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Admin, HR, legal

Health and safety adviser

Health and safety advisers work to reduce accidents, injury and health problems in the workplace.

Annual Salary

£22,000 to £50,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

38 to 40 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm; flexibly

2.9%
Future employment

There will be 2.9% more Health and safety adviser jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day tasks you may:

  • develop safety policies and procedures
  • advise and train staff on health and safety practices
  • make regular inspections
  • do risk assessments
  • investigate and record accidents in the workplace
  • work with relevant inspectors and trade unions

Working environment

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

You could work in an office, on a construction site or in an NHS or private hospital.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • training through a professional body
University

You can do a degree or postgraduate diploma recognised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
  • university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
Apprenticeship

You can do an advanced apprenticeship as a safety, health and environment technician.

It takes about 24 months to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Other routes

You could study for a health and safety qualification while you're working or to improve your chances of finding a trainee position.

Topics you're likely to cover on the course include health and safety in the workplace, regulations, risk assessment and basic accident investigation. Courses are usually available on a part-time basis or online.

You can take approved health and safety courses through:

More information

Professional and industry bodies

The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register has a list of professional bodies offering membership.

Further information

You can find more on careers in health and safety from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register.

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With experience, you could move into a safety management role.

You could also become a consultant and specialise in a particular area like environmental, construction or food safety. With further study you could move into research, training or lecturing.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • the ability to work well with others
  • persistence and determination
  • legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
  • knowledge of public safety and security
  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • maths knowledge
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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