First published on Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Last updated on Thursday, September 25, 2025
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Reactive health and safety management
Reactive simply means ‘acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it.’
When we apply this to the management of workplace health and safety it means a business chooses to implement a response/action plan after an event has occurred. This event may be a near miss, or even a workplace accident. The reactive method focuses on learning from previous events or mistakes and taking the necessary steps to prevent these from happening again.
While it may seem counterintuitive, some reactive processes are essential, no matter which method of management you choose. For example – RIDDOR.
RIDDOR stands for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. It is a legal requirement of employers that they report certain accidents at work to the HSE.
The pros
The pros of reactive measures are really centered around damage control and implementation of the most effective measures, so accidents don’t happen ever again. This often means the accident or incident *should* only occur the one time.
Reactive methods are also great for spotting gaps. With a business making long-term improvements to the safety of the workplace over time.
Cheaper up-front costs. Rather than throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, reactive methods require only a small amount of investment and spending on what is really needed at the time.
The business will benefit from an array of learning opportunities that help to better the understanding of health and safety throughout the team.
Having a quick reaction to an accident may even help to prevent a chain reaction of accidents.
The cons
Despite being necessary in some circumstances, reactive measures can be incredibly costly to a business in the long-term.
The cost of damage control, accident compensation and repairs can reach upwards of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Without proper safety measures in place to prevent accidents at work you may fail to comply with key health and safety regulations. Business owners that have failed to comply will find themselves in extremely hot water with the HSE. With some owners even at risk of imprisonment.
Proactive health and safety management
As the name suggests, proactive health and safety management takes a proactive approach. Strategically implementing processes to mitigate the risks posed by hazards before an accident or incident occurs. Essentially, this style of health and safety management aims to prevent, as best as possible, any health and safety incident in the workplace.
Sometimes it is deemed ‘over the top’ but others would argue that “it is better to be safe than sorry”.
Methods of proactive health and safety management include:
Thorough risk assessments to identify safety hazards
Implementation of safety measures
Continuous monitoring and improvements to health and safety processes
Near miss reporting (helps to identify where there may be measures missing)
Preventative safety measure maintenance (such as fire door inspections and repairs)
Appointing responsible personnel across a team (this may include fire safety wardens)
Essential training for all staff during onboarding and over time
Recording and documentation of all findings
The pros
There are many benefits to choosing a proactive method for health and safety management. Aside from simply keeping staff safe and well, other pros include:
Compliance with legislation
Cost savings (less likely to pay out for damages or compensation to injured staff)
A safer working environment where staff feel protected
A greater understanding of the risks associated with your workplace and type of work
Allows for safe growth (the business can quickly adapt to changes impacting safety)
The cons
One of the main reasons why businesses don’t take proactive steps to manage health and safety at work Is the time and money needed to in the beginning.
Truthfully, these proactive measures can be time consuming. And when you’re already entangled within the complexities of running a small business, it becomes less of a priority. When zero accidents or incidents have occurred in your business you may also feel like some safety measures are not necessary or it is ‘health and safety gone mad!’.
Having said that the time and money you do invest into proactive health and safety management could actually save you in the long run!
Which method is best for your business?
It’s not really a question of choosing between reactive vs proactive methods. Rather, the recommended method of managing workplace health and safety is to combine the two.
Yes, you should be taking steps to prevent accidents but inevitably they can and do occur. Which means you must have reactive measures in place to control the impact and plug the gaps in your safety measures. By covering all the bases, you ultimately ensure your business is compliant with health and safety legislation whilst actively working to improve workplace safety and protect your employees.
Proactive safety management system
Taking a structured and proactive approach to managing health and safety in your workplace is often the preferred method.
This can be made even easier with the support of a proactive safety management system. Which, is simple a software solution that allows you to plan ahead. Offering features and tools to support you in identifying potential hazards before they pose a risk to your business.
BrightSafe offers a range of tools such as:
Centralised documentation for inspection-ready documents
Whilst also offering the support you need if an accident at work does happen, such as accident and near miss reporting, as well as insurance to help you cover the legal expenses if your business is under a HSE investigation.
For more information about choosing health and safety software for your business, download our handy guide. Want to see BrightSafe in action? Book a free demo today.
