Online Health and Safety Training for Employees: What Counts

Yes, online health and safety training counts for much of what UK employees need. The law asks employers for “adequate” training and does not say how to deliver it, and the HSE lists computer-based learning as one of the methods you can use. Online works well for knowledge and awareness topics, such as a safety induction, display screen equipment and fire safety awareness. Physical skills such as safe lifting, practical first aid and driving a lift truck still need hands-on training, and your fire procedures have to be taught for your own premises.

This guide explains what the law and the HSE say, which topics suit online training and which do not, the rules on working hours and cost, accredited courses, records, and what to check before you buy.

Is online health and safety training legally acceptable?

Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires every employer to provide “such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary” to keep employees safe, so far as is reasonably practicable. Regulation 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 adds that employees must receive adequate training when they are recruited and when they are exposed to new or increased risks, repeated periodically where appropriate.

Neither says the training must be in a classroom. The HSE’s brief guide to health and safety training lists “open and distance learning” and “computer-based or interactive learning” alongside coaching, classroom courses and on-the-job training. The HSE also runs its own slips, trips and falls e-learning, with courses at three levels for different roles.

The test is whether the training is adequate for the risk. The fire safety rules in England and Wales put it most clearly: training must be “provided in a manner appropriate to the risk identified by the risk assessment”. So the useful question for each topic is whether e-learning on its own gives people what they need to work safely, or whether they also need to practise and be checked.

For the full list of training UK law requires, see our guide to mandatory training for employees in the UK.

Why it matters

The HSE’s key figures for Great Britain for 2024/25 show 1.9 million workers suffering from work-related ill health and 680,000 injured at work, with 40.1 million working days lost. The two largest causes of work-related ill health were stress, depression or anxiety (964,000 workers) and musculoskeletal disorders (511,000). Both are topics where awareness training helps people spot problems early and report them.

What online health and safety training covers well

Online training suits topics where the knowledge is the same for everyone and the aim is for people to understand risks, recognise hazards and know what to do. Each topic still needs a short local part, which can also be online.

Topic	Online covers	You add
Health and safety induction	Why safety matters, hazards and risks, employee duties, reporting accidents and near misses	Your site rules, who your first aiders are, how to report in your organisation
Display screen equipment (DSE)	Posture, adjusting chairs, desk space, screens and lighting, breaks, eye tests, reporting problems	A workstation assessment for each user and a way to act on what it finds
Fire safety awareness	How fires start, prevention, alarms and extinguishers	Your escape routes, assembly points, fire marshals and drills
Slips, trips and falls	Causes, spills and housekeeping, footwear, reporting hazards	Problem areas on your own premises
Stress and wellbeing	Spotting the signs, looking after yourself and colleagues	Your support routes and who to talk to

The DSE content above comes from the HSE’s DSE training guidance. Under regulation 6 of the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992, users must be trained before they start and again when their workstation is substantially changed, which suits online training well because new starters can complete it on their first day. It also reaches people working from home.

What still needs practical or on-site training

Manual handling

The HSE’s manual handling training guidance says training “won’t ensure safe manual handling on its own”. It should include “practical work so the trainer can identify anything the trainee is not doing safely and put it right”, and be tailored to the tasks people actually do. E-learning can cover the theory and the risk factors before a practical session, and it makes a good refresher, but people need to lift with a trainer watching.

First aid

The HSE’s guidance on first aid at work (L74), updated in 2024, says blended learning, a mix of face-to-face training and e-learning, “is an accepted means” of training first aiders. It asks employers to check the provider first, and strongly recommends that the practical skills are assessed by direct observation. In practice, look for a blended course where the theory is online and the practical skills are assessed in person. First aid certificates are valid for three years.

Lift trucks and other equipment

The HSE’s code of practice for rider-operated lift trucks (L117) says basic training must be completed before anyone operates a truck, carried out off the job and “largely practical in nature”. For other work equipment, online training can explain the rules and the hazards, but people need to show they can use the equipment safely.

Your own fire procedures

Article 21 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires training on the precautions and actions each person should take on your premises. A generic fire awareness course cannot show someone their nearest exit or assembly point, so add a short module on your own procedures and run regular drills. Scotland and Northern Ireland have near-identical training duties in their own fire safety regulations. Our guide to fire safety training for employees sets out the rules in each nation, fire marshal training and how often to train.

Blended training: online first, practical second

For the topics above, the most efficient approach is usually to put the theory online and keep the practical session for practice and assessment. People arrive knowing the basics, so the trainer can spend the session watching and correcting. The online module then stays available as a refresher. Our free training needs analysis template helps you decide which method suits each role and task.

Can employers ask staff to do online training in their own time?

Not for statutory health and safety training. Regulation 13 and the fire safety order both say the training must take place during working hours, and the HSE’s guide says it must not be at employees’ expense. Section 9 of the 1974 Act also stops employers charging employees for anything provided to meet a specific statutory requirement.

Online training makes this easier to manage. People can complete a module at their desk, on a shared tablet or on a phone between tasks, in paid time, without the whole team leaving the floor at once.

Accredited online health and safety courses

Many people search for an online course “with a certificate”. Most e-learning gives a certificate of completion, which is useful evidence. An accredited course goes further: the content and assessment are approved by a recognised body, which helps when a client, contract or tender asks for proof of training.

The law does not require accreditation, but it is a simple way to show a recognised standard. IOSH Working Safely is IOSH’s course for employees at any level who are new to health and safety. With Capytech it is 100% online, about 5 hours of self-paced learning including the final assessment, and successful learners are registered with IOSH and receive an IOSH certificate. Our guide to IOSH Working Safely online explains how to roll it out across a team.

Supervisors and managers are responsible for keeping other people safe, so they usually need more than an employee course.

Records and refresher training

The HSE’s guide recommends keeping training records, even for in-house training, and monitoring them so refresher training happens when it is due. The law does not set one refresher interval for general health and safety training: regulation 13 says “periodically where appropriate”, so base it on your risk assessment and on changes at work. Some topics come with their own intervals, such as first aid certificates.

Good records show who completed what and when, their assessment result and when the next refresher is due. If you do this on a spreadsheet, someone has to remember to check it. An LMS does the chasing for you.

How to choose an online health and safety course

• Written for UK law. Check it refers to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and HSE guidance, and not to another country’s rules.
• Matched to your risks. It should cover the hazards in your risk assessments, at the right level for each role.
• Includes an assessment. A short test shows people understood, and gives you something to record.
• Works on any device. Shift and site workers without a desk need to complete it on a phone or tablet.
• Gives you records. Completions, scores and certificates should be easy to report and export for an audit or a client.
• Leaves room for your own content. Check you can add the parts that are specific to your premises and procedures.

How Capytech helps

The Capytech course library has around 9,000 short courses, including health and safety titles on fire, first aid awareness, ergonomics and slips and trips, and we leave out titles written for US or Canadian law. Where UK law matters, we add IOSH Working Safely, available 100% online, or a short UK module built from your own documents.

For those modules and anything else specific to you, such as your site induction, fire procedures or safe systems of work, FastTrack builds custom e-learning from your own documents in days, with updates turned round in 48 hours when a procedure changes.

The Capytech LMS works in the browser on any phone, tablet or desktop and keeps the records. Its compliance matrix maps each job role to the training it needs and shows who is valid, due or overdue, certificates carry renewal dates and the course reopens when a certificate expires.

Frequently asked questions