Has anyone slipped, tripped or fallen at your premises in the last year?
Including near misses that caused no injury
Why slips and trips matter
They are the most common cause of injury at work in Great Britain, and they are unusual in how consistently they are underestimated. A fall on the level sounds minor. In practice they produce fractures, head injuries and long absences, and they are the leading cause of major injury in many sectors.
Regulation 12 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires floors to be of suitable construction, without holes, slopes or uneven surfaces likely to cause a fall, and not slippery so as to expose any person to a risk to their safety. It also requires that walkways are kept free of obstruction.
The word most often used after an incident is "careless". It is worth resisting. If a floor is slippery when wet and it gets wet regularly, the fall was a property of the floor, not the person.
What actually causes them
The usual causes, and what they point to
| Cause | Typical situation | What it points to |
|---|---|---|
| Contamination | Water, oil, food, dust on the floor | The most common single cause — stop the source |
| Unsuitable flooring | Smooth surface that loses grip when wet | Wrong specification for the conditions |
| Obstruction | Deliveries, cables, stock in walkways | No storage that works, so people improvise |
| Change of level | Single step, ramp, worn edge | Unmarked and unexpected |
| Poor lighting | Failed lamps, glare, deep shadow | Hazards present but not visible |
| Footwear | Worn soles, wrong type for the surface | Last line of defence, not the first |
Contamination is the dominant cause by a wide margin. Most effective slip prevention is therefore not about the floor or the footwear — it is about stopping liquid reaching the floor in the first place, and dealing with it immediately when it does.
Controlling the risk
Work down the hierarchy, exactly as you would for any other risk.
Prevention in order of effectiveness
0 of 6 completePrevention in order of effectiveness
0/6A wet floor sign is not a control. It warns people about a hazard you have chosen to leave in place. Used routinely — permanently sited by an entrance, or left out all day — it stops being noticed at all.
Flooring and footwear
Slip resistance is measured wet, because that is when floors fail. A surface that grips well dry can be dangerous with a thin film of water on it.
Getting flooring right
- •Specify slip resistance for wet conditions
- •Match the surface to the contamination expected
- •Consider how it will be cleaned before choosing it
- •Check profiled surfaces can actually be cleaned
- •Replace worn areas, especially at thresholds
Getting footwear right
- •Choose for the specific floor and contaminant
- •Softer soles usually grip better on wet smooth floors
- •Check tread pattern suits the contamination
- •Replace when worn — grip goes before the shoe does
- •Trial with the people who will wear it
Footwear is a control of last resort, in the same way PPE is elsewhere in the hierarchy. It only protects the person wearing it, only while they wear it, and only while the sole is in good condition.
Cleaning: the control that often creates the risk
Cleaning is where many slip incidents originate, because the process itself puts water on the floor.
- Clean when the area is quiet, not at peak footfall
- Use a method that leaves the floor as dry as possible
- Where a floor must be wet, exclude people from it rather than warning them
- Use the correct detergent dilution — too much leaves a slippery residue
- Deal with spills immediately, and give everyone the authority and the means to do so
Spot cleaning by whoever is nearest is far more effective than waiting for the cleaning round. That only works if there is equipment to hand and staff know they are expected to use it.
Sector considerations
The risk profile changes considerably by setting:
- Retail — entrance matting in wet weather, spillages in aisles, stock in walkways
- Pubs and hospitality — drink spillage, kitchen grease, changes of level, poor lighting
- Care and healthcare — residents at high risk of injury, frequent spillage, trailing equipment
- Warehousing — loading bays, vehicle-borne water, pallet debris
Related guidance
Falls from one level to another are a different duty with different controls — see our working at height topic. For the underlying assessment process, see risk assessment.
Our detailed article on preventing slips, trips and falls works through the controls in more depth.
Common mistakes
Calling it carelessness. If the same spot catches people repeatedly, the spot is the problem.
Signs instead of controls. A warning leaves the hazard in place and shifts the burden onto the person walking past it.
Choosing flooring on looks. Slip resistance when wet is the specification that matters, and it is rarely what a showroom sample demonstrates.
Cleaning at the wrong time. Mopping a busy entrance at lunchtime creates the exact hazard the cleaning was meant to remove.
Fixing the instance, not the cause. Moving one obstruction helps for a day. Working out why it was there helps for good.