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Free toolbox talks

Toolbox talk topics

60 toolbox talk topics for UK sites, grouped by theme. The most searched are written out in full, free to read on the page and to download as a PDF and Word sheet with an attendance record. The rest are listed so a year's programme can be planned from one page.

Go to the list Download the register and planner
Topics
60, in five themes
Written talks
12, with PDF and Word
Each talk
Five to ten minutes, with a record
Cost
Free, always

How to choose a toolbox talk topic

Match the talk to the work. The best toolbox talk topic is the hazard the team meets this week: working at height before the roof starts, dust before the chasing, manual handling when the blocks arrive, lifting operations before the crane. The second best is the thing that went wrong, or nearly went wrong, on this site last week.

Then cover the slow harms that no single week makes urgent: noise, vibration, dust, skin and mental health. They cause far more ill health than accidents do, and a talk is often the only time anyone mentions them. What a toolbox talk is explains the law and how to give one.

Checked against HSE guidance and legislation.gov.uk on .

Every topic, by theme

Linked topics have a full written talk

Falls and access

  • Working at heightLadders, platforms, edges, fragile roofs; the biggest killer on site. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Ladders and stepladdersWhen a ladder is allowed, the checks, the angle, three points of contact.
  • ScaffoldingTags, inspections, never altering it, loading bays and ties.
  • MEWPsCherry pickers and scissor lifts: ground, overhead hazards, harnesses, rescue.
  • ExcavationsCollapse, buried services, edge loading, access and the daily inspection.
  • Confined spacesWhat counts, the permit, gas testing and the rescue plan.
  • Fragile roofs and rooflightsWhy they break under a person and what goes in place first.
  • Harnesses and fall arrestAnchor points, lanyards, suspension and getting someone down.

Health and hazardous substances

  • Manual handlingAvoid the lift, assess what is left, and how to lift when you must. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Dust and silicaWater, extraction, masks and face fit; silica kills more than falls. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • COSHHLabels, data sheets, the assessment, controls, skin and spills. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Asbestos awarenessWhere it is, why disturbing it kills, stop work if you find it. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • NoiseHearing loss is permanent: action values, quieter methods, protection. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Hand arm vibrationTrigger time, tool choice, the symptoms and reporting them early.
  • Skin and dermatitisCement, solvents and wet work; gloves, washing and skin checks.
  • Weil's diseaseRats, standing water and cuts; the symptoms to tell a doctor about.
  • Welding fumeAll welding fume causes cancer: extraction and RPE for every job.
  • LegionellaWater systems, showers and welfare units left standing.
  • Sun and heatSkin cancer, heat exhaustion, water, shade and the hours.
  • Cold and winter workingIce, light, hands, warm-up and when to stop.
  • Drugs and alcoholThe policy, the morning after, medication and telling someone.
  • Health surveillanceWhat the checks are for and why they protect the worker.

Site, fire and housekeeping

  • HousekeepingRoutes, waste, materials, leads and lighting; whose job it is. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Slips, trips and fallsThe most common site accident and what stops it. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Fire safetyFuel and ignition, hot works, escape routes, alarms, what to do. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Fire extinguishersWhich one for which fire, and when not to fight it.
  • Hot worksThe permit, the fire watch, the hour after and the check two hours later.
  • Site securityHoarding, visitors, children, plant keys and what to do at the end of the day.
  • Emergency proceduresAlarms, muster points, first aiders and who calls 999.
  • First aidWho the first aiders are, where the kit is, what to do while you wait.
  • Traffic managementPedestrians and vehicles apart, reversing, banksmen and routes.
  • EnvironmentSpills, dust, noise to neighbours, waste and the watercourse.
  • Spill responseFuel, oil and chemicals: the kit, the drain, who to tell.
  • Working near waterDrowning risk, lifejackets, rescue and tides.
  • Gas cylinders and LPGStorage, transport, leaks, valves and keeping them upright and away from the work.

Plant, tools and electricity

  • Electrical safety110V, leads, damaged kit, buried and overhead cables, never live. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Power toolsGuards, checks, the right tool, kickback and discs.
  • Abrasive wheelsDisc speed and size, mounting, PPE and the training needed.
  • Hand toolsThe right tool in good condition, and the injuries from the wrong one.
  • Lifting operationsThe plan, the appointed person, accessories and exclusion zones.
  • Forklifts and telehandlersTrained operators, daily checks, people on foot, overturning.
  • Plant and excavatorsQuick hitches, exclusion zones, seat belts and visibility.
  • Underground servicesPlans, locators, trial holes and digging by hand.
  • Overhead power linesGoal posts, barriers, flashover, stay in the cab.
  • Safe isolationProve dead, lock off, test again, tag it.
  • Driving for workVehicle checks, hours, phones, loads and the weather.
  • PPEThe last line of defence: what each item is for and how to look after it. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • Eye protectionGrinding, cutting, chasing, chemicals and the eye injuries that end careers.

People and wellbeing

  • Mental healthHigher suicide risk in construction; spotting the signs and talking. Written talk with PDF and Word.
  • StressWorkload, hours, pay certainty and what the site can change.
  • FatigueLong shifts, travel, the drive home and the signs of tiredness.
  • Near miss reportingWhy a near miss reported today stops an injury next month.
  • RIDDORWhat has to be reported, by whom, and why it protects the worker.
  • Lone workingCheck-ins, communication, the plan if nobody answers.
  • Young and new workersFirst days on site, supervision and asking.
  • Respect on siteBanter, bullying, and what happens when someone speaks up.
  • WelfareToilets, washing, drying rooms, water and rest: what the law requires.
  • Behavioural safetyHabits, shortcuts and the moment before the decision.
  • Site inductionWhat a new person on this site is told before they start.
  • Language on siteBriefing a team that does not share a first language.

Topics without a link are being written. The blank toolbox talk template covers any of them in the meantime, and every other free form is on Free downloads.

A programme for the year

A starting point, to move around your own work

HSE sets no interval for toolbox talks. This is one way to spread the core topics across twelve months so each arrives before the season or the work that needs it. Record the plan and what was actually given in the toolbox talk register.

January

Cold and winter working, slips, trips and falls

Why thenIce, short days, wet boots and frozen ground.

February

Mental health, fatigue

Why thenThe long dark stretch after the holidays; Time to Talk Day is in February.

March

Manual handling, hand arm vibration

Why thenThe programme picks up and so do the loads and the tool hours.

April

Working at height, ladders

Why thenRoofs, scaffolds and MEWPs come into use as the weather turns.

May

Dust and silica, noise

Why thenCutting, chasing and breaking in the open; windows open in occupied buildings.

June

Sun and heat, PPE

Why thenSkin, heat exhaustion and the temptation to take the PPE off.

July

Electrical safety, power tools

Why thenMore tools, more leads, more battery packs on site.

August

Housekeeping, fire safety

Why thenDry weather, holiday cover and sites running with fewer people.

September

COSHH, asbestos awareness

Why thenRefurbishment season in schools and offices after the summer.

October

Lifting operations, plant and excavators

Why thenGroundworks and structures before the ground softens.

November

Lighting, site security, drugs and alcohol

Why thenDark mornings, dark evenings and the run-up to the holidays.

December

Near miss reporting, emergency procedures

Why thenA short month to look back at the year and reset.

What topics should a toolbox talk cover?
The hazards of the work the team is about to do, the things that have gone wrong or nearly gone wrong on this site, and the health risks that build up over years: dust, noise, vibration, manual handling and mental health. HSE guidance expects information to be relevant to the risks in the risk assessment, so the risk assessment is the first place to look for topics.
How many toolbox talk topics do we need in a year?
A weekly programme needs around fifty; a fortnightly one about twenty-five. Most sites repeat the core topics (working at height, manual handling, housekeeping, dust, PPE) more than once a year and fit the rest around the work. The list above has sixty, so a year never needs a repeat it does not want.
Which toolbox talk topics are the most important?
The ones that match how people are hurt on site. Falls from height kill the most workers; slips and trips and manual handling injure the most; dust and noise cause the most long-term ill health. Those five, with fire, electricity and asbestos awareness, are the core of most programmes.
Are there toolbox talk topics for winter?
Yes. Cold and winter working, slips on ice, site lighting, driving in bad weather and mental health in the dark months. Give them in November and January, before the cold arrives rather than after the first fall.
Can we use these toolbox talk topics as a programme?
Yes. The month by month list on this page is a starting point. Move topics to match your own work: working at height when the roof starts, dust when the chasing starts, lifting operations before the crane arrives. Record the programme in the toolbox talk register so the planned and the given can be compared.
Where do the written toolbox talks come from?
Each one is written from HSE guidance and the regulations, fetched and cited on the page, then checked by a second reviewer against the same sources. The talk is on the page to read, and the same words are in the PDF and Word sheet with an attendance record.
Are the toolbox talk topics and talks free?
Yes. Every talk can be read on the page, printed, downloaded as a PDF or Word file, edited and given under your own name, including on paid work, with no sign-up and no email address.
Next step

The talk given, understood
and on record.

Unibuild keeps every toolbox talk against the operative who signed it, the site and the date, for seven years, ready for the principal contractor or an auditor.

Book a demo → See toolbox talks on Unibuild