Employers must provide safety signs if there is a significant risk that can't be avoided or controlled in any other way, such as through safe systems of work or engineering controls.
There is no need to provide safety signs if they don't help reduce the risk or if the risk isn't significant. This applies to all places and activities where people are employed.
Employers must, where necessary:
- use road traffic signs in workplaces to regulate road traffic
- maintain the safety signs they provide
- explain unfamiliar signs to their employees and tell them what they need to do when they see safety signs
The law
Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996