RSPH Level 2 Award In Health and Safety in the Workplace

ROYAL-SOCIETY-FOR-PUBLIC-HEALTH

vocational

This element provides a foundational understanding of workplace health and safety principles, focusing on legal responsibilities, practical risk assessment, and incident response. Learners explore how to identify common hazards, evaluate risks, and implement control measures to maintain a safe working environment. The knowledge gained is directly applicable to everyday workplace scenarios, ensuring compliance with UK health and safety legislation and fostering a proactive safety culture.

Objectives

Exam Tips

Pitfalls

Key Terms

Mark Points

What You Need to Demonstrate

Key skills and knowledge for this topic

Award credit for correctly identifying the key employer and employee duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations.
Expect evidence of a structured risk assessment approach, including hazard identification, evaluation of likelihood and severity, and selection of appropriate control measures following the hierarchy of control.
Look for accurate descriptions of procedures for reporting accidents, near-misses, and incidents, including the role of first aiders and statutory recording requirements (e.g., RIDDOR).

Marking Points

Key points examiners look for in your answers

Award credit for correctly identifying the key employer and employee duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations.
Expect evidence of a structured risk assessment approach, including hazard identification, evaluation of likelihood and severity, and selection of appropriate control measures following the hierarchy of control.
Look for accurate descriptions of procedures for reporting accidents, near-misses, and incidents, including the role of first aiders and statutory recording requirements (e.g., RIDDOR).

Examiner Tips

Expert advice for maximising your marks

💡When answering risk assessment questions, always apply the five-step process: identify hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate risk, record findings, and review regularly.
💡Use workplace examples in your responses to demonstrate practical application, such as manual handling or use of display screen equipment, which are common in assessment scenarios.
💡For incident response questions, recall the immediate priorities: ensure safety of the scene, administer first aid, and then follow reporting procedures. Distinguish between minor actions and statutory notifications.

Common Mistakes

Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

Confusing hazard and risk: stating a risk as a hazard or vice versa, such as calling a trailing cable a risk rather than the hazard being tripping.
Omitting the hierarchy of control when suggesting safety measures, e.g., proposing PPE without considering elimination or engineering controls.
Assuming that only major injuries need to be reported, overlooking the legal requirement to report certain near-misses and occupational diseases under RIDDOR.

Key Terminology

Essential terms to know

Understand roles and responsibilities for health, safety and welfare in the workplace, Understand how risk assessments contribute to health and safety, Understand how to identify and control the risks from common workplace hazards, Know the procedures for responding to accidents and incidents in the workplace

Ready to test yourself?

Practice questions tailored to this topic

RSPH Level 2 Award In Health and Safety in the Workplace

What You Need to Demonstrate

Marking Points

Examiner Tips

Common Mistakes

Key Terminology

Ready to test yourself?

Related Topics in ROYAL-SOCIETY-FOR-PUBLIC-HEALTH vocational Manufacturing & Engineering

Health and safety for supervisors in the workplace

Health and Safety in the Workplace

Introduction to health and safety for people at work

Understanding the Principles of Manual Handling