The Health and Safety (safety signs and signals) became law within the UK on 1st April 1996.

The regulations implement the European Safety Signs Directive (92/58/EEC) which has been designed to standardizes safety signage across Europe and ensure that with the free movement of labour, there is no risk of safety being misunderstood.

The Legislation:

Requires employees to use a safety sign whenever there is a risk that cannot be controlled by any other means.

Demands that all safety sign boards contain a pictogram as part of their intrinsic design feature.
Increases the number of safety symbols.

Incorporates fire safety signs

Use Health and safety (safety signs and signals) regulation symbols designs when:

You want safety signs to look exactly like the illustration in The Health & Safety (safety signs and signals) Regulations 1996.

You want your safety signs to reflect European designs currently in use