Have you ever heard anyone who runs a small business complain that they don't have enough to read? No? Well, you won't be surprised to know there is an array of health and safety information aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and there is no doubt that some of it, for example the HSE's web-based information, is very good. But while there is plenty of advice on what SMEs have to do, there is far less on how they should put it into practice, particularly with limited time and resources.

Drawing on experience of managing and advising small businesses, this bi-monthly series aims to show how small businesses can meet the basic legal requirements and overcome some of the main obstacles to managing health and safety effectively. This month, we preview some of the key topics we will be covering in coming months.

Bare essentials

Small businesses and their health and safety responsibilities vary greatly, but there are some basic requirements that apply to all companies, regardless of size. The essentials are, of course, anything required by health and safety law, but in this series we will look into what it takes to shape up to the "bare essentials" - what every SME should be doing.

Probably the two best places to find these essentials are the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. Reviewing these key pieces of legislation provides a checklist of five essential steps for SMEs.

The checklist below covers what every small business has to do, whether they run low or high-risk activities. High-risk work will require extra, and sometimes very specific, health and safety measures.

Two other health and safety "must haves" for SMEs, in common with every other organisation, are to keep their employers' liability insurance up to date and display their insurance certificates; and to provide toilets, washing facilities and drinking water for all employees.

Finally, all new SMEs should register either with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or the local authority - depending on their business (the HSE enforces regulations in manufacturing and construction and local authority environmental health officers look after office-based businesses).

We will refer readers to a range of free and practical health and safety management advice in this series, but two basic sources of advice for the smaller business are:

• An Introduction to Health and Safety: Health and Safety in Small Businesses (INDG 259) (available at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg259.pdf)
• Business Link's health and safety information at www.businesslink.gov.uk

Things to come

So we have set out our stall for the rest of the series. As well as ensuring basic legal compliance, a good grasp of what's essential can help any firm to edge towards best practice, improving performance and productivity along the way.

In future issues, we will look at how SMEs can tackle some of the hot topics, such as occupational road risk and using contractors. We'll also look at what directors in small companies are required to do, and how to do it.

Later on, we will touch on some of the practical ways SMEs can successfully engage with the growing need for environmental management. But that, as they say, is another story.