Working at Height Toolbox Talk

Why working at height still kills more construction workers than anything else

HSE’s provisional figures for 2025/26 record 126 workers killed in work-related accidents across Great Britain. Falls from height accounted for 31 of them, more than any other single cause, and construction accounted for 25 deaths, more than any other industry sector.

The pattern behind those numbers rarely changes. Work is planned without anyone asking whether it could be done from the ground. A ladder is used for a job that needed a tower. A roof light is stepped on because it was painted the same colour as the deck. A guard rail is taken out “just for a minute” and not put back. Every one of those is a decision made by someone on site, which is exactly why a five-minute conversation at the start of a shift changes outcomes.

Falls do not need height

There is no minimum height in the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The Regulations cover work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, including falls below ground level, into an excavation or an open riser. A fall of under two metres onto rebar or scaffold boards is as capable of killing someone as a fall from a roof.

What the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require

The Regulations apply to every employer and to anyone who controls work at height, including building owners who contract others to do the work. Duty holders must ensure that:

• Work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out by competent people.
• The risk is assessed first, and equipment is selected to suit the job and the conditions.
• Weather conditions are taken into account. Work must not go ahead where it would endanger anyone.
• Working platforms used for construction work, where someone could fall 2 metres or more, are inspected before first use, at intervals not exceeding 7 days, and after anything likely to have affected their strength or stability.

Avoid, prevent, minimise

1. Avoid. Do the work from the ground where it is reasonably practicable.
2. Prevent. Use an existing safe place of work, or equipment that stops a fall happening at all: a fully boarded and guarded scaffold, a tower, a MEWP, edge protection.
3. Minimise. Only where the risk cannot be eliminated, reduce the distance and consequences of a fall.

Harnesses sit at the bottom of that list for a reason. A harness does not stop the fall; it catches you afterwards, and only works if there is a suitable anchor, a pre-use inspection and a rescue plan, suspension trauma can be fatal within minutes.

Source: HSE, Work at height, the law; Work at Height Regulations 2005, regs 4–6 and 12.

How people get hurt working at height

• Fragile surfaces. Roof lights, asbestos cement sheets, liner panels and corroded decking. Many look solid and are often painted over or covered in dust.
• Ladders and stepladders. Unsecured, footed on soft or uneven ground, over-reaching, or used for heavy or long-duration work they were never suitable for.
• Unprotected edges and openings. Leading edges, stairwells, risers, lift shafts and floor voids where covers have been lifted and not replaced.
• Incomplete or altered scaffolds. Missing guard rails or boards, an out-of-date or missing scaffold tag, or components moved by someone who is not a trained scaffolder.
• MEWPs. Overturning on soft or sloping ground, operatives climbing out of the basket, and entrapment against structures overhead.
• Falling objects. Tools, materials and debris dropped onto people working or walking below.
• Access and egress. Climbing the frame instead of using the ladder access, or a route that is blocked, iced or unlit.

Controls to brief your crew on

• Plan the job first. If the task can be done from the ground, do it from the ground.
• Check the scaffold tag before you step on. Missing, out of date (more than 7 days), or altered or hit by high winds, do not use it.
• Never alter a scaffold unless you are a trained, card-carrying scaffolder authorised to do so.
• Treat every roof surface as fragile until confirmed otherwise. Never step on a roof light, even a covered one.
• Ladders are for short-duration, light work only. As a guide, up to around 30 minutes in one position.
• Keep openings covered, secured and clearly marked. If you lift a cover you own it.
• MEWPs. Trained and authorised operatives only, manufacturer’s harness and restraint lanyard, ground assessment done, rescue plan in place.
• Harnesses are the last resort, not the default.
• Stop falling objects with toe boards, brick guards, netting, tool tethers and exclusion zones.
• Stop work in high winds or when conditions change. Nobody will be criticised for stopping a job that became unsafe.

Source: HSE, Work at height: dos and don’ts; HSE, Safe use of ladders and stepladders.

Who is competent to do this work

• Anyone working at height must be competent: trained, experienced and able to recognise when a job is beyond them.
• Scaffolders altering or striking a scaffold must hold a current CISRS card or equivalent recognised training.
• MEWP operators need training for the specific machine category (IPAF or equivalent), plus familiarisation on site.
• Anyone using a harness needs training in fitting, inspection and anchor selection, and must know the rescue plan before they clip on.

Paperwork that should be in place

• Risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) covering the work at height, briefed to everyone doing it.
• Scaffold handover certificate and current scaffold tag, with an inspection report at least every 7 days.
• Inspection records for working platforms, in line with the Work at Height Regulations 2005 Sch. 7.
• Rescue plan wherever a personal fall-arrest system is in use.
• Training and competency records: CISRS, IPAF, harness training.
• Pre-use equipment checks for harnesses, lanyards and ladders, recorded.

Five questions to get the crew talking

1. Where on this site are we working at height this week, and what is stopping a fall in each case?
2. Has anyone seen a scaffold tag that was out of date, or a guard rail missing? What did you do?
3. Which jobs are we currently doing off a ladder that could be done another way?
4. Do we know where the fragile surfaces and open voids are on this site?
5. If someone fell and was left hanging in a harness right now, what would happen next?

How to run this toolbox talk

1. Read it first and add your site-specific detail.
2. Pick the moment. Start of shift, at the workface, ten minutes maximum.
3. Talk, don’t read. Use the hazards as prompts, then go to the questions.
4. Write down what came up. Notes and actions are on page 3 of the PDF.
5. Record who attended on the free toolbox talk sign-in sheet.
6. Close the actions out.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a toolbox talk be?

Ten to fifteen minutes, long enough to cover one topic properly and take questions, short enough that people are still listening. This talk runs in about ten minutes.

How often should you run toolbox talks on a construction site?

There is no set legal frequency. Weekly is the UK industry norm, plus a talk whenever a new activity, phase or risk is introduced.

Do toolbox talks need to be signed?

There is no specific legal requirement for a signature, but a signed register is the practical evidence that the briefing happened and who attended.

Does the Work at Height Regulations 2005 have a minimum height?

No. The Regulations apply wherever a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, including below ground level.