COSHH training: a free pack for your staff and managers
A staff session, a manager briefing, a quiz with a training record, and a rollout guide, built on regulation 12 of the COSHH Regulations for employers in England, Wales and Scotland, and free by email. Or have us tailor it and run it for you, on a branded company site, £24.99 per employee.
Every employer whose work may expose staff to a substance hazardous to health must give them suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training, and adapt it when the work changes significantly.
Take the free pack and run it yourself, or have us tailor it and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited and reminded by email, and a certificate for every completion, £24.99 per employee.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Is training required? | Yes. Regulation 12 of the COSHH Regulations requires suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training. |
| Who needs it? | Staff whose work may expose them to hazardous substances, and anyone who helps you meet your duties under the regulations, employee or not. |
| What must it cover? | The substances and their risks, exposure limits, safety data sheets, the risk assessment’s significant findings, and the precautions to take. |
| How often? | Adapt it when the work or its methods change significantly, and repeat it where appropriate. |
| How detailed? | Matched to the level, type and duration of exposure the risk assessment found. |
What the law expects of your training
Under regulation 12 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), every employer whose work may expose an employee to a substance hazardous to health must give that employee suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training. It must include:
- The substances they may be exposed to: their names and the risks they present to health, any workplace exposure limit, access to the safety data sheet, and any other law on their hazardous properties.
- The significant findings of the risk assessment.
- The precautions and actions each person takes to keep themselves and their colleagues safe.
- The results of any exposure monitoring. If they show levels above a workplace exposure limit, staff or their representatives must hear straight away.
- The collective results of any health surveillance, in a form that identifies no one.
The training must change when the type of work or its methods change significantly, and suit the level, type and duration of exposure the risk assessment found. Anyone who helps you meet your duties under the regulations, whether or not they’re your employee, needs suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training too. The pack’s manager briefing is for them.
Regulation 13 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 adds that health and safety training must happen when people start and when they face new or increased risks, happen again periodically where appropriate, and take place during working hours. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets the general duty: the information, instruction, training and supervision staff need to stay healthy and safe at work, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Both sets of regulations cover England, Wales and Scotland.
What you’ll get
Run the free pack yourself, or have us tailor it to your organisation and run it for you.
| Free pack | Tailored and run for you, £24.99 per employee | |
|---|---|---|
| The content | Complete the general training template | Tailored to your organisation for you |
| How staff complete it | Staff and manager slides with speaker notes, a quiz and a rollout guide, to deliver however suits you | A branded company site with your training content loaded for all staff to complete |
| Getting it to staff | You organise it | Every member of staff emailed for you |
| Reminders and chases | No automation included | Reminders and chases automated for you |
| Certificate of completion | Not included | A dated certificate for every person who completes it |
| Format | PowerPoint slides and Word documents | Audio and video, or a format to upload into your own learning or training hub |
| Managers and employees | A staff session and a manager briefing | Distinct manager and employee training |
| Cost | Free | £24.99 per employee |
The free pack, file by file
- Staff session. PowerPoint, with speaker notes: the hazardous substances in your work, and the precautions that keep everyone safe.
- Manager briefing. PowerPoint, with speaker notes, for the managers who look after COSHH and train your staff.
- Quiz and training record. Word: questions with an answer sheet for the presenter, and a training record for everyone to sign.
- Rollout guide. Word: how to tailor, deliver, record, refresh and check the training.
You fill in the gaps for your substances, present the sessions and keep your own records. It doesn’t include a certificate of completion.
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The tailored training, part by part
- Tailored to your organisation. We tailor the training content to your organisation, its processes and likely scenarios, with distinct manager and employee training.
- A branded company site, or your own learning hub. Your training content in audio and video, with an understanding check, ready for all your staff to complete; or in a format to upload into your own learning or training hub.
- Distribution taken care of. Invite all your staff, and each person gets an email to complete the training.
- Reminders and chases, automated. We remind anyone who hasn’t finished until they complete it.
- A certificate for every completion. A dated certificate for each person who completes it, to save for your records.
Our team will be in touch with follow-up questions to tailor the content to your organisation.
Request received
Thanks. Our team will be in touch within one working day with follow-up questions to tailor the training to your organisation.
Could not send that request
Something went wrong on our side. Please try again, or use our contact form and our team will be in touch.
What the training covers
Staff session:
- The hazardous substances in your work, and the risks they present to health
- Workplace exposure limits
- Safety data sheets: where to find them and what they tell you
- What the risk assessment found
- The precautions and actions that keep you and your colleagues safe
- Exposure monitoring and health surveillance: the results you're told
Manager briefing:
- Your duty to give information, instruction and training
- What the training must include for each substance
- Matching the training to the level, type and duration of exposure
- Training new starters, and again when the work or its risks change
- Training the people who help you meet your COSHH duties, employees or not
- Sharing exposure monitoring and health surveillance results
After the training
Share the results. Give staff the results of any exposure monitoring, straight away if they show levels above a workplace exposure limit, and the collective results of any health surveillance.
Update the training when the work changes. A significant change in the type of work or the way it’s done means adapting the training.
Train again when risks change. A new role, new equipment, new technology or a new way of working means new training for the people it affects.
Update the training when your risk assessment changes. The training should match the level, type and duration of exposure the assessment found, so update both together.
Our free manual handling and fire safety training packs work the same way.
Common questions
Is COSHH training a legal requirement?
Yes. Under regulation 12 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, every employer whose work may expose staff to a substance hazardous to health must give them suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training.
What should COSHH training cover?
The substances each person may be exposed to and the risks they present to health, any workplace exposure limit, access to the safety data sheet, the significant findings of the risk assessment, and the precautions and actions that keep everyone safe. Staff must also get the results of any exposure monitoring and the collective results of any health surveillance.
How often should you refresh COSHH training?
Regulation 12 sets no fixed interval: the training must change when the type of work or its methods change significantly. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 add that you must repeat health and safety training periodically where appropriate, and train people again when they face new or increased risks.
Do cleaners need COSHH training?
Yes, if their work may expose them to a substance hazardous to health. The duty covers every employee whose work may expose them, whatever their job.
Who else needs COSHH training?
Anyone who helps you meet your duties under the regulations, whether or not they're your employee, needs suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training too. The pack's manager briefing is for them.
Does the training come with a COSHH certificate?
The free pack doesn't include a certificate of completion: it has a training record for everyone to sign. The tailored training gives every person who completes it a dated certificate.
What's in the free COSHH training pack?
Four editable files: a staff session (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a manager briefing (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a quiz with answers and a training record to sign (Word), and a rollout guide (Word).
What's the difference between the free pack and the tailored training?
The free pack is the template: four editable files you fill in, present and record yourself, with no certificate of completion. We build the tailored training for your organisation and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited by email and reminded until they complete it, and a dated certificate for every completion.
References
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulation 12: information, instruction and training
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 13: capabilities and training
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2: general duties of employers to their employees
General information, not legal advice. It reflects our understanding of the law and official guidance as of October 2026, so check the sources above for the current position.