Health and safety at work applies to all businesses and covers:
- employees, full or part-time, temporary or permanent
- self-employed people
- young people on work experience, and apprentices
- charity workers
- mobile workers and homeworkers
It also protects any visitors or contractors on business premises.
Health and safety visits and inspections
Health and safety officers may visit a premises for many reasons including:
- routine health and safety inspections
- part of an educational campaign
- in response to an accident or complaint
An officer will expect to look at the workplace, the activities being carried out and the management of health and safety in order to check that the employer is complying with health and safety law.
If an officer finds a breach of the health and safety law, then they will take action to try and rectify the problem.
Possible actions include:
- informal action
- improvement notice
- prohibition notice
- prosecution
After any visit the officer should provide employees with information about any actions taken.
Advice available for businesses on the Health and Safety (HSE) website
To meet your obligations under health and safety law you will need to make sure that you’ve thought about the health and safety risks, not only to your employees, but also to any contractors or any other person who is affected by your undertaking.
- The Health and Safety Executive website provides a wide range of information and advice for businesses.
- The Health and Safety made simple section is also a useful resource for small and medium sized businesses.
Cooling towers and evaporative condensers
Over recent years there have been a number of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease which have been associated with cooling towers and evaporative condensers.
All premises where cooling towers and evaporative condensers are situated must register with us so that we can identify potential areas that could give rise to the spread of infectious diseases such as Legionnaires' disease.
Notify us of your cooling tower or evaporative condenser by completing the application form (PDF) and emailing it to us.
Public register of cooling towers and evaporative condensers
| Reg. number | Date of reg. | Address of premises | No. of cooling towers | HSE/LA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/92 | 17/11/1992 | Aircraft Research Association Manton Lane Bedford Bedfordshire MK41 7PF | 1 | HSE |
| 5/92 | 16/12/2022 | Damm Brewery (UK) Limited Eagle Brewery Havelock Street Bedford Bedfordshire MK40 4LU | 2 | HSE |
| 4/93 | 22/03/1993 | Unilever R & D Colworth Science Park Sharnbrook Bedford Bedfordshire MK44 1LQ | 4 | HSE |
| 6/93 | 22/12/1993 | Albion House 14-18 Lime Street Bedford Bedfordshire MK40 1LD | 1 | LA |
| 3/94 | 7/12/1994 | RWE Npower Little Barford Power Station Barford Road Little Barford Bedford Bedfordshire PE19 6YT | 2 | HSE |
| 2/97 | 16/09/1997 | Norse Precision Castings Ltd 276 Ampthill Road Kempston Bedfordshire MK42 9QJ | 1 | HSE |
| 2/98 | 19/08/1998 | Bedford Pumps Ltd Brooklands Woburn Road Industrial Estate Kempston Bedfordshire MK42 7UH | 1 | HSE |
| 01/02 | 08/08/2002 | Asda CDC3 (Chill) Distribution Centre Marsh Leys Farm Woburn Road Kempston Bedfordshire MK43 9AB | 6 | LA |
| 01/03 | 18/02/2003 | Swan Print Ltd 8-10 Shuttleworth Road Elms Farm Industrial Estate Bedford Bedfordshire MK41 0EP | 1 | HSE |
| 01/08 | 09/09/2008 | Dawn Cardington Meadow Lane Cardington Bedford Bedfordshire MK44 3SB | 1 | HSE |
| 01/10 | 01/03/2010 | Franco Ices Ltd 2 Adam Close Woburn Road Industrial Estate Kempston Bedfordshire MK42 7JE | 4 | HSE |
| 01/11 | 23/06/2011 | Lantmannen Unibake Ltd Wallis Way Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 0PE | 2 | HSE |
| 01/21 | 14/04/2021 | AF Blakemore & Sons Ltd Manton Lane Industrial Estate Manton Lane Bedford Bedfordshire MK41 7BJ | 1 | LA |
| 01/24 | 24/12/2024 | Central Pharma Biotechnica Hudson Road Elms Farm Industrial Estate Bedford MK41 0HR | 1 | HSE |