The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996

A safety sign is one which gives a message about health and safety by means of a combination of geometric form, colour and symbol or text or both.

The Regulations implement the EU Directive, which gives minimum requirements for provision of safety signs at work and standardises signs throughout the Member States of the European Union.

They apply to all places of work and activities where people are employed, but do not apply to transport operations or the marking and supply of dangerous goods.

There are 4 kinds of safety sign, which are now in general use, and each is distinguished by colour and shape:

Prohibition -(certain behaviour is prohibited, evacuate, stop)
Warning -(gives warning of a hazard)
Mandatory -(indicates a specific course of action is to be taken)
Safe Condition -(gives information about safe conditions, doors, exits, escape routes)

Safety Colour	Warning Purpose	Example of Use	Contrasting Colour	Symbol Colour	Description of Sign
RED	Stop Prohibition	Stop signs Identification and colour of emergency shut down devices	White	Black	Circular red band and cross bar, Red to be at least 35% of sign area
RED	Firefighting	Showing fire hose, ladder, emergency	White	White	Red rectangle or oblong, Red to be at least 50% of sign area
YELLOW	Caution, risk of danger	Identification of hazards (fire, explosion, chemical, radiation, etc.) Warning Signs Risk of Collision	Black	Black	Triangle with black band, Yellow to be at least 50% of sign area
BLUE	Mandatory action	Obligation to wear PPE Mandatory signs	White	White	Circular blue disc, Blue to be at least 50% of sign area
GREEN	Safe condition	Identification of showers, first aid points, etc.	White	White	Green square or oblong, Green to be atleast 50% of sign area