The report was far more detailed than we expected for the price – clear, practical and easy to act on. Genuinely good value for a business our size.
Sarah Watts
Director
An independent health and safety audit measured against HSG65 and your ISO 45001 internal audit requirements – a thorough site review and a clear, practical report. From £450 + VAT.
HEALTH & SAFETY AUDIT
Independent Health & Safety Audit for
SMEs in Leicester & the Midlands
A thorough, independent health and safety audit for manufacturing and industrial SMEs, care homes, retail, small shops, offices, factories and production sites. We benchmark your arrangements against the HSE’s HSG65 approach and support your ISO 45001 internal audit requirements, then give you a clear, easy-to-read report you can act on. From £450 + VAT.
- Qualified
- Specialists
- Independent
- ✓ Independent HSG65-based audit
- ✓ Supports ISO 45001 internal audit
- ✓ Clear, practical report
- ✓ From £450 + VAT
🟢 Get in touch
Request a quote
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What’s included
What your health and safety audit includes
One straightforward, independent audit. Everything below is included in the fixed audit fee – there are no modules to add on and nothing you’ll be upsold later.
01
Site visit and discussion
We visit your site and review the key health and safety topics relevant to your operations – machinery, workplace transport, manual handling, noise, contractor control, hazardous substances, fire and more.
02
Baseline legal gap analysis
We benchmark your arrangements against the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the regulations made under it, and the Fire Safety Order 2005.
03
Document review
We review your health and safety documents and advise on the critical records to retain.
04
Site walkaround inspection
A practical inspection of your premises, carried out to a standard similar to what the enforcing authority may expect to see.
05
HSG65-based audit
A health and safety audit based on HSG65 – the HSE’s Plan, Do, Check, Act approach to managing health and safety.
06
ISO 45001 internal audit support
Independent internal audits to support your ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management system – helping you meet the Clause 9.2 internal audit requirement and evidence conformity ahead of certification or surveillance visits.
07
Clear findings, in writing
We explain plainly where you stand, then set it out as conformances, non-conformances and opportunities for improvement.
08
Consultant CV for stakeholders
Your consultant’s CV on request, where stakeholders require evidence of competence – tenders, SSIP, insurance and customers.
Your audit and report, from £450 + VAT
Confirmed up front based on the size and nature of your site and the scope of the audit. No hidden extras.
What you need to know
What to Know Before Booking a Health and Safety Audit
A health and safety audit gives manufacturing and industrial SMEs, care homes, retailers, offices and other workplaces an independent, structured review of how they manage health and safety – measured against the HSE’s HSG65 framework and, where relevant, ISO 45001 internal audit requirements. Here’s what to know before you book.
01
What a health and safety audit actually is
A health and safety audit is a systematic, independent review of your health and safety management system – your policies, procedures, risk assessments and records – to check they are suitable, properly implemented and actually working in practice. It goes wider than a one-off inspection or a single risk assessment, looking at how the whole system holds together.
02
An independent, external pair of eyes
An external audit brings an objective, independent pair of eyes to your arrangements. That independence is valuable in its own right – and it is especially useful where you cannot easily achieve impartial internal auditing in-house, which is exactly the situation ISO 45001 Clause 9.2 anticipates.
03
Built around HSG65 – the HSE’s framework
Our audits follow HSG65, the HSE’s ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ approach to managing health and safety. It is a recognised, proportionate framework that lets us benchmark your arrangements against your key legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it.
04
An easy-to-read report you can actually use
After the audit you receive a clear health and safety report that sorts every finding into three outcomes: conformance, non-conformance and opportunity for improvement. You can see at a glance what you’re doing well, where you fall short of a legal requirement, and which proportionate improvements are worth prioritising.
05
Supports your ISO 45001 internal audit requirement
If you’re certified to ISO 45001 – or working towards it – the standard requires internal audits at planned intervals (Clause 9.2). We can act as your independent internal auditor, carry out those audits objectively, and give you the documented evidence certification bodies expect to see at surveillance and recertification.
06
Suitable across many industries
This audit suits a wide range of workplaces: manufacturing and industrial SMEs, care homes, retail and small shops, offices, factories and production sites, warehousing and more. The HSG65 framework scales to your size and risk, so the audit stays proportionate whatever your sector.
07
Know where you stand before someone else does
Many businesses only arrange an audit after the HSE, an insurer, a customer or (for care homes) a regulator such as the CQC has raised a concern – by which point the pressure is already on. A proactive audit gives you an honest picture first, so you can fix what matters on your own terms rather than reacting after the event.
08
How an audit differs from a risk assessment
A risk assessment looks at specific hazards and tasks and how to control them; a health and safety audit steps back and asks whether your whole system is effective and whether you’re actually doing what your paperwork says. The two work together – and our audit will show you where your risk assessments and records need attention.
09
Built by someone who understands SME pressures
TIPS Consultancy Ltd was founded by Kapil, who has a background in manufacturing and in directing SMEs alongside his work as a health and safety consultant. He understands first-hand how limited time, rising costs and unclear advice can make health and safety feel like a burden – so the audit is built to be practical, proportionate and genuinely useful, not a box-ticking exercise.
In simple terms: an independent audit, measured against HSG65 and your ISO 45001 internal audit requirements, and a clear report you can actually act on.
Your Report
Every Finding Sorted Into Three Clear Outcomes
After your site visit, everything in the report is organised under three clear headings – so you can see at a glance what’s working, what to improve, and what needs putting right.
Green
Conformance
What you’re already doing well
Areas where your arrangements already meet the standard – confirmation of what’s working, and useful evidence for insurers, customers and tenders.
- Meets the legal requirement
- Good practice worth keeping
- Evidence you can show stakeholders
Proof that what you’re doing is working.
Red
Non-Conformance
Where you fall short of the standard
Where your arrangements don’t yet meet a legal requirement.
Each one is explained in plain English, with clear, practical advice on how to put it right.
- Falls short of a legal duty
- Explained in plain English
- A clear fix for each one
Sorted first, with a clear plan to put it right.
Amber
Opportunity for Improvement
Sensible, proportionate next steps
Things that aren’t wrong, but could be stronger. Practical suggestions to tighten up your arrangements, prioritised so you know what’s worth doing first.
- Not urgent, but worth doing
- Proportionate - never gold-plating
- Prioritised for you
Small changes that add up to a stronger business.
Getting started
How a Health and Safety Audit Works
Booking a health and safety audit with TIPS is a clear, structured process - from your first enquiry through to your written report and recommendations. Here’s how each stage works.
Stage 1
Before the audit
Confirming the audit is the right fit for your business - with no obligation.
1
Send us an enquiry
Tell us about your business, your site and the audit you need.
2
Free suitability check
We arrange a free, no-obligation visit to confirm we can audit your site and to understand your operations, risks and current arrangements. It’s a suitability check - not a sales appointment - so both sides can confirm the audit is appropriate.
3
Quote issued
If the audit is suitable, we send a clear, fixed-fee quote based on your business, your site and the scope of the audit.
Stage 2
Your audit and report
From the agreed audit date through to your written report.
4
Audit date agreed
We agree a date for your health and safety audit, inspection and review.
5
Audit carried out
We review your workplace, documents and current health and safety arrangements - including a site walkaround, a baseline legal gap analysis and an HSG65-based audit, with ISO 45001 internal audit support where relevant.
6
Report issued
You receive a clear, practical health and safety report covering conformances, non-conformances and opportunities for improvement. The invoice is sent after the report has been issued.
Stage 3
Ongoing auditing
Keep standards on track - especially if you’re certified to ISO 45001.
7
Consider regular external audits
Standards slip over time as your workplace, people and processes change. We recommend an external health and safety audit at least once a year - and more frequently for larger organisations or those certified to ISO 45001, where regular independent internal audits help maintain conformity between certification visits. We’ll get in touch when you’re due, with no obligation and no long-term tie-in.
Client Testimonials
What SME Directors Say About TIPS Consultancy
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
A health and safety audit is a systematic, independent review of your health and safety management system – your policies, procedures, risk assessments and records – to check they are suitable, properly implemented and working in practice. It is broader than a one-off inspection or a single risk assessment: it looks at how your whole approach to managing health and safety holds together, and where it can be stronger.
The audit includes a discussion of the key topics relevant to your operations, a baseline legal gap analysis against the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, a review of your main documents and records, a site walkaround inspection, and an HSG65-based audit. Where you work to ISO 45001, we also support your internal audit requirement. You then receive a clear written report.
From £450 + VAT. The exact price depends on the size and nature of your site and the scope of the audit, and we confirm it before you commit – no hidden extras. We carry out a free initial check first to make sure we can audit your site and to give you an accurate quote.
A risk assessment identifies specific hazards and the controls needed to reduce risk; an inspection is a point-in-time check of the workplace. An audit is wider than both – it reviews whether your entire health and safety management system is effective and whether you are actually doing what your documents say. Risk assessments are a legal requirement; audits are not, but the HSE strongly recommends them as good practice. If you need help producing the risk assessments themselves, see our Risk Assessment Support service.
Yes. ISO 45001 (Clause 9.2) requires organisations to carry out internal audits at planned intervals, by auditors who are objective and impartial. Where you cannot easily achieve that independence in-house, we can act as your external internal auditor – carrying out the audit, reporting findings against the standard, and giving you the documented evidence certification bodies expect at surveillance and recertification.
HSG65 is the HSE’s ‘Plan, Do, Check, Act’ framework for managing health and safety. It is a recognised, proportionate way to benchmark how you plan, organise, control, monitor and review your arrangements – which makes it an ideal basis for a practical audit that scales to your size and risk.
We audit a wide range of workplaces, and because the HSG65 framework is proportionate, every audit is tailored to the risks and scale of your sector. Common examples include:
- Manufacturing and industrial sites – engineering, fabrication and CNC/machining workshops; production and assembly operations; packaging businesses; print and signage workshops; joinery and woodworking workshops; warehouses and distribution units; vehicle repair garages and MOT centres; and builders’ merchants and trade counters.
- Offices, retail and community premises – offices, retail premises, small shops and showrooms, community buildings, places of worship and small leisure premises.
- Care homes – general workplace health and safety auditing only (the building, equipment, staff safety and your duties as an employer). This is not CQC or clinical care auditing.
If your workplace isn’t listed, just ask – if we can audit it, we’ll say so.
The HSE recommends auditing at least once a year as good practice. Larger organisations, higher-risk sites and businesses certified to ISO 45001 should audit more frequently, with internal audits run at planned intervals across the year. We can recommend a sensible frequency for your business and remind you when you are due – with no obligation.
Yes. TIPS Consultancy is based at 249 Scraptoft Lane, Leicester (LE5 2HT) and audits businesses across Leicester and the wider Midlands, as well as UK-wide. Call 0116 456 7521 or email info@tipsconsultancy.co.uk to check availability in your area.
General fire safety management is covered within the audit, including your duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. You can be confident the advice is credible: our consultants hold the Level 4 Diploma in Fire Risk Assessment awarded by ABBE and are members of the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM). A full fire risk assessment is a separate, more detailed exercise – if your premises need one, we will say so clearly in the report.
You and your team work through the findings at your own pace, in priority order. The report sets out conformances, non-conformances and opportunities for improvement, so it is clear what to tackle first. If you would like ongoing help, we can discuss further support – including our Competent Person Service – but there is no obligation to take it.
The next step
Ready to book your health and safety audit?
Arrange a free initial check so we can confirm we’re able to audit your site, then give you a clear quote before you commit – a practical, independent health and safety audit, not a pushy sales call.
- Free initial check
- Quote before you commit
- Independent HSG65 audit
- Supports ISO 45001