Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

17.29.4
Information, instruction and training – 
Regulation 5
Every employer shall ensure that:
➤
comprehensible and relevant information on the 
measures to be taken in connection with safety signs 
is provided to each employee
➤
each employee receives suitable and suffi cient 
instruction and training in the meaning of safety signs.
17.29.5
Functions of Colours, Shapes and 
Symbols in Safety Signs
Safety colours
Red
Red is a safety colour and must be used for any:
➤
prohibition sign concerning dangerous behaviour (e.g. 
the safety colour on a ‘No Smoking’ sign). Prohibition 
17.29 
Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996

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Summary of the main legal requirements
385
signs must be round, with a black pictogram on a 
white background with red edging and a red diagonal 
line (top left, bottom right). The red part must take up 
at least 35% of the area of the sign
➤
danger alarm concerning stop, shutdown, emer-
gency cut out devices, evacuate (e.g. the safety col-
our of an emergency stop button on equipment)
➤
fi re-fi ghting equipment.
safety colour on a ‘Safety Helmet Must Be Worn’ sign 
or a ‘Pedestrians Must Use This Route’ sign). Mandatory 
signs must be round, with a white pictogram on a blue 
background. The blue part must take up at least 50% of 
the area of the sign.
No forklift trucks
No smoking
Red and white alternating stripes may be used for 
marking surface areas to show obstacles or dangerous 
locations.
Yellow
Yellow (or amber) is a safety colour and must be used for 
any warning sign concerning the need to be careful, take 
precautions, examine or the like (e.g. the safety colour 
on hazard signs, such as for fl ammable material, elec-
trical danger, etc). Warning signs must be triangular, with 
a black pictogram on a yellow (or amber) background 
with black edging. The yellow (or amber) part must take 
up at least 50% of the area of the sign.
General danger
Explosive
Yellow and black alternating stripes may be used for 
marking surface areas to show obstacles or dangerous 
locations.
Yellow may be used in continuous lines showing 
traffi c routes.
Blue
Blue is a safety colour and must be used for any manda-
tory sign requiring specifi c behaviour or action (e.g. the 
Ear protection
must be worn
Eye protection
must be worn
Green
Green is a safety colour and must be used for emer-
gency escape signs (e.g. showing emergency doors, 
exits and routes) and fi rst aid signs (e.g. showing loca-
tion of fi rst aid equipment and facilities). Escape and 
fi rst aid signs must be rectangular or square, with a 
white pictogram on a green background. The green part 
must take up at least 50% of the area of the sign. So 
long as the green takes up at least 50% of the area, it 
is sometimes permitted to use a green pictogram on a 
white background, for example where there is a green 
wall and the reversal provides a more effective sign than 
one with a green background and white border; no dan-
ger (e.g. for ‘return to normal’).
Means of Escape
First Aid