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📋 Toolbox Talk  ·  Health & Safety

Ladders & Stepladders:
Short Falls Still Kill

Work at Height Regulations 2005 — when a ladder is the right equipment, pre-use checks, safe use and your right to refuse unsafe work.

✅ Verified August 2026📚 HSE · Work at Height Regs 2005🇬🇧 Applies across the UKukworkrights.co.uk
The risk

Why ladders still cause serious injury

  • Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths in Great Britain — 35 of the 124 worker fatalities in 2024/25
  • Most falls are from low heights — a fall of under two metres can kill or cause life-changing injury
  • The most common causes are overreaching, unsuitable ground, unsecured ladders and damaged equipment
  • Ladders are not banned — that is a myth. They are permitted for low-risk, short-duration work
  • A ladder becomes the wrong choice when the job needs both hands, heavy tools, or more than about 30 minutes
  • Stepladders fail most often through side-on working and standing on the top step

⚠ Two metres is not a safety line

There is no height below which falling is safe. People are killed falling from the third or fourth rung. The Work at Height Regulations apply at any height where a fall could cause injury.
The hierarchy

Avoid, prevent, minimise

  • The law sets an order you must follow: avoid work at height where you reasonably can
  • If you cannot avoid it, prevent falls using the right equipment — a tower, MEWP or podium before a ladder
  • If you cannot prevent falls, minimise the distance and consequences
  • A ladder is acceptable only where the risk assessment shows the task is low risk and short duration
  • Ladders must be secured, on firm level ground, at roughly 75 degrees (the one-in-four rule)
  • Leaning ladders used for access must extend at least one metre above the landing point
  • Maintain three points of contact and do not carry loads that stop you gripping

The 1-in-4 rule

For every four units up, place the base one unit out. Too steep and it tips back; too shallow and the feet slide out. This is the most common ladder setup error on UK sites.
Inspection & your rights

Checks, records and refusing unsafe work

  • Ladders must be inspected before use by the user — stiles, feet, rungs, locking mechanisms
  • A detailed recorded inspection should be carried out periodically by a competent person
  • Damaged ladders must be taken out of use immediately and physically tagged or removed, not left in the rack
  • Home-made repairs, painted ladders (paint hides cracks) and makeshift feet are not acceptable
  • You have the right to refuse work you reasonably believe is seriously and imminently dangerous — Employment Rights Act 1996 s.44 and s.100
  • That protection is a day-one right with no qualifying period, and dismissal for it is automatically unfair

Refusing unsafe work is protected

If you stop work because you genuinely and reasonably believe there is serious and imminent danger, you are protected from dismissal and from detriment such as losing shifts or pay.
Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Are ladders banned on construction sites?
No. This is one of the most persistent myths in UK construction. HSE has never banned ladders. They are permitted for low-risk, short-duration work where a risk assessment shows a ladder is suitable. What is not acceptable is using a ladder because it is convenient when a tower or MEWP is clearly the right equipment.
How long is 'short duration'?
HSE guidance uses around 30 minutes in one position as a rule of thumb. Beyond that, or where the work requires both hands, heavy tools or significant reaching, a ladder is unlikely to be the right equipment.
Who is responsible for inspecting ladders?
The user must check the ladder before each use. The employer must ensure ladders are maintained and that a competent person carries out periodic recorded inspections. Damaged ladders must be removed from service, not simply reported.
For whoever runs this talk

Delivery notes & attendance record

Suggested length: 10 minutes. A toolbox talk is a short briefing on one hazard, given by a supervisor to the crew doing the work.

Before you start

There is a persistent myth that ladders are banned. They are not. Use this talk to correct that and to focus on the real rule: a ladder is fine for low-risk, short-duration work. Ask people to check the ladders on site during the talk.

Questions to ask the team
  1. Is a ladder the right kit for the job you're doing today, or is it just the nearest?
  2. When was the ladder you're using last inspected, and by whom?
  3. How long will you be up there — and is it really short-duration work?
  4. Can you keep three points of contact, or will you need both hands free?
The law behind this talk

Work at Height Regulations 2005 (regs. 6, 7 and Schedule 6); Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Employers must give workers comprehensible information, instruction and training on the risks they face — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c) and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 10. Keep the record below as evidence that you did.

Attendance record
TopicLadders & Stepladders: Short Falls Still Kill
Date
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Use the Print handout button to print this record. General guidance only, not legal advice. This toolbox talk is generic material and is not a substitute for a suitable and sufficient risk assessment by a competent person. Employers remain responsible for their duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Free H&S guidance

Ladders & Stepladders
free guidance

Get plain-English guidance on your rights and your employer's legal duties.

HSE Infoline
0300 003 1747
hse.gov.uk
ACAS
0300 123 1100
acas.org.uk
Citizens Advice
0800 144 8848
citizensadvice.org.uk
UK Work Rights
Ladders & Stepladders
ukworkrights.co.uk/toolbox-ladders.html

General guidance only — not legal advice · Verified August 2026 · © UK Work Rights Ltd · Company No. 17228507 · ICO Registration No. ZC239465 · Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ  ·  hello@ukworkrights.co.uk
Directed and published by Matt Thompson, founder
Content is produced with AI assistance and checked against primary sources including GOV.UK, ACAS and legislation.gov.uk before publication.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.