Landscape Gardening & Garden Construction Health and Safety Templates & Guidance

Every landscape gardening and garden construction 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 proactive steps before accidents occur. This applies to all types of landscaping and garden design and build work — from small domestic garden projects and decking installations to large commercial landscaping contracts. Typical hazards include contact with moving machinery, manual handling injuries, dust and fume exposure, slips and trips on uneven ground, working at height during construction, and vehicle or plant movement.

Once hazards are identified, you must put effective control measures in place and review them regularly, particularly when starting new projects, introducing new equipment, or working on unfamiliar sites. Many landscape gardening businesses worry about missing key risks or using an incorrect format. Our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Risk Assessment Template is pre-filled with the most common hazards and controls found in landscaping and garden build work, giving you a professional, editable structure that’s easy to adapt to your specific tasks, team size, and client requirements.

For a complete compliance solution, our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 essential documents — covering risk assessments, health and safety policies, COSHH records, fire safety templates, accident reporting, staff safety guidance, and more — giving you everything needed to keep your business safe, professional, and fully compliant.

Yes — all landscape gardening and garden construction businesses must complete a risk assessment to identify and manage hazards that could affect workers, contractors, clients, visitors, or members of the public.

Every employer or self-employed professional has a legal duty to assess and control the risks associated with their work activities. This applies to all types of landscaping and garden design and build projects — from paving, decking, and fencing to excavating, concreting, planting, and installing garden structures. Whether you’re operating heavy machinery, cutting stone, handling cement, or working at height, completing a written risk assessment is essential to prevent accidents and demonstrate a commitment to health and safety.

Our editable Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Risk Assessment Template makes this process simple and efficient, with pre-filled examples tailored to the real hazards faced by landscapers, garden builders, and outdoor construction professionals. For an all-in-one compliance solution, our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 essential documents — covering risk assessments, health and safety policies, COSHH forms, 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 landscape gardening and construction businesses should complete one as best practice to demonstrate professionalism, reduce liability, and protect both workers and clients. Having documented risk assessments also provides vital evidence in the event of an inspection, investigation, or claim, helping safeguard your business from legal action and reputational damage.

Landscape gardening and garden construction businesses face hazards such as contact with moving machinery, manual handling, working at height, slips and trips, exposure to dust or chemicals, noise and vibration, and vehicle or plant movement.

Each of these hazards can result in serious injuries or long-term health issues if left unmanaged. Machinery like excavators and disc cutters must be maintained and operated only by trained staff, while heavy materials require safe lifting methods and manual handling aids. Regular safety inspections, PPE use, and up-to-date risk assessments are key to prevention.

Our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Risk Assessment Template includes detailed control measures for these core risks, helping you protect your team and ensure every project site meets compliance standards.

Yes — if your business employs five or more people, you must have a written health and safety policy, and even smaller companies are strongly advised to have one.

A Health and Safety Policy defines your company’s approach to safety, outlines roles and responsibilities, and explains how you will manage hazards and training. It serves as essential evidence of compliance and professionalism, particularly when tendering for landscaping contracts or working with commercial clients.

Our Health and Safety Policy Template includes pre-filled examples, is fully editable, and written in plain language, allowing you to tailor it for your landscape gardening, garden construction, or garden design businesses with ease.

All staff and contractors should receive training that matches their role, site environment, and the tasks they carry out.

Health and safety training may include safe machinery operation, manual handling, working at height, COSHH awareness, noise and vibration control, and the correct use of PPE. Supervisors should also provide site inductions and ensure workers understand emergency procedures, signage, and equipment safety. Keeping accurate training records helps prove competence and reduces risk of incidents.

Our Health and Safety Guidance Collection includes clear, topic-specific safety guidance to support toolbox talks, refresher sessions, and practical training for landscaping and construction teams.

Risk assessments must be reviewed regularly and whenever there are changes to work processes, equipment, or site conditions.

In landscape gardening and construction, this might mean after introducing new machinery, materials, or working methods, or following an incident or near-miss. Regular reviews ensure control measures remain effective and legally compliant. Keeping documents current also demonstrates due diligence during client audits or inspections.

Our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Risk Assessment Template makes reviews straightforward, with pre-filled content and editable sections that can be quickly updated as your projects evolve.

Yes — if your business operates from premises such as an office, workshop, storage yard, or unit, a Fire Risk Assessment is required.

This applies wherever these premises are used to store tools, equipment, vehicles, fuel, or chemicals associated with your landscaping or construction work. A Fire Risk Assessment helps identify ignition sources, assesses who may be at risk, and establishes controls such as safe storage, fire extinguishers, and evacuation routes.

Our Fire Risk Assessment Template guides you step-by-step through completing a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for your business. For broader fire safety management, our Essential Fire Safety Template Bundle includes a suite of documents to help ensure full fire safety compliance across your operations.

COSHH stands for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, covering chemicals and materials that could cause harm through inhalation, skin contact, or ingestion.

Landscaping and garden construction businesses frequently use cement, adhesives, sealants, paints, fuels, and fertilisers — all of which may pose health risks. Employers must identify these substances, carry out a COSHH assessment, and control exposure through safe storage, ventilation, PPE, and staff training.

Our COSHH Risk Assessment Templates make compliance simple with pre-filled examples for common hazardous substances. For hazardous substances used by your landscaping business that we have not yet covered we have a Blank COSHH Assessment Template that is designed to be quick and easy to use. All you need to complete the simple form is the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the substance in question.

Outdoor work brings unique challenges such as extreme weather, sun exposure, uneven ground, and environmental hazards.

To protect staff, provide appropriate protective clothing, sunscreen, hydration, and shelter during adverse conditions. Carry out risk assessments for each site, maintain safe working practices for vehicles and machinery, and ensure tools are stored securely. Regular checks of PPE and weather-related controls are essential.

Our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Risk Assessment Template includes detailed guidance for outdoor working conditions, helping you identify and control weather-related risks specific to landscaping and construction environments.

Using pre-filled health and safety templates saves time, reduces paperwork, and ensures your safety documents are accurate, compliant, and professional.

Instead of creating forms from scratch or paying costly consultancy fees, you can rely on editable templates already tailored to the real risks faced in landscaping and garden construction. Each document provides clear guidance to help you identify hazards, record control measures, provide adequate training, and demonstrate compliance with confidence.

Our Landscape Gardening and Garden Construction Health and Safety Template Bundle includes over 60 essential documents — covering risk assessments, health and safety policies, COSHH records, accident reports, fire safety templates, and more — helping you protect your workforce, meet legal duties, and maintain a safe, efficient, and professional business on every project.