ISO 45001:2018 certification support, UK wide
ISO 45001 Consultancy
Nobody is certified to ISO 45001 for owning a folder of procedures. Certification is awarded for evidence that a system has been running long enough to be audited. AL23 Safety builds that evidence with you, rehearses the audit before the certification body arrives and stays with you through Stage 1 and Stage 2, for clients UK wide.
What is ISO 45001 consultancy?
Support on the journey to an accredited certificate
ISO 45001:2018 is the international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. Published on 12 March 2018, it sets out what a system must contain across ten clauses, from context of the organisation through to improvement. Certification is the separate moment an independent certification body audits your system against it and decides whether to issue a certificate.
This page is about that journey. It covers the gap analysis, the build, the internal audit and management review the standard demands as proof of a working system, the rehearsal before Stage 1 and the closure of findings after Stage 2. How a system is run day to day is covered on our health and safety management systems page.
One point to be clear about at the outset. AL23 Safety is a consultancy. We are not a certification body and we cannot issue a certificate. Anyone offering to build your system and then certify it is offering something no accredited body may do.
Who needs one
Usually a client asks for it before you want it
- A tender, framework or principal contractor naming ISO 45001 as a condition of bidding
- An organisation holding ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 that wants one integrated system rather than three parallel ones
- Suppliers wanting the certification body route into SSIP recognition instead of an annual scheme assessment
- Multi-site or group businesses needing one framework rather than site-by-site custom and practice
- Businesses that have been through enforcement and must demonstrate systemic control, not a one-off fix
The regulations that apply
Your legal framework, in plain terms
ISO 45001 is a voluntary standard rather than law. A certificate discharges no legal duty. Your duties come from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. They stay with you whether you are certified or not. Certification adds an independent, externally audited answer to a client who asks how you control risk.
UKAS accreditation
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body for the UK, appointed by government. A certificate only counts if issued by a UKAS accredited certification body acting within its accredited scope. Check the schedule of accreditation, not the logo.
The Harmonized Structure
ISO 45001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 share identical clause numbering from 1 to 10 and identical core text. Clause 4 context, 5 leadership, 7 support, 9 performance evaluation and 10 improvement read the same way in each. That is what makes an integrated management system practical.
Clause 5.4 consultation and participation of workers
The requirement with no ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 equivalent. It is the single clause most often failed at Stage 2. Auditors want evidence that non-managerial workers took part in hazard identification, incident investigation and control decisions.
Amendment 1:2024, climate action changes
In force and already audited. Climate change must be considered under clause 4.1 context and clause 4.2 interested party needs. The same amendment applies to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.
The standards are moving and three transitions are stacked
ISO 45001:2018 was confirmed on systematic review in 2024 and now sits at the stage marked "International Standard to be revised". A draft is in development and ISO states the current edition is expected to be replaced within the coming months. Alongside that, ISO 14001:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 with a UKAS transition period ending on 30 April 2029. A sixth edition of ISO 9001 passed its final draft vote on 10 July 2026 and was expected in September 2026. Holders of an integrated certification therefore face three transitions between 2026 and 2029. Sequencing them deliberately costs less than reacting to three certification body letters.
What the service covers
From gap analysis to a closed-out Stage 2
- Clause by clause gap analysis, scored and owned, with a realistic build programme behind it
- Scope definition and the exact certificate wording, covering sites, activities and any justified exclusions
- Context and interested parties register, including the climate change consideration added by Amendment 1:2024
- Clause 5.4 arrangements that produce real evidence through worker representatives and safety committees
- Clause 6.1.2 hazard identification and the clause 6.1.3 legal register, kept current rather than compiled once
- Operational control under clause 8.1.2, contractors and procurement under 8.1.4 and emergency preparedness under 8.2
- The clause 9 internal audit programme, monitoring and measurement plus a compliant management review pack
- Clause 10.2 incident investigation and corrective action, with root cause evidenced rather than asserted
- Certification body selection, comparison of quotations and confirmation of accredited scope
- Stage 1 readiness rehearsal, attendance at Stage 2 and a closure plan for every finding raised
Our process
Build the evidence, then rehearse the audit
- 01
Gap analysis
We audit what you have against all ten clauses and report honestly on the distance to certification. Most organisations sit further ahead than they expect in clause 8 and further behind in clauses 5, 9 and 10.
- 02
Build
We write only what the standard needs and the business will use. Existing risk assessments, method statements and training records become evidence rather than being replaced.
- 03
Run and evidence
The system operates long enough to generate records. At minimum that means one internal audit cycle and one management review. A certification body cannot audit a system with no operating history.
- 04
Stage 1 and Stage 2
Stage 1 is a documentation and readiness review, on site or remote. Stage 2 is the full implementation and effectiveness audit on site, typically four to twelve weeks later to allow gap closure. We attend both.
- 05
Surveillance and recertification
Findings are closed, an independent reviewer at the certification body decides and the certificate is issued. The cycle then runs three years, with annual surveillance audits and recertification in year three. Some bodies work six-monthly.
What you get
The documented proof an auditor will accept
- A clause by clause gap analysis report with a red, amber and green position, an owner and a date for every gap
- A documented information set covering policy, scope, context, interested parties, risk register and objectives
- A legal and other requirements register mapped to your activities rather than a generic list of statutes
- An internal audit programme, completed audit reports and management review minutes satisfying clause 9.3
- A worker participation framework with the records that evidence clause 5.4 in practice
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 attendance, a nonconformity closure plan and the corrective action evidence pack
What we need from you
A sponsor, access and your existing records
- A board level sponsor and a named internal system owner. Certification will not survive being a consultant's project
- Access to workers and worker representatives. Clause 5.4 cannot be delegated to us, since participation by your people is the thing being audited
- Existing risk assessments, incident records, training matrix, contractor arrangements and previous audit reports
- Diary time for the internal audit and the management review, both of which must happen before Stage 2
- Your certification body quotations or a decision to let us shortlist and compare them for you
Why AL23 Safety
Independent of the body that certifies you
Accountable
If you are not ready for Stage 2 we say so and give you the date we think you will be. A failed audit costs more than a delayed one.
Independent of the audit
We do not certify. Nothing we recommend is shaped by protecting a certification decision. That separation works in your favour.
One team, three disciplines
Where you also hold or want quality management and environmental management certification, we build one integrated system on the Harmonized Structure rather than three sets of paperwork.
UK wide
We support ISO 45001 projects for clients across the UK from our Manchester base, on single sites and across multi-site groups.
Talk to us before you book the audit
A straight answer on how far away you actually are
Most enquiries start with a tender deadline and a hope. Tell us what you have in place and what the client is asking for. We will say whether the date is achievable rather than agreeing to it and hoping.
Common questions
Answers, up front
Cannot see your question? Get in touch and we will answer it directly.
Contact usFor a first-time small or medium business, allow three to six months to build the system and run it long enough to produce evidence, then a further six to twelve weeks through Stage 1 and Stage 2. Larger or multi-site organisations are more commonly nine to eighteen months. Those ranges are practitioner norms rather than published standards. Let the gap analysis set your real date.
There are two costs going to two different places. The certification body charges for audit days, set by its accredited scheme against your headcount, sites and risk profile. Our fee covers the gap analysis, the build and the audit support, driven by how much usable material you already have. Our published pay as you go rates are £95 per hour or £695 per day plus VAT. Send us your scope and we will price it rather than guess.
No. We are a consultancy, not a certification body. Certification must come from a body accredited by UKAS within that accredited scope. The same organisation cannot both build your system and certify it. We help you choose the body, challenge the quotation and get through the audit.
Clause 5.4, consultation and participation of workers. Organisations write a policy saying workers are consulted, then cannot produce records showing non-managerial workers actually shaped a risk assessment, an investigation or a control decision. Arrivals from ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 underestimate it, since those standards have no equivalent.
Generally no. Transition periods normally run for around three years after publication. Certifying now to the 2018 edition with Amendment 1:2024 applied leaves you where everyone else will be when the new text lands. Waiting usually just costs you the tender.
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