THE ANSWER, FIRST
There is no single legal maximum lifting weight. Avoid hazardous handling where practicable, assess unavoidable tasks and reduce the risk.
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Who is responsibleYour next stepsBefore spending moneyWhat you can do yourselfPutting it into practiceRecords to keepWhen to reviewCommon questionsOfficial sourcesWho is responsible?
Employers whose workers lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move loads, including people or animals.
Avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable. Assess unavoidable hazardous handling and reduce the risk of injury.
START HERE
Your next three steps
- 1
Look for ways to avoid the handling task.
- 2
Assess unavoidable tasks, including the load and environment.
- 3
Change the work or use suitable aids to reduce risk.
BEFORE YOU PAY
Make sure you’re buying the right job
- Describe the complete task, not only the load’s weight.
- Consider frequency, reach, twisting, space and the people doing it.
- Ask how proposed training fits changes to the task or equipment.
Watch out: The law does not set one maximum lifting weight. A handling course alone does not make a poorly designed task safe.
Compare the whole cost of two quotesWhat can you do yourself?
Talk to the people doing the work, identify unnecessary handling and consider how the job can be arranged more safely.
When to get competent help
Use competent assistance for difficult tasks or when you cannot adequately assess and reduce risk. Training alone may not solve a poorly designed task.
Ask for improvements to the task as well as training
Before you commission work
Describe the route, repetition, space and handling involved, not simply the heaviest item. Invite the people doing the task to explain where it becomes difficult. If requesting support, distinguish assessment, changes to equipment or layout and training as separate deliverables.
Follow through on the result
Try agreed changes with the people affected and review whether they solve the practical problem. Record any new difficulty created elsewhere in the process. A completed course register is evidence of attendance; it does not tell you whether the delivery route, storage height or other conditions have improved.
Keep a useful record
Aim for information that helps the next person make a sound decision.
- The tasks assessed and who may be affected.
- Changes to the job, equipment or arrangements.
- Training and follow-up of problems reported by staff.
When to review it
Review when tasks, loads, people or working conditions change.
Ask a supplier to distinguish a legal deadline, a recommendation based on risk and a condition in your contract or insurance. They are not interchangeable.
Questions to put to a provider
- Can the task be redesigned or mechanised?
- What makes this particular movement risky?
- How will we know the changes reduce the risk?
Common questions
Does a lifting course remove the need to assess the task?
No. Consider the task and how to avoid or reduce the hazardous handling, as well as relevant information and training.
Check the official sources
Read the current guidance for the place where you operate. A link is not an endorsement of this website by the regulator.
Source-checked guidance. Specialist editorial sign-off is pending; this is not an assessment of your business. It does not cover every specialist activity or replace competent, case-specific advice.
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