If you are one of the Employers in Painting and Decorating, working at height is part of the job - and so is the legal duty that comes with it. Here is what Employers in Irish Painting and Decorating need to know, and how a Working at Heights Course keeps you covered.
The responsibilities of Employers
You carry the legal duty under the SHWW Act 2005. A Working at Heights Certificate for every worker is your cleanest evidence of compliance. In day-to-day Painting and Decorating work that means you should:
- Supply suitable, inspected access equipment
- Provide information, instruction, training and supervision
- Keep training and inspection records for HSA inspection
- Carry out and record risk assessments
The Painting and Decorating hazards Employers must control
In Painting and Decorating, the falls that Employers most often have to prevent involve ladder overreach on facades, prolonged work at height causing fatigue and work on stairwells and atria. Painting is classic short-duration, high-frequency height work where overreaching from ladders causes most incidents.
The Working at Heights Course makes compliance simple
Here is the good news: getting compliant is fast and inexpensive. Our Working at Heights Course is delivered fully online, takes about 45 minutes, and issues a downloadable certificate the same day. It is CPD certified, RoSPA approved and QQI aligned, and it is written specifically for Employers in Painting and Decorating.
The Working at Heights Training covers the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy, ladder and stepladder safety, MEWPs and scaffolds, harnesses and anchor points, and how to carry out a proper risk assessment. Every learner finishes with a recognised Working at Heights Certificate that stands up to HSA inspection and supports your insurance position.
Training that goes beyond the tick-box
The cheapest control is always to avoid the work at height in the first place. For Employers in Painting and Decorating, that can mean long-handled tools, lowering the task to ground level, or designing the job so no one needs to climb. Where that is impossible, collective protection such as guardrails and platforms beats personal protection every time.
Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of serious and fatal workplace injury in Ireland, year after year. The pattern is depressingly consistent for Employers in Painting and Decorating: a short task, a familiar setting, a ladder or platform that seemed fine, and a single moment of overreach. Proper training breaks that pattern by making the safe choice the automatic one.
Frequently asked questions
Do Employers in Painting and Decorating need their own height training?
Yes. Whatever your role, if you plan, supervise or carry out work at height you need a Working at Heights Certificate.
What course suits Employers best?
The Working at Heights Course covers the duties of Employers and all other roles in one accredited, online programme.
How long does it take?
About 45 minutes online, with a same-day certificate, so Employers in Painting and Decorating stay compliant without losing a work day.
More on staying safe at height
The most expensive mistake employers make with employers in painting and decorating is treating training as a box-ticking exercise. The Health and Safety Authority does not just want a certificate on file; it wants evidence that the worker understood the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy and applied it on the day. A genuine Working at Heights Course builds that understanding, which is exactly why our online programme uses real scenarios rather than slides.
Get certified today
Do not wait for an HSA inspection or a near miss to act. Employers in Painting and Decorating can complete the Working at Heights Course online in 45 minutes and download a certificate the same day. For 10 or more learners, see our team training rates, or contact our team for a tailored quote.
Start the online Working at Heights Training now and put a recognised certificate in every worker's file before the next job at height begins.
