Health and safety training online in the UK: where to train and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online health and safety certificate

Your employer decides what health and safety training you need, based on its own risk assessment. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed to keep people safe, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require training when people start and when risks increase. When an employer checks a certificate, they usually look for:

• Content that follows current UK health and safety law. The 1974 Act, risk assessment, hazardous substances (COSHH) and accident reporting (RIDDOR).
• A clear, verifiable record. The course name, hours of learning and completion date, with a way to confirm it.
• Training that suits the role. A grounding in hazards and duties that applies to any workplace, from offices to warehouses.
• A refresh date. Training is repeated periodically where appropriate and updated when risks change.

Lift College's certificate does each of these. It records Health and Safety Training, 3 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date, with a unique certificate number and a verification link. The course content is written around the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations listed below, and the refresher is free when your date arrives.

What the Lift College course covers

There are 6 short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a multiple choice final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

1. Why health and safety matters. The cost of accidents and ill health at work, how good habits prevent them, and key terms such as hazard, risk and control.
2. Duties under the law. What the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 expects of employers and employees, and why co-operating with your employer matters.
3. Hazards and risk assessment. How employers assess risks and decide on controls, and how you help by following controls and speaking up about new hazards.
4. Common workplace hazards. Slips and trips, manual handling, work equipment, electricity, fire and display screens, with simple steps that reduce the risk.
5. Hazardous substances (COSHH). How hazardous substances are identified, labelled and controlled, reading safety data sheets and using protective equipment.
6. Accidents and reporting (RIDDOR). What to do after an accident or near miss, and which injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must be reported.

By the end you can explain the main duties of employers and employees, describe how a risk assessment works and your part in it, recognise hazardous substances, know which incidents must be reported, and report hazards through the right channels.

The law and guidance it is written around

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2. Employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees, including "the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision" as is necessary. Section 7 requires employees to take reasonable care and co-operate with their employer.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 13. "Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with adequate health and safety training" when they start and when they face new or increased risks. Regulation 3 requires employers to assess risks.
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). Certain work-related injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences must be reported, including injuries that keep a worker off normal work for more than seven consecutive days.
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), regulation 12. Anyone liable to be exposed to hazardous substances must receive "suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training".

How Lift College compares with other UK providers

Details below are as each provider shows them on its own course page, checked 11 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

With Lift College the £19.99 is the full price for one learner, with nothing added at checkout, and the refresher is free when your recommended refresh date arrives.

Who it suits

Health and Safety Training suits every employee, in any sector, from new starters to supervisors. It is for you if:

• you are starting a new job and your induction includes health and safety
• you work in an office, shop, warehouse, school, care setting or on site
• you are a team leader or supervisor who wants a clear refresh of the basics
• your employer has asked you to complete health and safety training
• you want to log CPD hours that cover workplace safety

You can take it alongside Fire Safety Training, explained in our fire safety guide. You may also find the manual handling and slips, trips and falls guides useful. See every course on the health and safety courses page or browse all Lift College CPD courses. Buying for a team? Ask about team enrolment.

Enrol on Health and Safety Training for £19.99 and start module 1 the minute you pay. Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full.