The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (often shortened to WAHR, and sometimes still called the "working at height regulations") are the main UK law covering falls from height at work. Falls from height remain the single leading cause of workplace deaths in Great Britain — the Health and Safety Executive's most recent fatal injury statistics recorded 35 workers killed in falls from height in 2024/25, around 28% of all work-related fatalities that year — which is why the Regulations apply to almost every warehouse, workshop and site that uses steps, platforms or towers.
What are the Work at Height Regulations 2005?
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735) came into force on 6 April 2005 and apply to every employer, self-employed person and anyone who controls the work of others at height in Great Britain. They implement a simple but strict logic: before anyone climbs, steps up, or works above (or, in some cases, below) ground level, the person in control of the work must show they have followed a hierarchy of measures to manage the risk.
There is no minimum height at which the Regulations start to apply — this is the most common misunderstanding of the law. HSE's own guidance is explicit that there is no such thing as a "2-metre rule": work at height is any work in a place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. That includes stepping onto a small platform step to reach a shelf, as much as it includes work from a tower scaffold or a mezzanine edge.
The hierarchy of control: avoid, prevent, minimise
Regulation 6 sets out the order in which risks from work at height must be tackled, and it is the core of the whole law:
- Avoid work at height wherever it is reasonably practicable to do so — for example, assembling or maintaining equipment at ground level before it is lifted into position, rather than working on it in situ.
- Where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls using an existing place of work that is already safe (a permanent platform with guard rails) or the right work equipment — the hierarchy in Regulation 7 favours collective protection (guard rails, working platforms, towers) over personal protection (harnesses), because collective measures protect everyone without relying on correct individual use.
- Where a fall cannot be prevented, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one happen — for example nets, airbags, or a shorter, more controlled fall distance — and Regulation 4 requires that all work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out safely, including having a plan for emergencies and rescue.
This three-step order — avoid, then prevent, then minimise — is the single thing a risk assessment needs to demonstrate. Reaching for a harness before asking whether a mobile safety step or tower would have prevented the fall in the first place is doing the hierarchy backwards.
Who does WAHR apply to, and what counts as "work at height"?
The Regulations apply to employers, the self-employed, and anyone who controls work at height — including facilities managers and contractors who engage others to work at height, even if they do not employ them directly. Employees also have specific duties: to report any safety hazard they identify, and to use the equipment provided in accordance with training and instructions.
"Work at height" under Regulation 2 covers work in any place, including a place at or below ground level, where a person could be injured falling from it, and also work at any height where a person is at risk from a falling object connected with that work. In practice, on a typical KC Supply customer's site, that means:
- Picking stock from upper shelves or the top of racking
- Working from mobile safety steps, platform steps or podium steps
- Erecting, dismantling or working from an aluminium access tower
- Loading, unloading or inspecting from a raised loading bay or dock platform
- Working from a scissor lift table or other mobile elevating work platform
- Any maintenance, cleaning or inspection task carried out above floor level
Duty holder responsibilities: the five core duties
Beyond the avoid/prevent/minimise hierarchy, the Regulations set five further duties that apply to whoever controls the work:
- Organisation and planning (Regulation 4). All work at height must be properly planned — including planning for emergencies and rescue — appropriately supervised, and carried out in a way that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe. It must not be carried out where weather conditions could jeopardise the health or safety of anyone involved.
- Competence (Regulation 5). Anyone doing work at height, or supervising or organising it, must be competent — meaning they have the training, knowledge and experience for the specific task — or, if being trained, must work under the supervision of someone competent.
- Selection of work equipment (Regulation 7). Equipment must be selected in line with a further hierarchy: give collective protection measures priority over personal ones, take account of the working conditions and risks to anyone using the equipment, and choose equipment suitable and suited to the task, the loads it will carry, and safe for use.
- Fragile surfaces (Regulation 9). So far as is reasonably practicable, no one should pass across or near, or work on, from or near a fragile surface unless it is not reasonably practicable to do the work safely without doing so, and even then suitable platforms, coverings, guard rails or fall-arrest equipment must be provided.
- Inspection (Regulations 12 and 13). Work equipment for work at height must be inspected after installation or assembly and before first use, and at suitable intervals afterwards or after any event liable to have affected its safety (Regulation 12); places of work at height must themselves be inspected before use where their safety depends on how they were installed or assembled (Regulation 13).
Ladders: allowed, but only for low-risk, short-duration tasks
Schedule 6 of the Regulations sets out the requirements where a ladder is used. Ladders are not banned by WAHR — a common myth — but Regulation 6 and the HSE's supporting guidance are clear that a ladder should only be used for work at height where a risk assessment has shown that the use of more suitable work equipment (a tower, a platform, a set of steps) is not justified because of the low risk and the short duration of the task, or because of features of the site that cannot be altered. Where a ladder is the right choice, it must be positioned and secured so it will not slip, and used on a stable, level and firm surface.
For anything beyond a quick, short-duration task, a purpose-built platform is the safer and, in HSE's own framing, generally the more defensible choice — see our warehouse steps buying guide and hop up platform guide for how to choose between mobile safety steps, platform steps and towers for recurring warehouse tasks.
Falling objects and danger areas
Regulation 10 requires that, so far as reasonably practicable, steps are taken to prevent anything falling and causing injury — for example toe boards, tool lanyards, or exclusion zones — and where materials or objects will be deposited from height, this must be done safely, not simply thrown or tipped down. Regulation 11 requires that danger areas — where there is a risk of falling objects or of a person falling — are clearly marked and access restricted to those who need to be there.
WAHR, PUWER and inspection: how the regulations fit together
Work at height equipment is also work equipment, so the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) apply alongside WAHR to the same steps, platforms and towers — PUWER covers the equipment's general suitability and maintenance, while WAHR's own Regulations 12 and 13 add the specific pre-use and periodic inspection duties for work-at-height equipment and places of work. In practice this means a set of mobile safety steps needs both a routine PUWER-style maintenance regime and a documented pre-use check under WAHR — the same steps that keep a hand pallet truck compliant under LOLER and PUWER, covered in our LOLER guide, are the same discipline applied to steps and towers instead of trucks.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum height for the Work at Height Regulations to apply?
No. There is no 2-metre threshold or any other minimum height in UK law. The Regulations apply to any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury, including from a single step.
Are ladders banned under WAHR?
No. Ladders remain lawful for low-risk, short-duration tasks where a risk assessment shows a more suitable form of access is not justified, provided they are used and positioned correctly under Schedule 6.
Who is responsible for compliance with the Work at Height Regulations?
The employer, the self-employed person doing the work, or anyone who controls the work of others at height (including a client engaging contractors). Employees must also use equipment correctly and report hazards.
Does WAHR require a written risk assessment?
The Regulations require work at height to be properly planned, and this is normally evidenced through a risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, alongside the specific WAHR duties on organisation, competence and equipment selection.
How often must work-at-height equipment be inspected?
Regulation 12 requires inspection after installation or assembly and before first use, and at suitable intervals after that, plus after any event that could have affected the equipment's safety — the Regulations do not set a fixed calendar interval; that is set by the duty holder's own risk assessment.
What is the correct order for managing a work-at-height risk?
Avoid the work at height if reasonably practicable; if it cannot be avoided, prevent a fall using collective measures such as guard rails or a platform in preference to personal fall protection; if a fall cannot be prevented, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall.
Do mobile safety steps and podium steps count as "work at height" equipment under WAHR?
Yes. Any equipment used to gain access to, or work at, a height where a fall could cause injury falls within the Regulations, including single- and multi-tread mobile safety steps, platform steps, podium steps and towers.
What is the difference between WAHR and PUWER for access equipment?
PUWER covers the general suitability, maintenance and safe use of work equipment; WAHR adds specific duties for equipment and places of work used at height, including the pre-use and periodic inspection requirements in Regulations 12 and 13. Both apply together to steps, platforms and towers.
This page is general guidance on the Work at Height Regulations 2005, not a substitute for your own risk assessment. Always refer to the current HSE guidance and the Regulations themselves (SI 2005/735) for your specific circumstances.