Small charities often assume Health and Safety is something that only applies to "proper" employers with offices and payroll. It doesn't. If your organisation runs activities, uses premises, or involves volunteers working with the public — especially children or vulnerable adults — you have legal duties. Here are the five gaps we find most often.
This is the most common and most consequential misunderstanding. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers and those who control premises to ensure the safety of everyone affected by their activities — including volunteers, members, and members of the public. The absence of a payroll does not reduce your duty of care.
If a volunteer is injured at your premises or during your activities, and you cannot demonstrate that you carried out a risk assessment and took reasonable steps to manage the risks, your organisation — and its trustees — could face legal proceedings. The Charity Commission also expects trustees to manage H&S risk as part of their duty of prudent management.
Many charities run regular events — coffee mornings, fetes, fundraising evenings, sponsored walks. Each one introduces risks: crowds, catering, electrical equipment, outdoor hazards, alcohol, and large numbers of people who are unfamiliar with the venue.
What we typically find is no written risk assessment for any of these activities. The organiser "knows what they're doing" and the event has "always been fine." Neither of these is a defence if something goes wrong. A written event risk assessment doesn't need to be complex — but it does need to exist, be specific to the event, and be followed on the day.
Many charity staff and volunteers work alone — home visitors, outreach workers, community support roles, people opening or locking up buildings. Lone working carries specific risks: there is no one to assist if something goes wrong, and no one who will notice immediately if a person fails to return.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess the risks of lone working. In practice, this means having a check-in system, an emergency contact procedure, and clear guidance for the lone worker on what to do if something goes wrong. Very few small charities have this documented — and even fewer have it communicated to the volunteers who need it.
When a charity hires a hall, community centre or other venue for an activity, it retains responsibility for the H&S of its own activity — even if the building belongs to someone else. The venue operator is responsible for the building; the charity is responsible for what happens within it.
This means the charity needs its own risk assessment for the activity taking place. It also means checking that the venue has appropriate arrangements — a valid Fire Risk Assessment, working fire detection, accessible fire exits, and adequate first aid provision. We regularly work with charities that have been using hired premises for years and have never asked these questions.
Charity trustees are not employees — but they are not immune from legal liability either. The Charity Commission's guidance makes clear that trustees must ensure their charity complies with health and safety law. Where an H&S failure results in serious harm, trustees who have ignored clear warning signs or failed to implement basic arrangements can, in serious cases, face personal liability.
Most trustees are volunteers doing their best with limited time and resources. The risk is not that they will be prosecuted for an honest oversight — it is that, without basic arrangements in place, they have no evidence to show that they took their responsibilities seriously. A straightforward risk assessment and a documented H&S review are the foundation of that evidence.
Grant funders are increasingly asking. Many grant applications now include questions about H&S arrangements — does the organisation have a written Health and Safety policy? Are risk assessments in place? Do staff and volunteers receive H&S induction? If your charity cannot answer yes to these questions, it may affect your eligibility for funding — particularly from statutory funders and larger charitable foundations.
For most small charities, the priority is to get the basics in place: a written Health and Safety policy (even a short one), a risk assessment for your main activities and premises, and a simple record of what you have done. This doesn't need to be expensive or time-consuming — but it does need to be done.
We work with small charities and voluntary organisations across the region. Practical, proportionate advice — from £150 for small premises.
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