Health and safety on pig farms

Health and safety is vital to all businesses. Agriculture is a high-risk industry and, considering the number of people employed in the industry, suffers from high numbers of serious injuries and deaths each year.

The aim is to make your pig farm a safe, healthy and legal place for employers, employees and others who may be affected by what you do.

This includes full, casual or part-time workers, trainees, customers, neighbours, salespeople and members of the public (including uninvited visitors). 

These pages feature practical advice and links to further reading to help you make your business safer.

Businesses employing five or more people need a written health and safety (H&S) policy.

This contains a statement of general policy on health and safety at work and arrangements for putting it into practice.

It is good practice for businesses with fewer than five employees to consider a H&S policy, although it’s not a legal requirement.

The modern approach to health and safety is through risk assessment and risk management.

You can strengthen your H&S policy by carrying out risk assessments of your workplace.

These are careful examinations of what could cause harm and who might be affected.

It is good practice to create an emergency plan. This includes instructions and contact details for dealing with emergency situations, such as fires.

The emergency plan should be located strategically around the farm, in the tractor, office, and in staff mobile phones.