Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls at Work

Slips and Trips in Brief

Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of major workplace injuries in the UK. Cleaning regimes, floor surfaces, footwear, contamination control and prompt reporting of spills do most of the heavy lifting.

Slips, Trips and Falls

Slips, trips and falls on the same level are consistently the biggest single cause of non-fatal workplace injuries in the UK, according to HSE statistics. They happen in every type of workplace - offices, factories, construction sites, warehouses, shops, kitchens, care settings - and the consequences range from minor bruising to broken hips, long-term back pain, and occasional fatalities.

This article covers slips, trips and falls on the same level. Falls from height are a separate category with their own specific regulations and controls - see the companion article on Working at Height.

What the Law Requires on Slips, Trips and Falls

In the UK, the main regulation is the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Regulation 12 specifically covers the condition of floors and traffic routes, requiring that they are:

Suitable for the purpose for which they are used.
In a condition that does not expose any person to a risk to their health or safety.
Kept free from obstructions and from any article or substance that may cause a person to slip, trip or fall.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 sit above these specific requirements, placing general duties of care and risk assessment on employers. The duty to protect members of the public from workplace risks also applies - slip and trip incidents involving visitors, customers or contractors carry the same legal weight as those involving employees.

The Main Causes of Slips, Trips and Falls

HSE research identifies a small number of common causes that account for most incidents:

Contamination of the floor - water, oil, food, dust, debris, or anything else that reduces the friction between footwear and surface. This is the single biggest cause of slip incidents.
Unsuitable flooring - smooth hard floors that become slippery when wet, floor materials that wear down over time, or transitions between surfaces with very different grip characteristics.
Obstructions - boxes, cables, leads, tools, equipment, packaging left in walkways or access routes.
Poor lighting - especially transitions from bright to dim areas, dark stairs, and corners where a step or obstacle is not visible.
Unsuitable footwear - smooth-soled shoes on slippery floors, loose or ill-fitting footwear, high heels in industrial settings.
Weather - wet or icy entrances, leaves or mud on outside walkways, wet footprints carried into the building.

Assessing Slip, Trip and Fall Risk

A slip and trip assessment looks at the workplace as a whole, not just individual tasks. The key steps:

Walk the site - at different times and under different conditions. A dry morning is not the same as the end of a wet shift.
Identify contamination sources - where does water, oil, or other material come from? Leaks, spills, drips, washing, cooking, outdoor weather carried in.
Check the floor condition - wear, damage, uneven joins, loose tiles, raised thresholds, transitions between floor types.
Check lighting - especially on stairs, in corners, at changes of level, and at entrance/exit points.
Observe behaviour - do people rush? Carry things that obscure their view? Take shortcuts across unsuitable routes?
Record the assessment and the controls, and review when the work or environment changes.

Controlling Slip, Trip and Fall Risk

Controls follow the hierarchy of control. The duty is to eliminate the risk where possible, not just to manage it.

Eliminate the source - fix leaks, change processes to avoid spillage, use sealed containers, change flooring that is inherently unsuitable.
Contain spills at source - drip trays, bunds, kick plates, splash guards.
Clean up promptly - clear procedures for spill response, with the right equipment in the right places, and people trained to use it.
Use suitable flooring - anti-slip surfaces in wet areas, tactile surfaces at step edges, appropriate matting at entrances.
Keep routes clear - defined walkways, storage off the floor, cable management, a workplace culture that treats obstructions as unacceptable.
Improve visibility - adequate lighting, contrast markings on step edges and level changes, good signage.
Suitable footwear - specified where the risk is significant, matched to the floor type, properly maintained.
Housekeeping - regular cleaning to a schedule, with clear responsibility.

Warning signs alone are not a control. A "wet floor" sign tells people the floor is wet but does nothing to reduce the risk - it is a last resort while cleaning happens, not a permanent substitute for dry flooring.

Slips and trips get dismissed as "not serious" by employers until someone has a broken hip or a head injury. The HSE data is consistent - this is the biggest single cause of reportable injuries in the UK, and the injuries include life-changing ones. Treating it seriously from the start is much easier than responding to a compensation claim later.

The thing I find most effective in workplaces is a genuine attitude change around contamination. If a culture treats any spill as something to fix immediately, not walk past, the injury rate drops dramatically. That attitude has to come from the top - managers who step over spills tell everyone else they do not need to bother either.

We had about 40 percent of our minor injury reports coming from slips in one year. We walked the site looking at where the spills actually came from - and found most were from one forklift with a slight hydraulic leak and one machine that vented coolant. Fixed both, plus put proper drip trays under anything else prone to leaks, and the rate dropped to under 10 percent inside six months.

The second thing that made a difference was changing our entrance matting. The old entrance had a four-metre matted walk-off zone and people were tracking water ten metres into the building. Extended the matted zone and added a heated mat system for winter - cost a few hundred pounds a year in electricity but took care of the winter slip surge entirely.

Most slips and trips happen because something is on the floor that should not be, or the floor itself is wrong for the job. Fix the floor, clean up the contamination, keep the walkways clear, get the lighting right. That is 90 percent of the problem solved.

Practical Compliance Guidance

Section 7 of the IMS1 Manual covers the operational H&S management requirements including slip, trip and fall prevention. It sets these hazards as part of the wider workplace safety management system, linked to housekeeping, maintenance and risk assessment.

The alphaZ documents below cover the policy, procedural guidance, risk assessment and training material needed for a compliant slip, trip and fall prevention arrangement.

alphaZ document	How to use it
ISO 9001 14001 45001 IMS Toolkit	The full integrated toolkit for ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. Contains the procedural documents, forms and guidance needed to set up and run a compliant management system including slip, trip and fall prevention arrangements.
PP-7-12 Preventing Slips and Trips Policy Procedure	The policy-procedure document covering slip and trip assessment, controls, reporting and review. Use as the written procedure for the management system.
PP-7-100 Health and Safety Policy Procedure	A single integrated H&S policy-procedure covering slips and trips alongside PPE, COSHH, manual handling and the other core H&S topics. Use as an alternative if you prefer one umbrella H&S procedure over separate topic-specific ones.
GG-7-12 Preventing Slips and Trips Guidance	Plain-English guidance for line managers and workers. Covers how to spot and fix common slip and trip hazards. Issue alongside training.
RA-HS40 Slips Trips and Falls Risk Assessment	The risk assessment template covering slip, trip and fall hazards across the organisation. Tailor to your own site and activities and review when the environment changes.
TT-7-12 Preventing Slips and Trips Toolbox Talk	Briefing material for team meetings. Covers the key points for workers and provides evidence of awareness training when signed.

Note - all the above files can be downloaded with an alphaZ subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are visitors covered by the same duties?

Yes. Employers have duties under HSWA to protect members of the public affected by their work, as well as employees. A slip involving a visitor, customer or contractor on your site carries the same legal weight as one involving a worker, and in some circumstances can attract additional civil liability. Public liability insurance addresses the civil side but does not reduce the legal duty to prevent the incident.

Do "wet floor" signs count as an adequate control?

Only as a temporary measure while a wet floor is being cleaned and dried. Permanent signage for a persistently wet area is not an acceptable control - the underlying hazard should be fixed (eliminate the contamination, change the flooring, divert pedestrian routes). Signs that are left out all day become background and stop being noticed.

What about slip resistance testing of floors?

Slip resistance can be measured with a pendulum tester giving a Pendulum Test Value (PTV). HSE guidance categorises a PTV of 36 or above as low slip potential in wet or dry conditions. Testing is useful where the floor has been involved in incidents, where a new floor is being specified, or where a claim is being investigated. It is not a routine requirement but can be valuable evidence when making flooring decisions.

Are near-miss slip incidents worth reporting?

Yes. Near-miss reports are the best early warning of a developing problem. A pattern of people reporting "nearly slipped on the floor by the entrance" precedes the actual injury incident - and acting on the near-miss reports is much cheaper than dealing with the injury. Encourage reporting, act on reports promptly, and close the loop by telling reporters what changed.

UK Legislation

The following UK legislation is directly relevant to slips, trips and falls at work. Organisations outside the UK should identify the equivalent legislation applicable in their jurisdiction.

Further Resources