The IOSH Working Safely syllabus was written by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health — the professional body for health and safety in the UK — and is delivered by approved training providers like KeyOstas. It’s a five-module, one-day course that fits a standard working day of roughly six to seven hours of content plus breaks.
Unlike some safety courses that assume you’ve already met the Health and Safety at Work Act and know your way around a risk assessment, Working Safely is designed for people who have never been on a safety course in their lives. It’s plain-English, practical, and pitched so a new starter, an experienced operator, or an office worker can all walk out of the room with the same useful baseline.
This article walks through each of the five modules, what’s covered, and what delegates actually leave knowing.
A note on timings: IOSH prescribes the total course length, not the duration of each module. The per-module timings below reflect how KeyOstas typically paces the day — your trainer will adjust to the pace of the group.
Roughly 45 minutes
The opening module does two things: it sets out why safety matters, and it makes the case that every person in a workplace has a role in it — not just the safety officer.
What’s covered:
Delegates leave this module understanding that safety isn’t paperwork, and that they are legally protected, legally responsible, and genuinely able to improve what happens in their own team.
Roughly 60 minutes
This is the conceptual backbone of the course. If delegates only remember one thing from the day, it should be the difference between a hazard and a risk — because every other module builds on that distinction.
What’s covered:
By the end of Module 2 delegates can take any task in their own job and sketch a rough risk assessment in their head — not a formal one, but enough to spot when something needs stopping.
Roughly 90 minutes — the longest module
This is the most practical module of the course. Working Safely covers six broad categories of workplace hazard, with examples pitched to be recognisable across industries.
What’s covered:
The module is built around exercises. Delegates are shown workplace scenes or asked to describe their own and pick out hazards they can see. The hazard-spotting exercise in the end-of-day assessment is essentially this module tested — if you want to know what the exam looks like, see our breakdown of the IOSH Working Safely exam format and pass rate.
Roughly 60 minutes
Module 4 shifts from “how to recognise a problem” to “what to do about it”. This is where the course becomes genuinely practical.
What’s covered:
Delegates leave this module knowing three specific things they can do in their own job when they see something unsafe, and one behaviour they can change in themselves.
Roughly 45 minutes
The final module widens the lens from personal safety to environmental responsibility — a relatively recent addition to the Working Safely syllabus, reflecting the fact that most modern workplaces now have environmental policies that employees are expected to understand.
What’s covered:
This module is shorter and more discussion-led than the others. It rounds off the day by pointing out that the same hazard-and-risk framework used for personal safety applies to the wider environment too.
The syllabus ends with a short end-of-day assessment, in two parts:
Both parts are marked on the day by the trainer. Successful delegates receive the IOSH Working Safely certificate, which is a lifetime qualification — there’s no expiry, though IOSH recommends a refresher every three years to keep knowledge current. For a deeper look at what’s tested, see IOSH Working Safely exam format and pass rate.
Most delegates find the day runs roughly like this:
Net tutor-delivered content is roughly six to seven hours, with the remaining time taken up by breaks, lunch, and the end-of-day assessment. Timings shift slightly for in-company delivery (to fit around shift patterns) and for virtual classroom delivery (to add short breaks every hour for screen fatigue).
Yes. The five modules, the assessment, and the certificate are identical. The only difference is the room. For a full comparison of the two formats see our virtual vs in-company IOSH training guide.
No. Working Safely is designed to assume no prior knowledge. Everything is covered on the day.
Delegates receive a printed or digital workbook that maps to the five modules. It includes summaries, exercises, and space for notes, and is useful as a reference afterwards.
The core syllabus is fixed — IOSH requires every approved provider to deliver the same content — but the examples and exercises can be tailored to your workplace. If you’re a manufacturer, expect manufacturing examples. If you’re an office, expect office examples.
Different audience and different depth. Working Safely is for every employee, one day, awareness-level. Managing Safely is for supervisors and managers, three days, with practical risk-assessment skills. See our IOSH Working Safely vs Managing Safely comparison for the full breakdown.
If the syllabus looks like what your team needs, you can book IOSH Working Safely as a one-day in-company course at your premises or as a live virtual classroom. Tell us your group size and location and we’ll come back with an all-inclusive fixed fee.
KeyOstas is an IOSH-approved training provider delivering this course to UK employers across construction, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and the public sector. All of our trainers are IOSH-registered and hold active teaching credentials.
