Health and safety online course

Working at height

Working at height training for anyone who goes up a ladder or onto a roof

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.

Each person does the course on their own phone, or any computer, passes a test that is marked automatically, and gets a certificate with a QR code that anyone can scan to check. You see who has passed. The course gives the knowledge. You then watch each person on your own ladders and towers and sign them off on a sheet we give you. £22.50 a place, the whole price.

About 30 minutes on a phone, tablet or computer. Test marked by the system.

What gets asked for. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 say nobody does work at height unless competent, or being trained under someone competent. An inspector, an insurer or a customer's auditor can ask who on the job was trained and when. Each certificate is that record for one person.

Who it is for

  • Fitters, electricians, decorators and maintenance staff who work off ladders and steps
  • Builders and labourers who use scaffolds, towers or work near an open edge
  • Roofers and labourers who work on roofs, near roof edges, roof lights and fragile sheeting
  • Staff who work below people who are up high
What it covers
  • What counts as work at height, and why there is no minimum height
  • Avoid, prevent, minimise: the order the law sets
  • Whether a ladder is the right tool, how to check it and how to set it at the right angle
  • Stepladders: the top three steps, three points of contact and side loading
  • Roofs: fragile surfaces, roof lights, roof edges and sloping roofs
  • Scaffolds and towers: who alters them, inspection every 7 days, moving a tower
  • Guard rail heights, toe boards and keeping people clear of falling objects
  • Weather and when to stop work
  • MEWPs, rescue and reporting defects

How it works

  1. Buy places. Pay by card. Your order page is ready as soon as the payment goes through.
  2. Send the join link to your staff. One link covers everyone. Each person types their name and starts.
  3. They do the lessons on their own phone. It takes about 30 minutes in all, and they can stop and carry on later.
  4. They sit the test. It is marked by the system. Anyone who misses is told which lessons to read again. After a miss there is a wait before the next try, and after six tries in a row the lessons are read again.
  5. A pass gives a certificate. It has a QR code anyone can scan to check it, and your order page links to every one.
  6. You sign off the practical. Each certificate comes with a sign-off sheet. You watch the person do the job on your own equipment, tick each check and sign. The online course teaches the knowledge. You decide who is authorised to do the work.
The law behind it
  • Work at height has to be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out as safely as is reasonably practicable. The planning includes emergencies and rescue, and work goes ahead only when the weather does not put people at risk. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Nobody does work at height, or plans or supervises it, unless competent, or being trained under a competent person. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Employers have to avoid work at height where reasonably practicable, prevent falls where it cannot be avoided, and minimise the distance and consequences of a fall that could still happen. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Nobody goes on, near or works from a fragile surface where the job can reasonably be done without. Where it cannot, platforms or coverings take the weight, and guard rails or similar protection are provided. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • A ladder is used for work at height only where a risk assessment has shown that more suitable equipment is not justified because of the low risk and short duration of use, or existing features on site that cannot be altered. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Employers have to give employees adequate health and safety training, repeated periodically where appropriate. Source: legislation.gov.uk

What you get

  • The online course for each place you buy: ten short lessons and a test
  • A certificate for each person who passes, with a QR code anyone can scan to check it
  • A page for you showing who has taken the course and who has passed
  • A practical sign-off sheet with fourteen checks. You or your supervisor watch each person on your own ladders, towers and equipment, tick the checks, and write down what they are allowed to use.

£22.50 a place is the whole price. It costs the same for one place or fifty.

The lessons

  1. There is no minimum height3 min
  2. Avoid, prevent, minimise3 min
  3. Is a ladder the right tool?3 min
  4. Leaning ladders3 min
  5. Stepladders2 min
  6. Roofs: edges, roof lights and fragile surfaces4 min
  7. Scaffolds and towers4 min
  8. Edges, guard rails and falling objects2 min
  9. Weather and when to stop2 min
  10. MEWPs, rescue and your part4 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

There is no minimum height

What counts as working at height

The law does not give a height. Work at height is any work where you could fall a distance that could hurt you. That includes places at or below ground level, so a hole in the floor counts.

Getting up to the work and back down counts too. A permanent staircase in a building does not. Slipping or tripping on the flat does not, because you have to be able to fall to a lower level.

  • A ladder or stepladder.
  • A roof, a roof light or an open edge.
  • A platform, a tower or a scaffold.
  • Beside an opening or a hole you could drop into.

Why it matters

HSE's provisional figures for 2025/26 show 126 workers killed at work. 31 of them fell from a height, more than any other kind of accident.

HSE says common cases are falls from ladders and falls through fragile surfaces. Those are the jobs this course is about.

Who has duties

The employer has to make sure the job is planned, supervised and done as safely as the job reasonably allows. The plan has to cover emergencies and rescue.

You have duties too. If you work under someone's control, tell them about any job or fault you know is likely to put you or anyone else in danger. And use the equipment you are given the way you were trained.

This course gives you the knowledge. Your employer then watches you on their own ladders, towers and kit and decides what you are authorised to use.

If you could fall far enough to be hurt, the rules apply. They do not wait for a minimum height.
Practice question

A job could drop you from a loading bay edge onto the yard. Is that work at height?

Questions

How long does it take?

Allow about 30 minutes in all: ten short lessons, each with a quick question, then a test of 15 questions.

How do my staff get in?

After you pay you get a link to send to your staff. They put in their name and start on their phone. Your page shows who has started and who has passed.

What is the certificate?

It is headed Working at height: online course certificate. It names the person, gives the date and a certificate number, says they completed the online course and passed the test, lists what the course covered and carries a QR code. It is the training record you hold for that person.

How does the practical part work?

The course gives the knowledge. The practical part is on your own ladders, towers and equipment. You or your supervisor watch the person work, tick off the practical sign-off sheet, and decide in writing what they are authorised to use.

Can staff do it on a phone?

Yes. Each person uses their own phone, or any computer, and the lessons are short.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on it. It opens a live page that confirms the certificate is genuine.

What happens if someone fails?

They are told which lessons to read again, and can retake the test. Each attempt draws 15 questions from a bank of 48. The six that matter most for safety come up every time. The pass mark is 80 percent, which is 12 right out of 15.

Do retakes cost extra?

No. A failed test can be retaken as often as needed, at no extra charge.

What if someone loses their link?

They can ask for it again by email on the "Lost my link" page, as long as they gave an email address when they started.

Ready?

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.