Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Templates Documents and Guidance.

Take control of health and safety across your gardening & grounds maintenance business with our easy-to-use templates.

Simplify health and safety management in your gardening or grounds maintenance business, whether you’re maintaining private gardens, managing estate grounds, providing commercial landscaping services, or delivering outdoor maintenance contracts. Our editable templates are created specifically for gardeners and outdoor maintenance professionals, helping you stay compliant with health and safety regulations while protecting staff, clients, and contractors from everyday hazards such as manual handling, tool use, slips and trips, and exposure to chemicals or machinery.

Many templates come pre-filled with detailed, trade-specific content — from gardening and grounds maintenance risk assessments and health and safety policies to COSHH documents, accident report forms, and staff safety guidance. Completing and adapting them for your business is quick, easy, and stress-free. With our ready-to-use compliance tools, you can focus on delivering professional grounds care, garden upkeep, and estate maintenance services — while maintaining the highest standards of safety and compliance.

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A professional gardener digging the soil with a spade.

Why Health and Safety Matters in Gardening and Grounds Maintenance

The appeal of running a gardening or grounds maintenance business lies in creating and caring for beautiful outdoor spaces — from private gardens and landscaped estates to parks, schools, and commercial grounds. But behind the lawns, hedges, and planting sits something equally vital: a strong, consistent approach to health and safety. Whether you work alone or manage a team, your commitment to safety protects people, property, and your reputation.

Protecting Your Team and Clients

Everyday gardening and grounds maintenance work involves potential hazards — from operating mowers, strimmers, and hedge trimmers to lifting heavy materials, handling fuel, and working in all weather conditions. A clear approach to health and safety helps reduce accidents and injuries, protecting both staff and clients. Simple, well-documented procedures ensure everyone knows how to carry out tasks safely, whether it’s using machinery, working at height, or managing exposure to noise, vibration, and hazardous substances.

Meeting Legal Duties with Confidence

Health and safety compliance isn’t just good practice — it’s a legal responsibility. Gardeners, grounds maintenance contractors, and estate teams must assess risks, maintain equipment safely, and ensure staff have the right training and protective gear. Using tools such as risk assessments, health and safety policies, and COSHH documentation helps you identify hazards, record controls, and demonstrate compliance to clients or inspectors with confidence.

Protecting Your Reputation

In a trade built on trust and professionalism, reputation is everything. Accidents, injuries, or unsafe practices can quickly damage a business’s credibility — especially in today’s digital world where reviews and social media shape client decisions. A visible commitment to health and safety not only protects your business but also builds confidence with clients, and the public. It shows you take pride in delivering reliable, responsible, and high-quality services.

Proactive Safety Tools

Effective safety management isn’t just about reacting to incidents — it’s about preventing them. Regular staff training, equipment checks, risk assessments, and clear safety signage form the backbone of safe and professional operations. Our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Templates are designed to make this process simple and efficient, helping you stay compliant, protect your team, and focus on what you do best — keeping outdoor spaces safe, functional, and beautiful all year round.

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Top 3 Health and Safety Hazards in Gardening & Grounds Maintenance:

  • Professional gardener using a lawn mower to cut the grass on a large lawn.

    1. Contact with Machinery & Cutting Equipment

    The use of mowers, hedge trimmers, strimmers, and other machinery poses the highest risks in gardening and grounds maintenance. Accidents can occur through contact with moving blades, flying debris, or mechanical faults. To reduce risk, ensure all equipment is well-maintained, used only by trained personnel, and fitted with appropriate guards. Wearing the correct PPE — such as gloves, eye protection, and sturdy footwear — is essential. Conducting a risk assessment can help identify specific hazards and implement effective control measures.

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  • Heavy looking wheelbarrow filled with plants and soil.

    2. Manual Handling & Musculoskeletal Injuries

    Lifting, carrying, and moving soil, compost, garden waste, tools, and equipment can cause strains, sprains, and long-term back or shoulder injuries. Poor posture and repetitive movement often make these injuries worse. To prevent harm, encourage proper lifting techniques, use mechanical aids or wheelbarrows where possible, and plan work to reduce unnecessary handling. Evaluating your manual handling procedures within your risk assessment, and implementing controls, will demonstrate a proactive approach to worker safety.

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  • Gardeners working at height using a ladder to cut a tall hedge.

    3. Risks of Working at Height for Gardeners

    Tree pruning, hedge cutting, and maintenance tasks performed from ladders or mobile platforms can result in serious injuries from falls. Before starting work, check that equipment is stable, ground conditions are firm, and weather conditions are safe. Staff should be trained in ladder safety and working at height procedures, and never overreach or work alone. Conducting a specific working at height risk assessment and including it within your health and safety documentation helps ensure these risks are properly managed.

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Benefits of managing health and safety yourself...

  • Health and safety protection for businesses

    Improve safety

    Health and safety at work is about preventing accidents, incidents and ill-health by assessing the work environment, the activities within it, and taking appropriate action.

  • Health and safety protection for businesses

    Ensure compliance

    Our ready to use templates, many of which are pre-filled, will enable you to quickly increase your compliance to health and safety laws and regulations.

  • Health and safety protection for businesses

    Save money

    With health and safety consultants often charging upwards of £400 per day, there is a better way. Take control and save yourself time and money.
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A groundskeeper operating heavy duty leaf blower.

Tackling Health and Safety Compliance Challenges in your Gardening Business

Running a gardening or grounds maintenance business means juggling countless responsibilities — from maintaining client gardens and managing staff to handling tools, machinery, and outdoor hazards. With so many day-to-day pressures, it’s easy for health and safety compliance to fall further down the list than it should. But neglecting it can lead to accidents, enforcement action, or reputational damage that costs far more than the effort needed to stay compliant.

For many gardening businesses, finding the time and resources to put robust safety measures in place can feel overwhelming. The need to meet client deadlines, manage unpredictable weather, and complete demanding physical work often takes priority over paperwork. Yet maintaining up-to-date risk assessments, COSHH records, and safe working procedures is vital for protecting your team, clients, and business reputation.

At easyhealthandsafety, we make compliance simple for gardeners, groundskeepers, and maintenance professionals. Our ready-to-use, editable templates are practical, affordable, and designed specifically for the industry. Many documents — from Risk Assessments to Health and Safety Policies — are pre-filled with trade-relevant content, helping you manage risk, meet legal requirements, and grow your business safely and confidently.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Gardening & Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety FAQs

How can I create a risk assessment for my Gardening and Grounds Maintenance business?

Every gardening and grounds maintenance business must carry out a risk assessment to identify hazards, who might be harmed, and how risks can be controlled.

A risk assessment helps you identify potential dangers and take action before accidents occur. This applies to all types of gardening and grounds maintenance work — from individual gardeners and groundskeepers to estate maintenance teams and commercial contractors. Typical hazards include contact with moving machinery, slips and trips on uneven ground, manual handling injuries, exposure to chemicals or fuels, noise and vibration from power tools, and working at height during pruning or hedge cutting.

Once hazards are identified, you must put realistic control measures in place and review them regularly, especially when working on new sites or using new equipment. Many gardening businesses worry about missing key hazards or using the wrong format. Our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Risk Assessment Template is pre-filled with the most common industry risks and provides a professional, editable structure that can be quickly adapted to your specific work, team size, or client sites.

For a complete compliance solution, our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 essential documents — covering risk assessments, health and safety policies, COSHH forms, fire safety templates, accident reporting, and staff safety guidance — giving you confidence that your business is safe, professional, and fully compliant.

Do Gardening and Grounds Maintenance businesses need to complete a risk assessment?

Yes — all gardening and grounds maintenance businesses must complete a risk assessment to identify and manage potential hazards that could affect staff, clients, and contractors.

Every employer or self-employed professional has a duty to assess the risks associated with their work activities. This applies to all types of gardening and grounds maintenance operations — from domestic gardening services and estate grounds management to commercial landscaping and outdoor maintenance contracts. Whether you’re mowing lawns, operating powered equipment, trimming hedges, or handling chemicals, completing a gardening risk assessment is essential for preventing accidents and demonstrating a commitment to safety.

Our editable Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Risk Assessment Template makes this process simple and efficient, with pre-filled content tailored to the real hazards faced by gardeners, groundskeepers, and maintenance teams. For an all-in-one compliance solution, our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 editable documents — covering risk assessments, health and safety policies, COSHH records, fire safety templates, staff safety guidance, and more — ensuring your business remains safe, professional, and fully compliant.

If your business employs five or more people, you must record your risk assessment in writing. However, even smaller gardening and maintenance businesses should complete one as best practice to demonstrate professionalism, manage liability, and protect both staff and clients. Having documented risk assessments in place can also provide crucial evidence in the event of an investigation or claim, helping safeguard your business against legal action and reputational damage.

What health and safety documents do Gardening and Grounds Maintenance businesses need?

Every gardening business should have a set of core documents — including a Health and Safety Policy, Risk Assessments, COSHH Assessments, and an Accident Report Form.

To manage safety effectively, your business should keep key records covering all operational risks. These include a Health and Safety Policy, Risk Assessments covering all major hazards, COSHH Assessments for chemicals and fuels, and an Accident Report Form to record incidents and near misses. Businesses with premises should also complete a Fire Risk Assessment and maintain relevant safety signage.

Our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 editable documents covering all of these essential requirements in one easy-to-use package.

What are the main health and safety risks for Gardeners and Groundskeepers?

The most common risks include contact with machinery, manual handling, slips and trips, chemical exposure, noise and vibration, and working at height.

Gardeners and grounds maintenance professionals often face multiple hazards each day. Using power tools, lifting heavy materials, working in all weather conditions, and handling fuels or pesticides all present risks. Effective controls include regular equipment maintenance, suitable PPE, correct manual handling techniques, and keeping work areas tidy. Our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Risk Assessment Template covers each of these hazards in detail, helping you control risks and protect your team.

Do I need a written Health and Safety Policy for my Gardening business?

Yes, if you employ five or more people, you must have a written Health and Safety Policy — but it’s good practice for all businesses to have one.

A clear Health and Safety Policy sets out your company’s commitment to safety and explains how risks will be managed. Even if your business is small, having a written policy helps show professionalism and can be vital when tendering for contracts. Our editable Health and Safety Policy Template, included in the Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle, makes it quick and easy to create a professional document that reflects your operations.

What is COSHH and how does it apply to Gardeners?

COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health and applies to gardeners who use chemicals such as fuels, fertilisers, or pesticides.

Gardeners and grounds maintenance staff must identify hazardous substances used in their work and assess how to use, store, and dispose of them safely. This includes products like weedkillers, oils, paints, and cleaning agents. A COSHH Risk Assessment helps you record potential exposure routes and necessary control measures such as PPE, ventilation, and safe storage.

Our COSHH Risk Assessment Templates — available pre-filled for a range of hazardous substances — make compliance simple and ensure your team understands how to handle hazardous substances safely. For hazardous substances we have not yet covered we have a Blank COSHH Assessment Template that is designed to be quick and easy to use.

Do Gardeners need a Fire Risk Assessment?

Yes, if your gardening or grounds maintenance business operates from a workshop, storage unit, office, or any other type of premises, a Fire Risk Assessment is required.

Even small premises used for storing fuel, tools, machinery, or running administrative tasks present potential fire hazards. A Fire Risk Assessment helps you identify ignition sources, assess who may be at risk, and plan measures such as safe fuel storage, fire extinguishers, electrical safety checks, and emergency evacuation procedures.

Our Fire Risk Assessment Template guides you step-by-step through completing a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment tailored to your business, helping you stay compliant and protect your people, property, and assets. Our Essential Fire Safety Template Bundle includes a suite of fire safety templates and documents to help you ensure fire safety compliance across your gardening or grounds maintenance business.

What should I do if an accident happens during gardening or maintenance work?

All accidents, incidents, and near misses should be recorded promptly using an Accident Report Form.

Accident reporting helps identify the causes of incidents, prevent recurrence, and provide evidence if a claim arises. Details such as who was injured, how it happened, and what actions were taken must be recorded accurately. Having an Accident Report Form available at all times ensures compliance and supports your safety management system. Our Accident Report Form Template is included in the Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle, making it easy to capture and store accurate records.

What health and safety training should staff in Gardening and Grounds Maintenance receive?

Staff should receive training relevant to their role, equipment use, and specific hazards they may encounter.

Health and safety training should include the safe use of machinery, manual handling, COSHH awareness, PPE use, first aid, and working at height. Regular refresher training helps ensure competence and reduces accidents. Our Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Health and Safety Template Bundle includes a range of staff safety guidance documents covering key topics such as manual handling, equipment safety, chemical control, fire safety, and lone working. These resources help you deliver effective in-house training, raise awareness of common risks, and ensure your team works safely and confidently across all tasks.

How often should Gardening and Groundskeeping risk assessments be reviewed?

Risk assessments should be reviewed at least annually, or sooner if significant changes occur to your work, equipment, or staff.

Regularly reviewing your risk assessments ensures they stay accurate and relevant. Updates are needed whenever new equipment is introduced, new staff join, or your work activities change — such as taking on larger contracts or new types of outdoor maintenance. Using our editable Gardening and Grounds Maintenance Risk Assessment Template makes updates quick and easy, helping you maintain compliance without starting from scratch.