What is COSHH training and who needs it?

Key facts

• Legal driver: the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, made under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• Course length: typically a half-day awareness course. Longer COSHH risk assessor courses available where the role requires it.
• Refresher: every 3 years, or sooner if the substances on site change.
• Who needs it: any worker handling, mixing, applying or exposed to hazardous substances. In construction this typically covers cleaners, painters, decorators, road operatives, joiners, bricklayers, demolition crews and groundworkers.
• The employer is legally required to carry out a written COSHH assessment for every hazardous substance used on site, regardless of whether the workforce has been trained.

What does COSHH stand for?

COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. It is both the name of the 2002 Regulations and the shorthand for the assessment and control process those regulations require. Hazardous substances under COSHH include chemicals, biological agents (bacteria, fungi), dusts (silica, wood dust, cement dust), fumes, vapours, mists, gases and asphyxiating gases. Lead, asbestos and radioactive substances are covered by separate regulations. COSHH applies to almost every construction site in the UK because almost every site uses paints, solvents, cleaning agents, cement or generates dust.

What the COSHH Regulations 2002 require of employers

The Regulations set out an 8-step employer duty:

1. Assess the risks from substances used or generated at work.
2. Prevent exposure where possible, or control it where not.
3. Maintain the controls (LEV ducting, PPE, fume cupboards) in working order.
4. Monitor exposure where the control measure could fail.
5. Health surveillance where exposure remains.
6. Plan for emergencies (spills, releases).
7. Inform, instruct and train all workers exposed. This is where COSHH training fits in.
8. Maintain records of assessments, monitoring and health surveillance.

Step 7 is what brings most workforces into the training room. Step 1 (the COSHH assessment) is the legal document that should sit alongside any substance brought on site.

Who in a construction workforce needs COSHH training?

The honest answer is: almost everyone on a typical site, at awareness level. Specific high-exposure roles need more depth.

• General operatives, groundworkers, bricklayers, joiners. Half-day awareness. Cement dust, wood dust, solvent exposure, silica from cutting and breaking.
• Painters, decorators, road operatives, line markers. Half-day awareness with depth on solvent paints, isocyanate-containing two-pack paints, methyl methacrylate (MMA) road marking compounds.
• Demolition crews. Half-day awareness with overlap into asbestos awareness and lead (asbestos awareness is governed by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and is a separate course).
• Site managers, supervisors, foremen. Awareness course plus a deeper COSHH Assessor course where the role includes writing the COSHH risk assessment.
• Cleaners, welfare-unit staff. Awareness on chemical cleaning agents, hypochlorite-based disinfectants.

What the half-day COSHH awareness course covers

A half-day COSHH awareness course is the most common version delivered to general site workforces. The MPTT half-day syllabus covers: what COSHH is and what the Regulations require, recognising hazardous substances on site, understanding Safety Data Sheets and CLP-aligned hazard pictograms, the hierarchy of control (eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE), worker duties under the Regulations, and incident response if exposure occurs. Delivered classroom-based at our centre or on-site for employer groups. Refresher every 3 years recommended.

COSHH risk assessment: a deeper course

Where a role includes writing the COSHH risk assessment, awareness is not enough. A COSHH Assessor course (typically 1 day) covers the structured process for assessing each substance: gathering Safety Data Sheets, identifying exposure routes (inhalation, skin contact, ingestion), assessing the realistic exposure dose, selecting control measures from the hierarchy, recording the assessment and reviewing it on a defined cycle. Site managers, H&S officers and small-business directors typically need this depth.

How COSHH fits next to other awareness courses

COSHH sits alongside several other regulation-driven awareness courses on most construction sites. Manual Handling, HAVS, Noise at Work, Asbestos Awareness (under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012) and Working at Height all map to similarly structured regulations and similarly structured awareness courses. Employers often build a standing programme that puts new starters through all of the relevant awareness courses inside their first month on site, then refreshes on a 3-year rolling cycle.

Related questions

• How long is Manual Handling training valid for?
• What is HAVS training?
• What is Fire Marshal / Fire Warden training?
• IOSH Working Safely vs Managing Safely?
• What’s the difference between IOSH and NEBOSH?

Quick answers to related questions

Is COSHH training legally required?

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require the employer to inform, instruct and train workers exposed to hazardous substances. Formal “COSHH training” is the standard way employers meet that duty.

How often is COSHH refresher training needed?

Every 3 years is the typical refresher cycle. Sooner if new substances come on site, if the COSHH assessment changes, or if an incident exposes a gap in worker knowledge.

Does COSHH apply to dust as well as chemicals?

Yes. Hazardous dusts including silica, cement dust and wood dust are covered by COSHH. Silica in particular is a major construction-sector exposure and is now under specific HSE focus.

Last updated: 2026-05-21. Reviewed by the MPTT health and safety training team, IOSH- and NEBOSH-accredited instructors.