It's not as heavy as it sounds

If you run a small office, health and safety can feel like a set of rules designed for factories and building sites. In reality, the law asks you to do something quite sensible: think about what could realistically hurt the people who work for you, and take reasonable steps to stop it happening. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets the framework, and the HSE is clear that the duty is to do what is reasonably practicable — proportionate to the risk and the size of your business.

So a five-person marketing studio in Leeds does not need the same paperwork as a chemical plant. What it does need is a handful of simple, documented habits that keep people safe and give you something to show if an inspector, insurer or new starter ever asks.

Start with a risk assessment you'll actually use

Risk assessment is the foundation of everything else, and it is far less intimidating than the phrase suggests. Walk around your office, including the kitchen, store cupboard, stairs and any shared entrance, and note anything that could cause harm. In most small offices the list is short and familiar:

• Trailing cables across walkways and under desks
• Heavy boxes stored above head height, or files stacked on top of cupboards
• Kitchen hazards — kettles near the edge of counters, hot water urns, poor ventilation
• Manual handling when deliveries arrive or furniture gets moved
• Display screen equipment issues: awkward chairs, screens at the wrong height, laptops used all day without a riser or separate keyboard
• Stress and workload, which are legitimate health risks and should not be ignored

For each item, write down who might be harmed and what you are doing about it. You must record your findings in writing if you employ five or more people, along with a written health and safety policy. Review it annually, and whenever something changes — a new office layout, new equipment, a return to the workplace after a long period of remote working.

First aid: matching the kit to the office

There is no legal requirement to have a trained first aider in every workplace, but you must have adequate and appropriate first aid provision. HSE guidance asks you to carry out a first aid needs assessment: how many people are on site, what the hazards are, whether anyone has a known condition, whether you are near a hospital, and whether you have lone workers or visitors.

In a low-risk office, the practical minimum is usually a stocked first aid kit, a nominated appointed person to take charge of it and call for help, and clear information for staff about where the kit lives. Many small offices go a step further and put a colleague through a one-day emergency first aid at work course, which is inexpensive and genuinely useful. Check the kit every few months — plasters and sterile wipes go missing quietly — and note the date of the check.

Fire safety: the duties that never sleep

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, you are the responsible person for your premises, and that duty cannot be delegated away entirely. You need a fire risk assessment, recorded in writing, covering ignition sources, escape routes, signage and anyone who might need extra help getting out.

• Keep escape routes and fire doors clear — that means no deliveries, recycling boxes or spare monitors parked in corridors
• Test your fire alarm weekly and log it; a short note in a diary is enough
• Service fire extinguishers annually and check they are still in place and unobstructed
• Run a fire drill at least once a year and record the date and how long evacuation took
• Brief new starters on alarms, exits and the assembly point on their first day

If you share a building, agree with the landlord or managing agent who does what. Ambiguity here is one of the most common gaps in small offices.

Everyday workspace rules that keep people comfortable

Display screen equipment rules are not about policing posture; they are about preventing the aches and eye strain that build up over months. Carry out a workstation assessment with each person — a simple checklist works — and act on what it throws up: a footrest, a different chair, a monitor arm, or a laptop stand with a separate keyboard. Staff who regularly use screens are entitled to ask for an eye test paid for by you, and to a contribution towards glasses needed solely for screen work.

Beyond that, the basics matter: reasonable temperature, working lights, clean kitchen surfaces, adequate ventilation and working toilets with soap and hand drying. Keep an accident book, however informal, and remember that some incidents — certain injuries, over-seven-day absences, specified diseases — must be reported under RIDDOR.

Paperwork, training and review

You do not need a filing cabinet of policies. A folder with your risk assessments, health and safety policy, first aid arrangements, fire log, accident records and evidence of induction training will satisfy almost any query. Display the health and safety law poster, or hand out the equivalent leaflet, and keep your employers' liability insurance certificate available.

Book a short review once a year, add a health and safety item to your induction checklist, and treat new starters and changes to the office as triggers to update your documents. Done this way, health and safety becomes a quiet routine rather than a project — and that is exactly what it should be in a small office.