10 Common Workplace Safety Signs & When to Use Them

Walk around almost any workplace and you'll see safety signs.

Some warn about hazards. Others tell people what they must do, identify something they must not do or help them find emergency equipment and escape routes.

But does every UK workplace need the same safety signs?

No.

There isn't a universal list of ten safety signs that every business must display.

The signs appropriate for a workplace depend on its hazards, layout, activities, emergency arrangements and the people who could be affected.

Under the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996, employers must use appropriate safety signs where a significant risk to health and safety remains after other suitable measures have been taken and signage can help communicate that risk.

So rather than buying a standard checklist of signs, businesses should start with their risk assessment and workplace arrangements.

With that in mind, here are 10 common workplace safety signs and situations where you might use them.

1. Warning Signs

Warning signs alert people to hazards or dangers they may encounter.

They're generally recognised by a triangular shape, yellow background, black border and black pictogram.

Examples include:

• Warning – Electricity

• Warning – Forklift Trucks

• Warning – Slippery Surface

• Warning – Overhead Load

• Warning – Fragile Roof

• Warning – Hazardous Substances

When might you need one?

A warning sign may be appropriate where people need to be alerted to a significant residual hazard that cannot adequately be controlled by other measures alone.

For example, a warehouse may use forklift warning signs where people approach an area used by industrial vehicles.

But the sign doesn't control the forklift hazard itself.

Vehicle and pedestrian segregation, suitable routes, speed management, training and other controls may also be necessary.

Remember: a warning sign tells people about a hazard. It doesn't remove it.

2. No Entry Signs

No Entry Signs tell people that they shouldn't enter a particular area, entrance or route.

They can be used in factories, warehouses, construction sites, plant areas and other workplaces where access needs to be restricted.

Related messages include:

• No Entry

• Keep Out

• No Access

• No Unauthorised Access

• Authorised Personnel Only

• No Pedestrians

• No Vehicles

When might you need one?

Use access-restriction signage where people need to understand that they must not enter or proceed into a particular area.

Choose the wording carefully.

If trained employees routinely enter an area, for example, No Unauthorised Access may communicate the restriction more accurately than a blanket No Entry message.

And where unauthorised entry presents a significant risk, don't rely on the sign alone. Appropriate barriers, locked doors, fencing, access-control systems or other measures may also be necessary.

3. PPE Signs

PPE Signs communicate that particular personal protective equipment must be worn.

Common examples include:

• Safety Helmets Must Be Worn

• Eye Protection Must Be Worn

• Hearing Protection Must Be Worn

• Safety Footwear Must Be Worn

• High Visibility Clothing Must Be Worn

• Protective Gloves Must Be Worn

• Respiratory Protection Must Be Worn

Mandatory safety signs are generally recognised by a blue circle containing a white pictogram.

When might you need one?

Where your risk assessment determines that particular PPE is required in an area or for an activity, appropriate signage can help communicate that requirement.

The sign should reflect the PPE that is actually required.

Don't put up a generic collection of PPE signs simply because it's an industrial workplace.

And remember that a sign doesn't replace the employer's responsibilities concerning appropriate PPE selection, provision, use, training and maintenance.

4. Fire Exit Signs

Fire Exit Signs help people identify escape routes and emergency exits.

They're generally green safe-condition signs using recognised graphical symbols and directional information.

Depending on the building layout, signs can indicate:

• Fire Exit

• Emergency Exit

• Direction of travel

• Changes in direction

• Stairways forming part of an escape route

• Final exits

When might you need one?

Where escape routes and exits aren't immediately obvious, appropriate signs can help people identify the route to a place of safety.

Positioning is important.

People should be able to follow the escape route progressively rather than reach a junction and have no indication of which direction to take.

Fire exit signage should form part of the premises' wider fire-safety arrangements and shouldn't be considered a substitute for suitable escape routes, emergency lighting where required, fire-risk assessment or other fire precautions.

5. Fire Door Signs

Fire doors form an important part of many buildings' fire precautions.

Common signs include:

• Fire Door Keep Shut

• Fire Door Keep Locked

• Automatic Fire Door Keep Clear

• Fire Door Keep Clear

When might you need one?

The appropriate sign depends on the type and purpose of the fire door.

For example, self-closing fire doors may need a Fire Door Keep Shut notice, while certain fire-resisting doors to cupboards, stores or service ducts that are routinely kept locked may use Fire Door Keep Locked.

The wording needs to match how the particular door is intended to operate.

A sign doesn't make a door a fire door and doesn't replace correct specification, installation, inspection and maintenance.

6. Fire Extinguisher Signs

Fire Extinguisher Signs can help identify the location and type of firefighting equipment.

Examples can identify:

• Water extinguishers

• CO2 extinguishers

• Foam extinguishers

• Dry powder extinguishers

• Wet chemical extinguishers

Some also provide information about the types of fire for which the extinguisher is intended.

When might you need one?

Where firefighting equipment isn't readily apparent or additional identification is necessary, suitable signage can help people locate it.

That doesn't mean every individual extinguisher in every UK workplace automatically requires a separate identification sign.

Fire extinguisher signage also doesn't replace correct extinguisher selection, positioning, inspection, maintenance or staff information and training.

7. First Aid Signs

First Aid Signs help people find first aid equipment, facilities or assistance.

These are normally green safe-condition signs.

Examples include:

• First Aid

• First Aid Kit

• First Aid Room

• Eye Wash

• Emergency Shower

• Defibrillator / AED

• First Aider information

When might you need one?

First aid signage can be useful where equipment or facilities need to be clearly identified so that people can locate them quickly.

What first aid provision a workplace needs depends on its circumstances and first aid needs assessment.

A small office and a large manufacturing facility aren't necessarily going to require identical arrangements.

The signage should support the first aid provision that is actually in place.

8. No Smoking Signs

No Smoking Signs communicate that smoking is prohibited.

They're commonly displayed in workplaces, commercial premises, entrances and vehicles.

When might you need one?

Smoke-free legislation and signage requirements vary between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so businesses should check the rules applicable to their premises and location.

It's also worth distinguishing smoking from vaping.

Businesses can establish policies restricting vaping and use combined No Smoking & No Vaping signs to communicate those rules, but vaping and smoking aren't automatically treated identically under smoke-free legislation.

Make sure the sign reflects both the applicable legal requirements and your workplace policy.

9. Emergency & Assembly Point Signs

Emergency signage can help people identify designated locations and facilities during an incident.

Examples include:

• Fire Assembly Point

• Emergency Assembly Point

• Emergency Telephone

• Emergency Shower

• Emergency Stop information

When might you need one?

If your emergency arrangements include a designated assembly point, clearly identifying it can help employees and visitors know where to gather after evacuating.

The assembly point itself should be selected as part of the site's emergency planning.

Simply putting an Assembly Point sign somewhere doesn't make it an appropriate evacuation location.

Consider access for emergency services, building hazards, traffic, the number of people evacuating and other site-specific factors.

10. Construction & Site Safety Signs

Construction sites often use several different categories of safety signage because they can contain changing hazards, restricted areas, moving vehicles and mandatory PPE requirements.

Typical examples include:

• Construction Site Keep Out

• Danger – Deep Excavation

• Hard Hats Must Be Worn

• High Visibility Clothing Must Be Worn

• Warning – Site Traffic

• No Unauthorised Access

• Site Speed Limits

• Fire and first aid information

Multi-message Site Safety Boards can also communicate several general requirements at an entrance.

When might you need them?

There isn't one standard pack of signs that automatically covers every UK construction site.

The appropriate signs depend on the project's hazards, layout, access arrangements, traffic management, emergency arrangements and current phase of work.

Construction sites can also change rapidly.

A sign that was appropriate during groundworks may not necessarily be the right sign later in the project.

Review site signage as work progresses.

What Do Safety Sign Colours Mean?

Safety signs use colours and shapes to help people recognise the type of message being communicated.

Here's a useful general guide:

Red – Prohibition & Fire Equipment

Red is used for prohibition signage and in connection with firefighting equipment.

A typical prohibition sign uses a red circular border and diagonal bar.

Yellow – Warning

Yellow triangular signs warn people about hazards.

Examples include electrical hazards, slippery surfaces and moving vehicles.

Blue – Mandatory Action

Blue circular signs tell people about an action that must be taken.

PPE signs are common examples.

Green – Safe Condition

Green signs identify safe conditions and emergency information.

Examples include fire exits and first aid facilities.

The colour is part of the message, so signs shouldn't be redesigned simply to match a company's branding.

What Is BS EN ISO 7010?

BS EN ISO 7010 provides standardised graphical symbols for safety signs.

The aim is to make important safety information easier to recognise consistently, including by people who may not share the same first language.

You'll see these standardised graphical symbols across warning, prohibition, mandatory and safe-condition signage.

However, there's an important distinction:

ISO 7010 is a standard; it isn't UK health and safety legislation itself.

Businesses should determine what safety information needs to be communicated from the risks and applicable requirements, then use appropriate recognised signs and symbols where relevant.

Are These 10 Safety Signs Required by UK Law?

Not automatically.

That's the most important point to take from this guide.

There isn't a rule saying:

Every UK workplace must display these ten signs.

A quiet office, warehouse, farm, construction site and chemical plant have very different hazards.

Consequently, they can need very different signage.

The better question is:

What significant risks and safety information does our workplace need to communicate?

Start with your risk assessment and existing control measures.

Where a significant residual risk remains and a safety sign is appropriate, select a sign that communicates the particular warning, prohibition or instruction clearly.

Safety Signs Don't Replace Safety Measures

A sign should never become a shortcut for controlling the underlying risk.

For example:

Danger – Forklift Trucks doesn't replace separating pedestrians from vehicles where appropriate.

Hard Hats Must Be Worn doesn't replace providing suitable head protection where it's required.

Keep Out doesn't replace secure barriers where unauthorised access presents a serious risk.

Fire Exit doesn't create an adequate escape route.

First Aid doesn't provide adequate first aid arrangements.

Signs work as part of a wider safety system.

Where Should Workplace Safety Signs Be Positioned?

Put the information where people need it.

A sign should generally be visible before someone encounters the hazard or reaches the point where they need to take action.

Consider:

• Direction of approach

• Viewing distance

• Mounting height

• Lighting

• Doors and gates

• Obstructions

• Vehicle movements

• Pedestrian routes

• Whether visitors know the site

• Whether several entrances lead to the same area

Avoid putting up so many signs that important messages become lost in visual clutter.

How Often Should Safety Signs Be Reviewed?

Workplaces change.

New equipment arrives. Production areas move. Construction work progresses. Vehicle routes change. Fire equipment can be relocated. Access restrictions can change.

Review signage as part of those changes.

Check that signs remain:

• Relevant

• Visible

• Legible

• Undamaged

• Securely fixed

• Correctly positioned

Remove signs that no longer apply.

An outdated safety sign can be confusing and can reduce confidence in the safety information that still matters.

Choosing Workplace Safety Signs

Before buying a sign, ask:

1. What hazard, restriction or instruction needs communicating?

2. Who needs to understand it?

3. What controls are already in place?

4. Does a significant residual risk remain?

5. Is a safety sign an appropriate way of communicating it?

6. Which type of sign communicates the message?

7. Is there a recognised graphical symbol?

8. Where will people need to see it?

9. How large does it need to be?

10. What material suits the environment?

This approach is more useful than buying a generic set of signs and trying to find somewhere to display them.

Shop Workplace Safety Signs

The Safety Sheep Store supplies Made in Britain safety signs for workplaces, construction sites, warehouses, factories, offices, schools, farms and commercial premises.

Our range includes:

• Hazard & Warning Signs

• Mandatory Safety Signs

• PPE Signs

• Prohibition Signs

• No Entry Signs

• Fire Safety Signs

• Fire Exit Signs

• Fire Door Signs

• First Aid Signs

• Construction Safety Signs

• CCTV & Security Signs

• No Smoking Signs

Choose signs based on the actual hazards and arrangements at your premises, and use them alongside the other measures needed to manage workplace risks.

Think Safety. Think Sheep.