Most general health and safety records require secure document storage for five years before being securely disposed of through processes such as document shredding when they’re no longer needed. However health and safety retention periods vary for different documents.
While five years is a common starting point, the required retention time can actually range from as little as three years for certain injury reports all the way up to 40 years—or even permanently—for specific exposure and medical surveillance records. The key to compliance is knowing which documents fall into these special categories.
Read on to find out the precise, legally mandated retention periods for every major type of health and safety record you hold.
What are health and safety records?
Health and safety records are official documents that track and record all incidents, procedures, and staff training related to health and safety within an organisation. They’re essential for proving that a workplace is complying with safety rules and standards.
What health and safety records must be kept?
There are a number of health and safety records that must be kept as a legal requirement and to demonstrate your compliance with health and safety laws. These records include:
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Accidents and incident investigations
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Risk assessments
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Hazardous substances subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)
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Health & safety training and development of employees
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Maintenance of plant and machinery
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Purchase of plant and equipment and their technical files
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Health and safety manuals
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Procedural records
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Fire safety checks- alarm systems, emergency lighting, extinguishers, fire doors.
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Statutory occupational health surveillance records
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Employment records- including medical records.
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Hazardous waste disposal
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Asbestos at work assessments and surveys
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Manual handling assessments
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Hand arm vibration exposure records and assessments
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Noise surveys and investigations
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Hazardous substances subject to the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR).
It's important to keep these documents safe and secure in storage. Get in touch with us today to find out about our document storage services.
What should be recorded in an accident record book?
In the event of an incident you need to record all work-related accidents and injuries in the accident record book, as it’s a legal requirement. When documenting the incident you need to include the following details;
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The date and time of the accident
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Who was involved
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The injuries that happened
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The nature of the injuries
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The cause of the accident (if you know).
The benefits of maintaining good health and safety record management
1. It keeps you legal & compliant
Having good health and safety record management ensures that an organisation can demonstrate legal and regulatory compliance (internally and externally) under the Health and Safety Act. These records can be inspected by health and safety inspectors.
In the event of an incident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will investigate and your records will be part of this investigation. Furthermore, if legal action is taken against the organisation then good management and maintenance of your health and safety records will demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to prevent harm or injury from happening.
2. Ensures key information is easily retrievable
Keeping your health and safety records organised and in one place helps when files are needed quickly or in an emergency. Records can easily be shared between colleagues, ensuring consistency and continuity.
This approach ensures that everyone in your organisation has the most current and accurate data, which prevents any discrepancies and miscommunication, which will make it easier to adhere to health and safety regulations. Shredall offers document management software so that you can quickly locate, view and manage your health and safety documents.
3. Helps keep track of your performance
Your health and safety records allow you to measure and assess your safety performance. This gives senior management a clear view of whether safety policies are working and identify trends in the data. This can help in setting future targets in order to reduce the amount of work related incidents.
How long should you keep health and safety documents?
Most health and safety records need to be kept for five years; however, risk assessment records should be kept if the process or activity is performed.
For example civil claims for injury can be made up to three years after an incident. While some records relating to health or environment risks must be kept for longer periods.
Here are common retention periods for several documents that you have a legal requirement to keep:
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Accident book: 3 years from last entry
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Reportable injuries, disease, or dangerous occurrences: 3 years
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List of employees exposed to group three and four biological agents: 10 years
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Asbestos at work- survey and health surveillance: 40 years from last incident
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Exposure to Hazardous Substances: up to 40 years, depending on the record.
Secure document storage and shredding
Maintaining health and safety records is a time consuming, yet crucial task. Having proper document storage and using document scanning for health and safety records during their retention period is key in ensuring compliance. It’s also important to dispose of records in line with current legislation. The most effective way to do this is to securely shred any records that you no longer need with proof of destruction.
Shredall offers secure document shredding to suit your needs. This can be done on an ad-hoc or regular basis with our scheduled shredding service carried out by our fully DBS checked staff who will provide a certificate of destruction at the end of each service.
Contact our team today to book a service or get advice on managing your health and safety records.
