Health and Safety posters are common place in many work situations. However, many employers are confused as to whether the law says that a poster has to be displayed or whether it is just an option.

Q. We still have a poster displaying a summary of the Factories Act 1961. Is this necessary?

A. The requirements under the Factories Act 1961 and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 to put up posters of abstracts of those Acts were revoked by the Health and Safety (Information for Employees) Regulations 1989. Instead, the Regulations require a poster of general health and safety law to be displayed, ie Health and Safety Law: What You Should Know (available from HSE Books). Alternatively, leaflets containing the same information may be given to each employee. The old posters on the 1961 and 1963 Acts should be taken down.

Q. Do we have to put a poster up on treatment of electric shock?

A. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 replace earlier legislation on electrical safety. This earlier legislation required employers to display posters on how to treat electric shock. However, the 1989 Regulations do not require this, and so there is no longer a specific requirement for electric shock posters.

Remember though that you are responsible for providing a safe system of work with electricity. Consider what would happen if someone did receive an electric shock - would anyone in the area know what to do? If at any time when people are at work the answer may be no, a poster which is easy to see and follow, giving instructions on what to do, may save someone's life.

Q. What is the difference between a poster and a safety sign?

A. A poster is a notice, which is usually large, rectangular and sometimes laminated, which gives instructions or conveys a message using pictures on how to do something safely, etc. There are no rules governing the content of posters, other than those specifically required by legislation and available from HSE Books.

Safety signs, on the other hand, are basic signboards, safety colours or illuminated signs which convey information or instructions by their shape, colour and an appropriate symbol or pictogram. The format of safety signs are strictly controlled by the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. They usually do not contain words, as the message should be clear without them, although sometimes they may be accompanied by key words underneath the sign, such as "No Smoking" or "Wear Your Hard Hat". The shape, colour, symbol and size, etc are all governed by the 1996 Regulations