Your 2026 H&S Compliance Calendar: Key Dates Every Safety Manager Needs to Know

The start of a new year is the ideal time to get your compliance house in order. This calendar consolidates the key dates, awareness weeks, regulatory deadlines, and legislative changes that UK health and safety professionals must have on their radar for 2026.

Bookmark this page, add these dates to your Outlook, and use them to build your 2026 H&S strategy.

Q1: Strategy & Wellbeing

Focus: Setting the tone for the year and prioritizing psychological safety.

January 2026

• Monday 19 January – Brew Monday: While "Blue Monday" was once the trend, the Samaritans’ Brew Monday is a more proactive prompt to check in with your team over a coffee. Use this as a hook to remind staff of your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and internal mental health support.

March 2026

• 16–22 March – Neurodiversity Celebration Week: Workplace inclusivity is now a key part of H&S. Take this week to review your workplace adjustments and ensure your risk assessments account for neurodiverse employees (e.g., sensory needs or specific communication requirements).

Q2: Resilience & Global Standards

Focus: Stress management and international safety benchmarks.

April 2026

• 1–30 April – Stress Awareness Month: A month-long campaign to tackle the UK's leading cause of lost working days.
  • Pro Tip: This is a great time to review your stress risk assessments against the HSE Management Standards.
• Tuesday 28 April – World Day for Safety and Health at Work: The ILO's annual campaign. Schedule a safety "stand-down" or an all-hands briefing to celebrate your safety culture and reset priorities for the year.

May 2026

• 11–17 May – Mental Health Awareness Week: The UK’s biggest annual focus on mental health. Check the Mental Health Foundation’s website early in the year for the 2026 theme to help tailor your internal workshops.

Q3: High-Risk Compliance & Audits

Focus: Preparing for registration deadlines and autumn audits.

July 2026

• Awaab’s Law Progress Check: By mid-2026, the expanded requirements of Awaab’s Law will be firmly in place. If you manage facilities or social housing, ensure your hazard investigation timelines (for damp, mould, and structural issues) are meeting the new legally enforceable limits.

Q4: The "Big Deadlines"

Focus: Regulatory submissions and annual benchmarking.

October 2026

• 19–23 October – European Week for Safety and Health at Work: Organised by EU-OSHA, this remains the gold standard for safety campaigns. Use this week for internal recognition awards or specialized training.
• Tuesday 27 October – UK REACH First Registration Deadline: CRITICAL DEADLINE. This is the legal cutoff for submitting registration information to the HSE for:
  • Substances on the EU REACH candidate list (pre-Dec 2020).
  • CMR substances (1+ tonne/year).
  • Substances very toxic to aquatic life (100+ tonnes/year).
  • All substances at 1,000+ tonnes/year.
• Annual Audit: Sexual Harassment Preventative Duty: It has been over a year since the Worker Protection Act made it a legal requirement to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent harassment. Use October to audit your training records and reporting mechanisms.

November 2026

• ~20 November – HSE Annual Statistics Release: Use the 2025/26 workplace health and safety stats to benchmark your company’s performance and identify emerging sector trends for your 2027 planning.

Ongoing Compliance Review Cycles

Not every deadline falls on a specific calendar date. Use this checklist to ensure your recurring obligations are up to date:

• Fire Risk Assessments: Review annually, or immediately after any "significant change" to the building or its use (as per the Fire Safety Act).
• First Aid Certification: Valid for 3 years, but the HSE strongly recommends an annual half-day refresher to keep skills sharp.
• ISO 45001 Surveillance: If certified, ensure your annual surveillance audit is booked. Every third year is a full recertification.
• Fire Drills & Training: Conduct fire drills at least annually (twice a year is best practice for high-occupancy sites). Refresher training should also occur at least once a year.
• DSE Assessments: Ensure these are triggered whenever a workstation changes, a new employee starts, or a staff member moves to a permanent hybrid-working model.

RIDDOR Reporting Reminder

While not calendar-dependent, remember these legal reporting windows for your internal incident logs:

• Fatalities and Specified Injuries: Report without delay (online or via phone); full written report within 10 days.
• Over-7-Day Injuries: Must be reported within 15 days of the incident.
• Occupational Diseases: Report without delay once a doctor provides a written diagnosis.

Staying on Top of It All

Managing a 2026 H&S calendar using manual spreadsheets is a high-risk strategy. It leaves the door open for missed renewals and registration gaps.

If you find that compliance admin is eating into the time you should spend on the shop floor, it may be time to move to a digital compliance platform. Automated reminders for UK REACH or First Aid expiries ensure you are always audit-ready.

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