Five Star Occupational Health and Safety Audit

About the Rugby Football Union (RFU)

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby in England. Based at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, the organisation employs over 500 staff and places the safety and welfare of its people at the heart of its operations. 

RFU has undertaken multiple British Safety Council audits, including several Five Star Audits, and has earned XX Swords of Honour — recognition reserved for organisations that reach the highest level of health and safety excellence.

A Strong, Embedded Safety Culture

By the time Macauley Quinn joined RFU in 2023, the organisation had already achieved significant recognition. His focus became maintaining this momentum through continual improvement — a fundamental principle of British Safety Council Five Star Audit.

“Continual improvement is the absolute bedrock of what the Five Star Audit is about… our challenge is to keep improving, show evidence of that improvement, and meet the dynamic thresholds set by British Safety Council.”

Why RFU Values the Five Star Audit

British Safety Council Five Star Audit is one of the most comprehensive health and safety audits available, helping organisations benchmark their systems against the latest legislation, standards and best practice.

For RFU, the value goes far beyond compliance.

Key benefits they highlight:

• Recognition of innovation and wellbeing, not just traditional safety measures.

• A collaborative and holistic audit approach that encourages open dialogue.

• Opportunities for respectful challenge between auditor and organisation.

• Clear guidance that supports creating robust action plans.

• A process they can use to engage employees and showcase the organisation’s high standards.

“This isn’t just ticking a box. The Five Star process pushes collaboration and organisational buy-in. It helps us engage the wider business and demonstrate our standards.”

“Working with British Safety Council is incredibly rewarding because the process is guided, not punitive. You come away with clear explanations and real insight.”

A Partnership That Drives Improvement

Macauley emphasises that the RFU team genuinely looks forward to the audit each year:

“We actually love going through it. Yes, it’s challenging, but the auditors understand they are helping us. They play a key role in pushing our continual improvement.”

This partnership supports RFU’s ambition to develop a generative safety culture — where everyone contributes proactively to maintaining high standards.

Swords of Honour Success

Organisations that achieve a Five Star grading are invited to apply for a Sword, Shield or Globe of Honour — awards celebrating world-class safety, wellbeing and environmental management.

Since XXXX, RFU has achieved XX Swords of Honour for outstanding occupational health and safety performance.

For Macauley and his team, the Sword represents both recognition and motivation:

“The Sword is that crown jewel of awards in the health and safety sector. It’s tangible proof of the hard work that goes in. It’s not handed out easily — you earn it through continual improvement.”

The award also fuels internal pride and engagement:

“It’s very visual. People see it as they walk into the office. We shout about it internally because everyone contributes — from senior leaders to those delivering on the ground.”

Summary

RFU’s long-standing commitment to safety excellence is strengthened each year through its partnership with British Safety Council. Five Star Audit provides a framework for continual improvement, innovation and collaboration, while Sword of Honour offers powerful recognition of the organisation’s achievements.