Also called: health and safety consultancy, health and safety consultant, health and safety advisor, health and safety adviser, H&S consultant, construction health and safety consultant, safety consultant, competent person service, RAMS writer, health and safety audit

Health and safety consultants: costs, audits, RAMS and competence checks

Health and safety consultants typically charge about £300–£800 a day, and a single-site health and safety audit costs roughly £600–£1,200. See what a consultant does, when you need a competent person, what RAMS the law requires and how to check CMIOSH, OSHCR and NEBOSH.

Consultant day rate: about £300–£800
Single-site audit: about £600–£1,200
Retained service: about £75–£1,500 a month
Competent person: required by MHSWR regulation 7
Written policy and recorded risk assessment: required with 5+ employees (every employer must assess risks)

A consultant with a clipboard auditing a building site, beside a six foot figure for scale. Illustrative.

Health and safety consultants

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A health and safety consultant (or health and safety advisor) helps a business meet health and safety law: carrying out site audits and inspections, writing risk assessments, RAMS and policies, investigating accidents, advising on training and, if you have no one suitable in-house, acting as your retained competent person. Published price guides put consultants' day rates at about £300–£800, with a single-site health and safety audit typically costing about £600–£1,200.

What a health and safety consultancy does

Firms without in-house expertise

Retained competent person

Ongoing advice, regular visits and document updates for a monthly fee, so you have the competent help the law requires.

The law prefers a competent employee if you have one.

Builders and site managers

Site audits and inspections

Visits a site or workplace, checks it against the law and your own procedures, and reports what needs fixing.

Usually priced per visit or by the day.

One-off paperwork

RAMS, policies and risk assessments

Writes or reviews the documents clients and main contractors ask for, and the ones the law requires.

Bespoke documents cost more than adapted templates.

Accident investigation

Finds out why an accident or near miss happened and what will stop it happening again. HSE's guidance, HSG245, sets out four steps: gather the information, analyse it, identify risk control measures, and make an action plan. A consultant can also help decide whether an incident must be reported under RIDDOR.

Training advice

Employers must give adequate health and safety training when people start and when they face new or increased risks, and repeat it periodically where appropriate. A consultant can work out who needs which course, from site supervisors to managers and directors.

Asbestos surveys and fire risk assessments are specialist services with their own guides on Raybee.

When does a business need a health and safety consultant?

Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires every employer to appoint one or more competent persons to help them comply with health and safety law. Competent means having enough training and experience or knowledge to do it properly. If you have a competent employee, they must be appointed in preference to an outside consultant. HSE suggests getting outside help if you are not confident you can manage all of your health and safety in-house.

No one in-house has the skills. Common for small builders and growing firms.
A client or main contractor asks for paperwork such as RAMS, a policy or SSIP accreditation before you can work for them.
After an accident or an HSE visit, to investigate and put things right.
New work or new risks, such as taking on a bigger site, new plant or a new type of job.

Hiring a consultant doesn't hand over your legal duties. Under regulation 21, an employer can't use a mistake by the competent person they appointed as a defence in criminal proceedings.

What health and safety consultants cost

Consultants charge by the hour or day, a fixed fee per job, or a monthly retainer. These ranges come from published price guides and consultants' fee schedules, usually excluding VAT and travel.

£300–£800typical day rate, or roughly £50–£150 an hour

£600–£1,200health and safety audit for a single-site business

£100–£500per bespoke RAMS document

£350–£650for a written health and safety policy

£75–£1,500a month for a retained service, depending on size and risk

Site inspection visits typically start at about £150–£350 each, rising with the size of the site and the report needed.

How risky the work isConstruction and other higher-risk work takes longer to assess than an office.
Number of sites and visitsAudits and inspections are usually priced per visit, so agree how many are included.
Bespoke or template documentsSite-specific RAMS and assessments take longer than adapting a template.
One-off or retainedA retainer spreads the cost and usually includes phone advice and a set number of visits.

Compare quotes properly

Check what each quote includes: the number of site visits, written reports, document updates, phone advice, accident support and whether the consultant will be named as your competent person. Ask whether VAT and travel are extra. A cheap retainer with no visits can cost more once you pay for each one separately.

What a health and safety audit involves

An audit checks whether your health and safety arrangements work in practice, not just on paper. It is the "Check" stage of HSE's Plan, Do, Check, Act approach in its guidance HSG65, Managing for health and safety.

Document reviewPolicy, risk assessments, RAMS, training records, inspection records and accident reports.
Site or workplace inspectionWalking the site to see how work is actually done, from access and welfare to plant and housekeeping.
Talking to peopleAsking managers and workers how procedures are followed and where they fall down.
Written report and action planFindings ranked by priority, with who should do what and by when.

RAMS: risk assessment and method statement

Risk assessment Legal

Every employer must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to employees and others. If you have five or more employees, you must record the significant findings.

Method statement Usually expected

HSE says method statements are used to plan, manage and monitor work and explain the safe system to workers. HSE highlights one legal requirement: for demolition, dismantling and structural alteration, the arrangements must be recorded in writing before work begins, usually as a method statement. Work with asbestos also needs a written plan of work. Main contractors commonly ask for RAMS before you start.

Health and safety policy 5+ employees

HSE says if you have five or more employees you must write your policy down, setting out who does what, when and how.

CDM and principal designers

On construction projects, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 add separate duties, including appointing a principal designer and principal contractor whenever more than one contractor will work on the project. Those roles, fees and HSE notification are covered in our guide to principal designers and CDM consultants.

What to check before you hire

Ask to see membership and qualification certificates and insurance, and check them on the body's own register.

IOSH chartered membership (CMIOSH)

Chartered Member of IOSH. It requires senior experience, an assessment and ongoing CPD.

OSHCR

The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register lists consultants who hold chartered-level membership of a participating body, carry professional indemnity insurance and keep up CPD. HSE points people to it for competent advice.

NEBOSH qualifications

Look for the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management for Construction certificate or the National General Certificate or, for senior advisers, the NEBOSH Level 6 National Diploma.

SSIP Pre-qualification

Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) is the umbrella for health and safety pre-qualification schemes. Member schemes assess firms against the SSIP Core Criteria, which were aligned with PAS 91, a construction pre-qualification standard BSI has since withdrawn, and recognise each other's certificates. Many consultants help firms get accredited, and you can check a firm's SSIP status on the SSIP Portal.

Professional indemnity insurance

Covers claims arising from poor advice. OSHCR requires it of registered consultants, so ask for the level of cover.

Do householders and small builders need one?

Householders rarely need to hire a health and safety consultant for home building work: on a typical job the builder carries the duties. Small builders often use one for RAMS, a written policy, SSIP accreditation or a retained competent person service when no one in-house has the skills. Site managers bring one in for independent audits, accident investigations and extra support on bigger jobs.

Questions to ask a health and safety consultant

Are you CMIOSH or on OSHCR? Can I see your certificates?
Do you have construction experience and NEBOSH construction qualifications?
What professional indemnity insurance do you carry?
Will you act as our named competent person?
How many site visits are included, and what does an extra visit cost?
Are the RAMS and risk assessments written for our site, or adapted templates?
Does the price include VAT, travel and a written report?

Prices in this guide are typical ranges from suppliers' published price lists and cost guides. They change and vary by area, so always confirm the price with the supplier before you book. Rules, fees and tax rates are checked against official sources.

Health and safety consultants questions

What does a health and safety consultant do?

A health and safety consultant helps a business comply with health and safety law. Typical work includes site audits and inspections, risk assessments, RAMS, health and safety policies, accident investigation, training advice and acting as the employer's retained competent person under regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

How much does a health and safety consultant cost?

Published UK price guides put health and safety consultants' day rates at about £300 to £800, or roughly £50 to £150 an hour. Retained services typically cost about £75 to £1,500 a month depending on the size and risk of the business, and VAT and travel are often extra.

How much does a health and safety audit cost?

Published price guides put a health and safety audit for a single-site business at about £600 to £1,200. Construction site inspection visits typically start at about £150 to £350 each, rising with the size of the site and the report needed.

What is a health and safety audit?

A health and safety audit checks whether a business's health and safety arrangements work in practice. The auditor reviews documents such as the policy, risk assessments and training records, inspects the workplace, talks to managers and workers, and produces a report with prioritised actions. It forms the Check stage of HSE's Plan, Do, Check, Act approach.

Is a risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) a legal requirement?

Risk assessment is a legal requirement for every employer, and those with five or more employees must record the significant findings. HSE says method statements are not required by law for most work, except that arrangements for demolition, dismantling and structural alteration must be recorded in writing before work begins. Main contractors often ask for RAMS anyway.

Do I legally need a health and safety consultant?

The law doesn't require a consultant by name, but every employer must appoint one or more competent persons to help them comply with health and safety law. If a competent employee is available, they must be appointed in preference to an outside consultant. Firms without that expertise in-house often retain a consultant to fill the role.

What is the difference between a health and safety advisor and a consultant?

The titles are often used interchangeably. A health and safety advisor is usually employed in-house, while a consultant is usually an outside specialist hired by the day, per job or on a monthly retainer. Both can act as an employer's competent person if they have enough training, experience or knowledge.

How do I check a health and safety consultant is qualified?

Ask for evidence of chartered IOSH membership (CMIOSH), a listing on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) and NEBOSH qualifications, and check them on each body's register. Ask for professional indemnity insurance too, which OSHCR requires of registered consultants.

What is SSIP accreditation?

SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is the umbrella for health and safety pre-qualification schemes. Member schemes assess firms against the SSIP Core Criteria and recognise each other's certificates, so a firm doesn't need a separate health and safety assessment for each scheme.