surgeons are:

We recommend that you read these pages to find out what your employer's responsibilities are to you – or your own responsibilities if you are self-employed.

Link URLs in this page

  1. chainsawshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/chainsaw-operator.htm
  2. falls from heighthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/height.htm
  3. trainedhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/site-management/training.htm
  4. Working at heighthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/height.htm
  5. Working on the groundhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/ground-worker.htm
  6. Lone working https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/site-management/lone-working.htm
  7. Working with chainsawshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/chainsaw-operator.htm
  8. Aerial tree workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/aerial-work.htm
  9. INDG 317 - Chainsaws at workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg317.pdf
  10. Working with chainsawshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/chainsaw-operator.htm
  11. Working at heighthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/height.htm
  12. Chainsaw (PPE)https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/safety-topics/chainppe.htm
  13. Report an incidenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm
  14. Agriculture safetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/index.htm
  15. Migrant workers micrositehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/migrantworkers/index.htm
  16. Safety bulletinhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/index.htm
  17. Tell us about a health and safety issuehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

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2025-01-15