What is COSHH and who needs COSHH training?

What does COSHH stand for?

COSHH is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, which apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own 2003 Regulations with the same structure. The regulations sit under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities.

The word people trip over is "substances". COSHH is not only about industrial chemicals. It covers anything that can harm your health when it gets into or onto your body, including products you probably use every week.

What substances does COSHH cover?

COSHH covers:

• Chemicals and products that contain them, such as bleach, descalers, oven cleaners, sanitisers, paints, solvents and adhesives
• Fumes, vapours, mists and gases, including welding fume and exhaust
• Dusts, including flour dust, wood dust and silica dust
• Biological agents and germs that cause disease, which matters in care, cleaning, waste and laboratory work
• Nanotechnology and substances you make yourself as part of a process

Asbestos, lead and radioactive substances have their own regulations, so they sit outside COSHH. If you work with asbestos you need Asbestos Awareness Training rather than a COSHH course.

A quick test: if a product carries a hazard pictogram on the label, COSHH applies to it. The nine pictograms, the signal words "Danger" and "Warning", and the hazard statements on a label are the fastest way to spot a substance that needs controlling.

Who needs COSHH training?

Regulation 12 of the COSHH Regulations requires employers to give suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training to anyone who may be exposed to a hazardous substance. In practice that means:

• Cleaners and housekeeping staff who use concentrated cleaning products
• Care workers and nurses who handle cleaning chemicals, body fluids and some medicines
• Kitchen and catering staff who use degreasers, sanitisers and descalers
• Hairdressers and beauty therapists who use dyes, bleaches and nail products
• Maintenance, facilities and grounds staff who use solvents, fuels, pesticides and adhesives
• Construction and manufacturing workers exposed to dusts, fumes and resins
• Laboratory, dental and veterinary staff who handle reagents and biological agents
• Supervisors and managers who write or sign off COSHH assessments

Your employer decides who needs training, based on its COSHH assessments. If your role appears in a COSHH assessment as someone who could be exposed, you are in scope.

Do I need COSHH training if I only use cleaning products?

Yes, if the products carry a hazard pictogram. Bleach, descalers, oven cleaners and many sanitisers are hazardous substances, and mixing some of them produces toxic gas. Everyday cleaning is one of the most common routes to a COSHH incident precisely because people do not think of it as chemical work. A short course that teaches you to read a label and a safety data sheet is the right level for this kind of exposure.

What does COSHH training cover?

Good COSHH training for workers should give you five things:

1. What COSHH is and which substances it covers, including the ones with their own rules
2. How substances harm you, through inhalation, skin contact, ingestion and injection, and the difference between acute and chronic effects
3. How to read a hazard label and find your way around the 16 sections of a safety data sheet
4. What a COSHH assessment contains and how the hierarchy of controls works, from elimination and substitution to engineering controls, safe systems of work and personal protective equipment
5. How to work safely day to day: storage and segregation, spill response, health surveillance, reporting problems and what to do if you are exposed

Lift College's COSHH Training follows exactly this structure in five short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a multiple choice final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

Which COSHH course do I need?

Use this to choose the right course for your role.

If you are not sure, start with the COSHH course. It is the one employers ask for most often and it is the foundation for everything else on this list.

How often should COSHH training be refreshed?

The regulations ask for training to be adapted to take account of significant changes and repeated as appropriate. There is no fixed legal expiry date on a COSHH certificate. Lift College recommends refreshing every 12 months, and the refresher is free when it is due. Your certificate shows the recommended refresh date so your manager can see it at a glance. For the refresh intervals on every Lift College CPD course, see how often workplace training should be refreshed.

What does a COSHH assessment look like?

A COSHH assessment is your employer's written record of a hazardous substance, who is exposed to it, how, and what controls are in place. It draws on the safety data sheet the supplier must provide. Training does not replace the assessment. The course teaches you to read and follow the assessments and data sheets for the substances in your own workplace, and your employer adds the specific substances, controls and emergency procedures that apply to you.

COSHH training online: what the certificate shows

Lift College's COSHH Training certificate records the course name, 1.5 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 12 months on, with a unique certificate number and a verification link. That is the record most employers and auditors want to see: what you did, when, and when you are next due.

Buying COSHH training for a team

If you manage cleaners, carers, kitchen staff or maintenance workers, you can enrol your whole team from one place. Open a free organisation account and every course is at the team price, payable by card or invoice with your PO, with each learner's progress and certificate visible in one dashboard. Pair COSHH with the Health and Safety Training course for new starters, or browse the full health and safety course list.