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HSE & Legislation Update: September 2026
Every month we check UK health and safety law, HSE guidance and consultations for anything that changes what swiftRMS puts in your documents. This check covered 1 July to 29 September 2026. Six things in your documents are now more accurate, and a few changes are coming that are worth planning for.
- FixWork at height means any place where a fall could cause injury, at any height, as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 define it. Safe systems of work had applied the Regulations only above 2 metres
- FixConstruction Phase Plans cite the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for scaffold inspections (regulation 12 and Schedule 7): before first use, after anything that could affect its safety, and at least every 7 days
- FixHAVS assessments no longer say the law requires health records to be kept for 40 years. HSE's guidance (L140) says keep them for as long as the worker is under health surveillance, and longer if you choose
- FixSafe systems of work give HSE's Incident Contact Centre, 0345 300 9923, for reporting fatal and major injuries by phone
- ImprovementManual handling assessments now draw on HSE's push and pull guideline figures for women (15 kg to start or stop a load, 7 kg to keep it moving) as well as for men (20 kg and 10 kg), as L23 does. Check the figures suit your team when you review each assessment
- ImprovementCare assessments refer to the Care Quality Commission's current assessment framework: five key questions, each with its quality statements
- LegislationAwaab's Law is due to widen on 30 November 2026. Social landlords will have to deal with more hazards to fixed timeframes where they pose a significant risk, including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. Worth knowing if you carry out repairs in social housing
- LegislationRIDDOR: HSE consulted on changes to help reduce work-related ill health and simplify reporting. The consultation closed on 7 July 2026 and HSE has not published its response yet, so reporting rules stay as they are for now
- LegislationAsbestos and lead: HSE is reviewing the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and has consulted on the exposure values in the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. Neither has changed yet
- LegislationPPE: the government updated its list of designated PPE standards on 7 August 2026. We are checking the standards swiftRMS suggests against it
- LegislationWorkplace exposure limits have not changed. EH40/2005 still sets respirable crystalline silica at 0.1 mg/m³, despite claims online that it has been cut