You must be competent to use a ladder at work. A competent person is someone who has relevant experience, knowledge and training.

A ladder must be inspected by the user before every time it is used.

Formal inspections must also take place. These inspections must be conducted by a competent person in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The frequency of formal inspections depends on the level of risk.

The belt buckle rule is keeping your belt buckle (which contains the tools you need for the job) in a position that means you don’t lean to one side and overbalance the ladder.

The belt buckle should be positioned with the weight on the front of your torso, in between the ladder’s rails.

There is no legal maximum height for a ladder. However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommend that there are landing areas or rest platforms when a ladder is 9 metres or more.

Most accidents on ladders are caused by human error which is why ladder safety training is so important.

You must always ensure you have three points of contact on a ladder. This means having two feet and one hand on the ladder or two hands and one foot.

If you need to use a tool that requires two hands it will usually be assessed as too risky.