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The regulations that apply to lift trucks, what each one requires, the records an inspector will ask for and the fines that follow when they are missing.
The framework
No single law covers forklifts. The duties come from several pieces of legislation that overlap, backed by an Approved Code of Practice that says how the HSE expects them to be met.
| Legislation | What it requires for lift trucks |
|---|---|
| Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 | The general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and anyone else affected by the work. Prosecutions after forklift accidents are usually brought under sections 2 and 3. |
| Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 | Risk assessment of lift truck operations, competent supervision, and information and training for employees. |
| Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) | Trucks must be suitable, maintained, inspected, and used only by people who have received adequate training. Covers restraining systems (seat belts), controls, guards and lighting. |
| Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) | Lifting operations must be planned, supervised and carried out safely. Trucks must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every 12 months (6 months if used to lift people, and for any lifting accessories). |
| Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 | Traffic routes, floors, lighting and the separation of pedestrians and vehicles. |
| Approved Code of Practice L117 | How operator training and safe use should be done. Not law in itself, but a court will treat failure to follow it as evidence of a breach unless the employer can show they did something at least as good. |
What you must have in place
Risk assessment
A written assessment of the lift truck operation covering the trucks, the loads, the routes, the people, the environment and the tasks. It needs reviewing when anything changes and after any incident.
Trained and authorised operators
Basic training with a certificate, specific job training, familiarisation, and written authorisation from the employer naming the truck types the operator may use. Refresher training at sensible intervals. Records for each operator. See the complete training guide.
Competent supervisors
Managers and supervisors of lift truck operations need enough training to recognise unsafe practice, plan work and enforce site rules. L117 is explicit that this applies whether or not they drive.
Maintenance and inspection
A pre-use check by the operator every shift, a planned maintenance schedule following the manufacturer's recommendations, and a LOLER thorough examination at least annually with the report kept on file. Defect reporting with a system for taking faulty trucks out of use.
A safe workplace
Traffic routes designed and marked, pedestrians separated, adequate lighting, sound floors, racking inspected, loading bays controlled, speed limits set. See pedestrian safety.
Site rules and enforcement
Written rules for operators, pedestrians, visitors and delivery drivers, communicated at induction, displayed on site and enforced consistently.
Records an inspector will ask for
- Risk assessments for lift truck operations
- Training certificates, records of specific job training and familiarisation, and written authorisations for every operator
- Refresher training dates and any re-assessments
- Supervisor training records
- Pre-use check sheets and the defect log
- Maintenance records and LOLER thorough examination reports
- Racking inspection reports and load notices
- Site rules, induction records and traffic management plan
- Accident and near-miss reports, RIDDOR submissions and investigation findings
Reporting accidents
Under RIDDOR, deaths, specified injuries, injuries that keep a worker off normal duties for more than seven days, and certain dangerous occurrences (including the overturn of a lift truck or the collapse of racking) must be reported to the HSE. Failure to report is itself an offence and is easily discovered.
What goes wrong in court
The prosecutions reported on this site follow a pattern. The company had trucks, it had operators, and it had a health and safety policy. What it did not have was evidence: no record that the operator had been trained on that truck, no pre-use checks, no traffic management plan, a risk assessment that had not been reviewed since the layout changed. Since the 2016 sentencing guidelines, fines are set by reference to turnover and the level of risk created, not just the harm caused. Fines of £100,000 to over £1 million for medium-sized companies are routine after a fatality, and directors can be prosecuted personally.
Key points
- PUWER covers the truck and training. LOLER covers thorough examination. L117 says how to comply with both.
- Written authorisation for every operator, naming truck types, is a separate step from the certificate.
- Thorough examination at least every 12 months, 6 months for trucks that lift people.
- Keep evidence: training files, check sheets, defect logs, examination reports, risk assessments.
- Fines are now based on turnover and risk, and directors can be prosecuted personally.
Sources and further reading
- HSE L117
- HSE, Safe use of work equipment (PUWER ACOP L22)
- HSE, Safe use of lifting equipment (LOLER ACOP L113)
- Sentencing Council, Health and safety offences guideline (2016)