The pallet truck is the most-used bit of handling equipment in most UK warehouses, and the one that gets the least thought. It has no engine to respect, no licence attached to it and no obvious danger — which is exactly why it accounts for a steady stream of crushed feet, strained backs and toppled loads. This guide covers how to use a pallet truck safely: the pre-use checks, the correct technique, the mistakes that cause most incidents, and what UK law actually expects of you as an employer.
It's a summary of good practice from a supplier's point of view, not legal advice. Your own risk assessment and your equipment's manufacturer instructions always take precedence.
Know your truck first
A manual pallet truck — also called a hand pallet truck, pump truck or pallet jack — is raised by a hydraulic hand pump and moved entirely by the operator. A powered pallet truck drives both the lift and the travel from a battery, and the operator walks alongside steering. The safety principles overlap, but the risks differ: manual trucks are a manual-handling problem, powered trucks are a moving-vehicle problem.
Whichever you have, know its rating. Most standard GPC VULCAN manual trucks carry 2,000–2,500kg on 1,150 × 540mm forks. Powered models in our range run from 1,500kg up to 5,000kg. That number is the maximum for an evenly distributed load on a sound, level floor — not a target to aim at with a badly stacked pallet on a ramp.
Pre-use checks: the two-minute walk-round
PUWER expects work equipment to be maintained in efficient working order. In practice, that means somebody looks at the truck before it's used, and faults get reported rather than worked around. Check:
- Forks — straight, not bent, cracked or splayed. A bent fork won't enter a pallet cleanly and will lift unevenly.
- Wheels and rollers — free-running, not flat-spotted, not wrapped in shrink wrap or strapping. Seized load rollers are the single most common cause of a truck that "won't pull".
- Hydraulics — the forks lift when pumped, hold under load without creeping down, and lower under control. Any oil on the ram or on the floor beneath the truck is a fault, not a quirk.
- Control lever — all three positions (raise, lower, neutral) engage cleanly. A lever stuck in "lower" makes the truck unusable safely.
- Handle — no play at the pivot, grips intact.
- Powered trucks only — brakes, horn, emergency reverse (belly button), key or code control, battery charge, and that the charger lead is disconnected before moving off.
Log the checks. If a truck fails, tag it out of service and remove it from the floor — a "don't use that one" verbal instruction lasts about a shift.
Lifting the load correctly
- Assess the pallet before you touch it. Is it damaged, overhanging, badly stacked, top-heavy or wet? A broken bottom board will collapse mid-move. Restack or reject it rather than manoeuvring around it.
- Approach square on. Line the forks up with the pallet openings and enter slowly and straight. Ramming a pallet to seat the forks is how bottom boards break and how nearby stock gets pushed over.
- Go all the way in. Forks should run the full length of the pallet so the load sits over the load rollers, not cantilevered off the fork tips. Partial entry is the classic cause of a tipping pallet.
- Lift only as high as you need. Just enough to clear the floor and any joints, ramps or thresholds on your route. A high load raises the centre of gravity and reduces stability for no benefit.
- Check the load is stable before you start moving, and re-check after the first few metres.
Moving safely: push or pull?
On the level, pull the truck so it follows behind you and you can see where you are going. This is the standard technique and it keeps your body out of the space between the truck and anything you might collide with.
The exception is a gradient. On any slope, keep yourself on the uphill side of the load — push the truck up an incline, and go down backwards so the load is never running towards you. Better still, avoid slopes with a manual truck altogether; a loaded pump truck on a ramp can build momentum faster than an operator can stop it, and standard pallet trucks are designed for flat, sound internal floors. If your site has ramps, docks or yards in the route, that's an argument for a powered truck with proper braking, or a rough terrain truck for outdoor surfaces.
The rest is unglamorous discipline: walk, don't run; keep the load low; take corners wide and slow; look in the direction of travel rather than at the load; never let anyone ride on the truck or the pallet; keep feet clear of the wheel path; and don't use a pallet truck to move anything that isn't on a suitable pallet or skid.
Parking and storage
Lower the forks fully when the truck is not in use. A raised fork at shin height in a walkway is a trip and impact hazard that nobody sees. Park out of pedestrian routes, clear of fire exits and racking legs, with the handle upright — a handle left flat is another trip hazard, and it puts strain on the pivot.
What UK law expects
Three sets of regulations do most of the work here:
- PUWER 1998 — equipment must be suitable for the task, maintained in efficient working order, and used only by people who have received adequate training and instruction.
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 — you must avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, assess what can't be avoided, and reduce the risk. Pushing and pulling a loaded pallet truck is a manual handling operation.
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 — floors and traffic routes must be suitable, in good condition and free from obstruction. Most pallet truck problems trace back to a floor or a route, not to the truck.
There is no legal licence for a hand pallet truck in the way there is a recognised competence requirement for counterbalance forklifts — but "no licence" is not the same as "no training". PUWER requires adequate instruction, and an untrained operator who injures themselves is a straightforward failure to comply.
Frequently asked questions
Should you push or pull a pallet truck?
Pull it on the level, so the truck trails behind you and your route ahead is clear. On a slope, always stay on the uphill side: push going up, and reverse going down, so the loaded truck never runs toward you.
Do you need training to use a pallet truck?
There is no statutory licence for a manual pallet truck, but PUWER 1998 requires that anyone using work equipment has received adequate training and instruction. For powered pallet trucks, formal operator training is the norm and strongly expected. In both cases, training should be truck-specific and recorded.
What are the common problems with pallet trucks?
Seized or wrapped load rollers, bent forks from ramming pallets, hydraulic creep from worn seals, and a pump that raises the forks but won't hold. Almost all of these are progressive faults that a daily walk-round catches long before they cause an incident.
How should you not use a hand pallet truck?
Don't overload it, don't part-enter the pallet, don't ride on it, don't use it on gradients or rough ground it wasn't designed for, don't leave forks raised when parked, and don't keep using one with a known hydraulic or wheel fault. Don't use it to tow, and don't use it to lift a load to working height — that's a job for a high lift truck or a pallet stacker.
How often should a pallet truck be inspected?
Daily pre-use checks by the operator, plus a periodic documented inspection at an interval set by your own risk assessment and the manufacturer's instructions — typically annually for a manual truck in normal use, and more often for high-utilisation or powered equipment.
Choosing the right truck in the first place
A lot of unsafe pallet truck use is really the wrong truck for the job. If operators are struggling with distance or load, that's a case for a powered machine — our manual vs electric pallet trucks guide and the electric pallet trucks buying guide work through the decision. If they're bending over pallets all day, a high lift truck fixes the ergonomics. If they're walking loads to a scale, a weigh scale pallet truck removes the journey entirely.
Browse the full pallet trucks range, or the manual and powered sub-ranges.