Document review
A full review of your safety statement, risk assessments, training records and incident logs against current Irish law.
An honest look under the bonnet
An independent health & safety audit you can act on
Know where you stand, before a regulator tells you. Staying on top of health and safety compliance is a legal obligation, and it is how you protect your people, your business, and your reputation. A PurpleTree safety audit gives you a clear, honest picture of where your organisation stands, identifying gaps before they become incidents, fines, or worse.
We look at the paperwork and the practice.
What Our Safety Audit Covers
A PurpleTree safety audit is an independent review of how your business actually manages health and safety, measured against the duties the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 places on every Irish employer. We examine your safety statement, your risk assessments, your training and maintenance records, your incident logs and any previous inspection reports, then follow this with a thorough site walkthrough and direct consultation with your employees to get a real feel for the health and safety culture on the ground.
Site walkthrough
On-the-ground inspection and employee consultation, so the audit reflects what actually happens, not just what is written down.
Prioritised action plan
A clear report setting out findings, corrective actions and any immediate concerns, ranked so you know what to tackle first.
Know exactly what to fix first.
A Clear Roadmap to Compliance
You receive a plain-English report outlining our findings, the recommended corrective actions, and any areas of immediate concern, giving you a clear roadmap to full compliance and a safer workplace. The report does not stop at a list of problems.
Every item is prioritised by risk, so you spend your time and budget on what matters most first, and we stay available to help you put the corrective actions in place. Where the audit shows your risk assessments and documentation are out of date, or that training has lapsed, we tell you plainly and point to the fix.
- Identify compliance gaps before they result in incidents, penalties, or regulatory intervention
- Build a stronger health and safety culture that protects your people and your business
- Prioritised recommendations so you know what to tackle first
- Ongoing support implementing the corrective actions, not just a report handed over
What the law asks of you from day one.
The Duties Every Irish Employer Carries
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 sets a baseline that applies from the first employee, not the fiftieth, and these are the duties an HSA inspector measures you against. A safety audit checks each one is genuinely met, current, and evidenced rather than assumed. Read our overview of what Irish employers owe on safety, or see the full health and safety scope we cover.
A written safety statement
Section 20 requires a current, site-specific safety statement, based on your risk assessment and signed off by senior management.
Risk assessments that fit the work
Hazards identified and controlled under Section 19, with assessments that match the activities actually being carried out.
Employee consultation
Staff consulted on safety matters and able to raise concerns, including through a safety representative where one is appointed.
Training and competence
The instruction, training and supervision each role calls for, from manual handling to first aid, kept current and recorded.
Be ready before anyone knocks on the door.
What HSA Inspectors Look For
Health and Safety Authority inspectors can arrive unannounced, examine your records, interview staff, and issue Improvement or Prohibition Notices on the spot. An Improvement Notice requires you to put something right by a set date. A Prohibition Notice stops a dangerous activity immediately. Our audit checks your business against the areas they scrutinise most, so nothing is left to chance and an unannounced visit holds no surprises.
- A current, site-specific safety statement signed by senior management
- Risk assessments that match the actual work being carried out
- Up-to-date training records, including manual handling and first aid
- Accident and near-miss reporting that meets statutory requirements
- Evidence of genuine employee consultation on health and safety matters
A yearly check keeps you on solid ground.
Is Your Business Due an Audit?
Whether you are a construction firm managing multiple sites, a healthcare provider preparing for a HIQA inspection, or any business that wants to stay on the right side of HSA enforcement, a PurpleTree safety audit gives you confidence that your workplace is safe, compliant, and well managed. If it has been more than twelve months since anyone looked properly at your safety statement, or your work has changed since it was written, you are due a review. Where the audit flags gaps in your team's competence, our health and safety training closes them.
- Construction and manufacturing businesses with high-risk environments
- Healthcare and care providers subject to regulatory inspections
- Any Irish employer preparing for an HSA or HIQA audit
- Businesses that have not reviewed their safety statement in the past twelve months
Real scrutiny, not a tick-box exercise.
Expert, Independent Assessment, Based in Longford
Our health and safety consultants bring deep practical experience across Irish industries, and the assessment is independent rather than a box-ticking exercise. We walk your site, talk to your people, and give you an honest, expert view of where you stand.
Every recommendation is practical, prioritised, and written so you can act on it straight away. We scope each audit to your business and agree the fee in writing before we start, so the cost is clear in advance rather than billed open-ended after the fact.
For employers who want safety handled alongside the rest of their people obligations, an outsourced HR retainer folds health and safety into a single monthly relationship. See how we price HR support before you book.
- Experienced health and safety professionals with real industry knowledge
- Independent, honest assessment measured against the 2005 Act
- Ongoing support to implement the corrective actions we identify
Know where you stand
Book an independent safety audit and get a clear, prioritised path to compliance before a regulator sets the agenda for you. See our health and safety pricing, then talk it through with our team. For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, health and safety support is already covered within your monthly cover.
Free 5-minute HR Health Check
See where your business stands before the WRC does
Answer 40 straightforward questions on contracts, working time, pay, leave and policies, and get a clear read on where your compliance gaps sit and what to fix first.
Common questions from employers
A health and safety audit is an independent, structured review of how your business actually manages safety, measured against the duties the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 places on every employer. It is more than a quick walk around. We examine your safety statement, your risk assessments, your training and maintenance records, your incident logs and any previous inspection reports, then walk the site and talk to your employees to see whether what is written down matches what happens on the ground. You receive a plain-English report that sets out the findings, the corrective actions, and the order in which to tackle them.
The audit itself is not named in the legislation, but the obligations it checks are. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 every employer must carry out a risk assessment, keep a current written safety statement, consult employees on safety, and provide the training and controls those risks call for. An audit is simply how you verify, before the Health and Safety Authority does, that you genuinely meet those duties rather than assuming you do. For most businesses it is the difference between finding a gap on paper and finding it after an incident.
There is no fixed statutory interval, but the safety statement must be reviewed whenever circumstances change, so good practice is at least once a year, and sooner if anything material shifts. A new premises, a change in the work being carried out, new plant or machinery, a significant rise in headcount, or any accident or near-miss are all triggers to review. If it has been more than twelve months since your safety statement and risk assessments were last looked at properly, you are overdue.
The safety statement is the document the law requires you to hold under Section 20 of the 2005 Act, setting out how you manage the hazards in your workplace. The audit is the independent check that the statement is current and accurate, that the risk assessments behind it reflect the real work, and that the controls it describes are actually in place and being followed. One is the plan, the other confirms the plan is real. PurpleTree both prepares safety statements and audits existing ones; see our safety statement service for the document side.
Yes. Health and Safety Authority inspectors have statutory powers to enter a workplace without prior notice, examine records, take measurements and samples, and interview staff. If they find a problem they can issue an Improvement Notice requiring you to put something right by a set date, or a Prohibition Notice that stops a dangerous activity immediately. Failure to comply can lead to prosecution. An audit checks your business against the areas inspectors scrutinise most, so an unannounced visit holds no surprises.
Yes. You must report an accident to the Health and Safety Authority where a person is unable to carry out their normal work for more than three consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident itself. Fatalities and certain dangerous occurrences are reportable immediately. Reports are made through the HSA's online system. Our audit reviews your accident and near-miss reporting to confirm it meets the statutory requirement, because thin or missing records are one of the first things an inspector asks for.
If we identify an immediate danger to people, we tell you straight away rather than waiting for the written report, and we advise on interim controls so the risk is managed while a permanent fix is put in place. Everything else is captured in the report and prioritised, so you address the highest-risk items first and work down a clear list. We do not hand you a problem and walk away. We stay available to help you implement the corrective actions and close the gaps.
We scope each audit to the size of your business, your sector, and the number of sites involved, then agree the fee with you in writing before we start, so the cost is clear in advance. A single-site office is a different exercise to a construction firm running several active sites, and the quote reflects that. For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, health and safety support is built into your monthly cover. See how we price HR support, then talk to us about your business specifically.