Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and industrial companies are integral to the UK's economy.

In addition to providing millions of jobs, the businesses are fundamental to the development of new products and services.

Unfortunately, every business has various hazards in the workplace, especially industrial settings, which they must address to avoid accidents and injuries. Safety compliance in workplaces is a legal requirement, and this 2025 checklist for SMEs and industrial sites is a must-read to prevent serious or fatal injuries from occurring.

Learn About Regulatory Compliance

Businesses have a responsibility to adhere to various laws, regulations, and guidelines each day. If your company ignores regulatory compliance, it will increase the risk of a serious or fatal accident on-site. Also, you may face legal action, receive a substantial fine, and irreversibly damage your business's reputation.

Learning about your company's legal requirements might feel complicated and overwhelming, but it is crucial to the smooth running of your business.

For this reason, your business must take the time to learn about:

• Health and Safety

• Employment law

• Environmental regulations

• Fire safety

• Data protection

Carry Out Risk Assessments

Once you have a firm grasp of your company's legal requirements, you must regularly perform risk assessments to identify and resolve possible hazards in the workplace.

If a risk is inherent in a business, such as falls from height on a construction site, you must assess its likelihood, the risk's severity, and the appropriate solutions you can put in place to stop it.

What's more, you can remain legally compliant by documenting every risk assessment the business completes, such as its dates, pinpointed hazards, and the measures introduced to prevent an incident on-site.

For instance, if the business stores hazardous materials, you can introduce industrial identification solutions, such as labels, to clearly identify and trace toxic substances, lowering the risk of chemical exposure or serious accidents.

Create a Strict Health and Safety Policy Every SME and industrial company in the UK must create a strict health and safety policy for all employees to adhere to daily. It should serve as a guide into their responsibilities on-site and outline processes and procedures to prevent accidents from occurring.

The policy will ensure your business remains legally compliant while proving to staff members you run a caring, ethical company that cares about their well-being. For this reason, it should highlight the company's approach to health and safety and provide clear instructions on who performs what, how, and when in the business.

Regularly Perform Site Inspections

Site inspections are crucial in every business. It doesn't matter if you're running an office, a manufacturing business, a warehouse, a small shop, or a construction site; you must review what's wrong in the workplace today.

Unlike risk assessments that look for potential hazards, site inspections are designed to find issues happening right now. For instance, the fire exit might have an obstruction, boxes might be stacked too high, or a piece of machinery might appear worn or faulty. You can then introduce immediate changes to mitigate the problem and keep employees and visitors safe in the workplace.

Create a Safe Environment

Every team member has a right to work in a safe environment, which is why you must create one. In addition to providing basics like access to toilets, washbasins, clean drinking water, and rest areas, you must ensure the workplace is appropriately illuminated and ventilated, especially in industrial settings.

You must provide first aid equipment and training to protect employees following an injury, such as a burn, cut, or scrape. Also, each staff member should receive the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for their role, and you must clearly display safety signs where necessary to avoid accidents at work.

Last but not least, invest in fire safety, as fires can break out in any business. For this reason, you must provide easy access to fire alarms and fire extinguishers while educating employees on the business's strict evacuation procedures.