Free guide to starting a UK plant hire companyUpdated October 2026 · Browse all guides
Plant Hire Start-Up Guide
Startup checklist

Legal, insurance and safety

Health and safety for plant hire companies

The health and safety duties of a UK plant hire company: policy, risk assessments, RAMS, the main hazards and controls, RIDDOR reporting and the records to keep.

Guide specPHSUG-43
Read time8 min
LevelBeginner
Written policy5+ staff
UpdatedOct 2026

Key takeaways

  • Employers must manage risks so far as reasonably practicable to staff and others affected.
  • With five or more employees, your health and safety policy and significant risk assessment findings must be written down.
  • The biggest hazards are loading, transport, machine movement and lifting.
  • Operated hire usually needs RAMS (risk assessment and method statement) for each job.
  • Serious incidents must be reported to HSE under RIDDOR.

Your duties

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to protect employees and anyone else affected by their work, including customers and the public. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require you to assess risks and put controls in place. Plant-specific duties come from PUWER and LOLER; see PUWER and LOLER.

Policy and organisation

  • A health and safety policy: your commitment, who is responsible for what, and how you'll do it (written down if you have five or more employees).
  • Competent health and safety advice, which can be in-house or from a consultant.
  • Employers' liability insurance and the certificate displayed or available.
  • Consult your employees on health and safety matters.

Risk assessments

  1. 01

    Identify hazards

    Walk through each task: yard, loading, driving, delivery, servicing.

  2. 02

    Decide who might be harmed and how

    Staff, customers, public, other drivers.

  3. 03

    Evaluate and control

    Remove the hazard, or reduce it with procedures, equipment and training.

  4. 04

    Record findings

    Required in writing with five or more employees; good practice anyway.

  5. 05

    Review

    After incidents, changes or at least yearly.

RAMS for site work

For operated hire, and often for deliveries to larger sites, principal contractors will ask for a risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) describing how the work will be done safely: the machine, operator competence, exclusion zones, ground conditions, lifting plans and emergency arrangements. Keep templates for your common jobs and tailor them for each site.

Main hazards in plant hire

HazardTypical controls
Loading and unloadingLevel ground, banksman, written procedure, trained drivers
Load securing and transportRated chains and binders, checks, weight calculations
Machine movement in the yardSegregated walkways, speed limits, banksmen, reversing aids
Lifting operationsLOLER-compliant equipment, lift plans, competent people
Workshop workIsolation, supports under raised equipment, PPE, COSHH
Overturning on siteGround condition checks, operator competence, seat belts
Fuel and chemicalsCOSHH assessments, storage, spill kits

RIDDOR reporting

Under RIDDOR you must report certain incidents to HSE, usually online:

  • Deaths and specified injuries such as fractures (other than fingers, thumbs and toes) and amputations.
  • Injuries that keep a worker off normal duties for more than seven days (report within 15 days).
  • Certain dangerous occurrences, such as the collapse or failure of lifting equipment.
  • Some occupational diseases.

Record all accidents, including minor ones, in an accident book. Near-misses are worth recording too; they show where the next accident will happen.

Records and training

  • Training records for drivers, yard staff, fitters and operators.
  • Inspection, maintenance and thorough examination records.
  • Risk assessments, RAMS and COSHH assessments.
  • Accident book and RIDDOR reports.
  • Toolbox talks: short, regular briefings on real risks.

FAQs

Common questions

Does a small plant hire company need a written health and safety policy?
A written policy is required if you have five or more employees. Below that it isn't legally required to be written, but it's good practice and customers often ask for one.
What is RAMS in plant hire?
A risk assessment and method statement: a document describing how a specific job, such as operated hire on a site, will be done safely. Principal contractors usually require one.
What incidents must a plant hire company report under RIDDOR?
Deaths, specified injuries, injuries causing more than seven days off normal duties, certain dangerous occurrences such as lifting equipment failures, and some occupational diseases.

This guide is general information for people setting up a plant hire business in the UK. It is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Rules and thresholds change, so check current guidance on GOV.UK and take advice from an accountant, solicitor or broker before acting.