Working at Height eLearning
Online working at height training that starts where the Regulations start: avoid the work if you can. It covers ladders, towers, edge protection and the rescue plan people forget.
Who it is for
Who this working at height course is for
Falls from height remain one of the biggest causes of workplace death in Britain, and most of them are not from great heights. Working at height means any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury, including below ground level.
- Construction, roofing and civils operatives
- Maintenance, facilities and cleaning staff
- Warehouse and stores staff using ladders and steps
- Telecoms, signage and installation workers
- Supervisors planning work at height
- Anyone who uses a stepladder as part of their job
Course content
What the working at height course covers
Six short modules that follow the order the Regulations set: avoid, prevent, minimise. They include the practical detail on the equipment people actually use.
What counts as working at height
The definition, including below ground level, and why low falls still kill.
Avoid, prevent, minimise
The hierarchy the Regulations require, and why it is a sequence rather than a menu.
Planning and competence
Planning the work, checking weather and ground conditions, and who is competent to do what.
Ladders and stepladders
When a ladder is the right choice, and the pre-use checks and technique that make it safe.
Towers, platforms and scaffolds
Collective protection, guard rails and edge protection, and inspecting equipment before use.
Fall protection and rescue
Fall arrest versus fall restraint, and why a rescue plan has to exist before the work starts.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Recognise when work counts as working at height
- Apply the avoid, prevent, minimise hierarchy to a task
- Judge whether a ladder is the right piece of equipment
- Carry out pre-use checks on access equipment
- Explain the difference between fall restraint and fall arrest
- Say why a rescue plan is needed before anyone leaves the ground
Your legal duty
The law behind working at height training
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require employers to avoid work at height where reasonably practicable, to use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where it cannot be avoided, and to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall where the risk remains. The work must be properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people.
The Regulations do not set a minimum height. Any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury is covered. That is why so many prosecutions involve falls of under two metres.
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 - sections 2 and 7
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 - risk assessment
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 - access equipment
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 - where lifting equipment is used
Practicalities
How the course works
For employers
Working at height training for a site team
Awareness is the baseline everybody on site should hold. Equipment-specific and practical training sits on top of it for the people who actually go up.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your health and safety file
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around the access equipment you use
Harness use, tower assembly and rescue are practical skills that have to be taught and assessed in person. See tutor-led and practical courses →
Working at Height eLearning: common questions
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require work at height to be carried out by competent people and properly planned and supervised. Training is how competence is built and evidenced, so in practice yes, wherever people work at height.
No. There is no minimum. Any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury is working at height, including below ground level.
No, and the course is clear about this. Ladders are legitimate for short-duration, low-risk work. The Regulations require you to justify the choice, not to avoid them entirely.
No. Harness use, tower assembly and rescue are practical skills requiring hands-on training and assessment. This course is awareness level.
Because arresting a fall is only half the job. Suspension in a harness is dangerous within minutes. The plan for getting someone down has to exist before the work starts.
About 30 minutes, with no time limit. The certificate is issued the moment you finish.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people join. Completion reporting is included.
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