ISO 45001:2018
ISO 45001 certification
Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems
A proactive framework for preventing work-related injury and ill-health.
At a glance
- UK adoption
- Roughly 15,000 UK organisations hold certification to ISO 45001
- Structure
- Annex SL — integrates with other ISO standards
Overview
What ISO 45001 is — in plain English.
ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management Systems. It is designed to prevent work-related injury and ill-health and provides a proactive framework for organisations of all sizes to identify hazards, reduce risks, and improve safety performance. The management system is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) methodology to drive continuous improvement.
Inside the standard
Key aspects of ISO 45001
Proactive risk management
Focuses on identifying and controlling hazards before they cause incidents, rather than reacting to accidents.
Worker participation
Emphasises involving employees at all levels in health and safety decisions.
Leadership commitment
Places accountability on senior management to create a strong safety culture.
Legal compliance
Ensures organisations are meeting their legal obligations on health and safety.
Why certify
Benefits of certification
ISO 45001 follows the High-Level Structure (Annex SL) used in other ISO standards, allowing easy integration with commonly applied standards like ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environment).
Fewer incidents
Implementing ISO 45001 can lead to a reduced number of workplace incidents and a healthier workforce.
Engaged workforce
Improves employee engagement and reduces absence by demonstrating a real commitment to people.
Replaces OHSAS 18001
It replaces the older OHSAS 18001 standard and is recognised as the modern international benchmark.
Common questions