Frequently asked questions

1. Demonstrate your commitment to excellent health, safety and wellbeing management 
2. Gain expert external feedback on your services from an independent adjudication panel 
3. Promote your achievement with press coverage and winner's logo 
4. Raise the profile of the health, safety and wellbeing function within your organisation. 

Applications are by site or business unit. To be eligible a relevant member of senior management at that site must confirm that since 1 January 2023 the site or business unit has NOT: 

• suffered any work-related fatalities 
• been subject to any prohibition notices 
• been the subject of any convictions in relation to health and safety 
• had any ongoing criminal investigations or prosecutions pending in relation to this site/business unit. 

Please note that due diligence monitoring will take place and a false declaration will lead to disqualification. 

Once you purchase the application via the website and make the payment you will receive a link to access the application form via the Learning Zone.   

If you decided to pay via invoice, the licence to the Learning Zone will be granted after receiving the payment. 

The application form can be submitted via our Learning Zone portal. You will receive detail on how to access the application via an email after purchasing the application.   

Please note: ensure to add the correct Company name and Site unit that you would like on the certificate, as amendments will not be accepted once the application has been submitted.  

Each application addresses the management of health, safety and wellbeing at a single site or business unit. Applicants wishing to enter several sites or business units must complete a separate application for each one. 

• All applications are submitted via our online system (applicants may wish to draft their responses offline before copying and pasting into their online submission) 
• All applications must be submitted in English 
• All application questions must be answered 
• The response to each question must not exceed 600 words 
• All questions are designed to be answered in plain text only (submissions must not incorporate images, tables, graphs or similar) 
• Supporting documents are now permitted for some questions. Each of these questions is eligible for 1 bonus mark and this is made clear in the marking scheme. 

A detailed marking scheme and guidance notes are available which clearly indicate what is required to score high marks. You are strongly advised to familiarise yourself with these documents before starting your application.  

There are various support options available, and you are highly encouraged to take advantage of them even if you have applied for the awards before.   

• Webinars – we have 2 separate webinar options for applicants to join, which will be run by the Chief Adjudicator and the Independent adjudicator on the 30 October 2023 and the 11 January 2024 
• Watch our video on how to enrol – on the Learning Zone tutorial. Click here  
• Read the 2023 Chief Adjudicator’s reports – available on our website. Click here 

The deadline for applications to be submitted is 23:59 GMT on Friday 9 February. Late applications will not be accepted. 

£450 + VAT for members 

£587+ VAT for non-members 

VAT (Value Added Tax) at the standard rate of 20% is not applicable for overseas applications.  

If your site/business unit is a member of the British Safety Council, please ensure that the named point of contact for your membership purchases the International Safety Award application online to ensure you receive your member discount.  

These documents will be available online at ISA from Thursday 21 September 2023.

You can pay by credit/debit card, bank transfer (BACS) or you can request an invoice, via our website. When paying by invoice please provide a purchase order number. 

If you decided to pay via credit/debit card, you will receive the licence to access the application automatically via email from the Learning Zone Portal.  

If you decide to pay via invoice, you will receive the licence to access the application once the payment has been received.  

Note: The application fee cannot be refunded once you have purchased your application form, even if you choose not to submit.  

Your application(s) will be marked by one of the independent adjudicators appointed and trained by British Safety Council.  

The independent adjudicators are senior health, safety and wellbeing professionals in their respective organisations and senior examiners for the British Safety Council awarding organisation.  

In order to prevent any possible conflict of interest, the adjudicators do not have sight of any audit reports or previous award applications or scores.  

The onus is on applicants to convince the adjudicator that their particular site/business unit deserves an International Safety Award based on its commitment to health, safety and wellbeing management during 2023.  

A rigorous standardisation process ensures that each adjudicator applies the marking scheme in a consistent manner so that all applications are marked to the same standard.  

The adjudicator will apply the marking scheme and award a score out of 54.  

Grades will be awarded as follows: 

50+ – Distinction 

40-49 – Merit 

30-39 – Pass  

Any application scoring 28-29, i.e. a borderline fail, will be remarked by the Chief Adjudicator to check the accuracy of the marking. Similar borderline reviews will be conducted at the Merit and Distinction grade boundaries. The Chief Adjudicator’s decision is final.  

Bonus marks for Questions 3b, 4b, 6b and 8b.  

Questions will each be awarded a maximum of 1 mark which will be considered by the adjudicators as a bonus mark. An applicant can therefore be awarded a maximum of 4 bonus marks by supplying relevant evidence meeting the criteria set forth in the Evidence appendix.  

Accreditation Marks  

Applicants can also gain a maximum additional five marks by uploading evidence of the following accreditations:  

1 Mark: 3 Star outcome from British Safety Council Five-Star Audit (within the ISA 2024 eligibility period)  

2 Marks: ISO 45001 Certification (current) or 4 Star outcome from British Safety Council Five-Star Audit (within the ISA 2024 eligibility period)  

3 Marks: 5 Star outcome from British Safety Council Five-Star Audit (within the ISA 2024 eligibility period) 

Results will be emailed to applicants on Monday 11 March and a list of successful applicants will be published on the British Safety Council website on Thursday 14 March. Results will not be issued by telephone. 

Due to the large number of applications we are not able to provide individual feedback. However the Chief Adjudicator’s report will be available on our website detailing the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s applications. 

British Safety Council endorses the right of site/business units to enquire about their result. Procedures are in place to ensure that result enquiries are dealt with thoroughly and fairly.  

A result enquiry can result in a grade being confirmed, raised or lowered. Where a grade is changed, the new grade will replace the original grade, whether it is higher or lower.  

The following services will be available:

Remark and feedback £231 +VAT  

Value Added Tax (VAT) at the standard rate of 20% is not applicable for overseas applications. 

All winners will receive their results email on Monday 11 March. This email will also contain links to the following: 

• Winners’ logo - winning sites/business units may use the International Safety Awards logo on their websites, letterheads and other items. 
• Press release template for winners to communicate their award to the media and stakeholders. 

These awards recognise overall ‘best in class’ submissions to the International Safety Awards by: 

• Sector Awards 
• Best in Country Award 
• Best in Company Award 
• Chief Adjudicator’s Award 

The Sector, Best in Country and Chief Adjudicator’s Awards winners will be determined by shortlisting those submissions scoring highly within each category, with the highest-scoring submission qualifying for the different category.  

In the event of several equally scored submissions within a particular category, the Chief Adjudicator will identify the best overall submission.  

The Chief Adjudicator’s decision will be final in respect of all Auto Entry Awards. 

Note: There is no separate application process. All sites/business units that win an International Safety Award are automatically considered for the Auto Entry Awards.  

These awards recognise overall ‘best in class’ submissions to the International Safety Awards by industry sector. 

Sector Award categories are:   

• Art and culture – museums, galleries 
• Construction and property activities  
• Consultancy and advisory - NEW
• Education 
• Financial, IT, legal, scientific and technical services, media  
• Health and social care  
• Leisure, sports clubs, hospitality and catering 
• Local government, defence and public services  
• Manufacturing  
• Not for profit  
• Oil, gas, mining and quarrying 
• Onshore major hazard 
• Power and utilities 
• Transportation, distribution and storage  
• Wholesale and retail services 

All International Safety Award applicants are entered into this award, provided there is a significant number of applications from the same country at distinction level. The highest scoring and best overall application will be awarded. 

The Chief Adjudicator's Award is awarded to the ISA application that achieves the highest score each year. This award does not require a submission and the winner/s will receive a certificate of their achievement. 

For 2024, we are running a total of seven free to enter awards. These awards are open to all and we particularly welcome applications from small businesses. 

Note: You do not have to purchase an International Safety Award application to enter any of the following free to enter awards. 

Rewarding leadership and strategic vision of CEOs who have made a vital contribution to health and safety of their business and to the wider society during 2023.  This award recognises how an individual CEO takes an active role in aligning and championing their organisation's health, safety and wellbeing interests with their internal and external stakeholders. 

Apply now.

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Ambassador of the year Award recognises an employee who, in your opinion, has played a significant role to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of colleagues and others. The nominee's primary role does not need to be health and safety. 

Apply now.

The Team of the Year Award recognises the outstanding achievements resulting in a significant improvement to health, safety or wellbeing from a collaboration of stakeholders which may include members of the organisation, suppliers, subcontractors and/or the wider community.

Apply now.

Recognition for an organisation or a team of individuals who have developed and run a campaign in 2023 that has made a significant impact on the health, safety or wellbeing in the workplace.

Apply now.

This award recognises and rewards those organisations that have demonstrated a proactive and effective approach to improving employee wellbeing. 

Apply now.

This category is for organisations that have significantly changed or transformed any aspect of health, safety or wellbeing to a significant extent through the use of information. Applicants will be asked to describe the transformation, how it was planned, what information was used to help achieve the transformation and what positive impact it has had on the organisation. 

Apply now.

This award recognises organisations that have gone the extra mile to seize health, safety or wellbeing opportunities resulting from a crisis. In being nominated for this award, the organisation is agreeing to their name and photograph being used by the British Safety Council in various media channels to recognise their achievement.

Apply now.

The Shortlisted Companies will be published on our website and communicated via email. The winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner event. 

The International Safety Awards Gala Dinner 2024 will take place on 7 June 2024 at the Intercontinental Park Lane, London. For the second year we are pleased to announce that, for our clients in India, we will host a Dinner Event in Mumbai. 

Booking information available soon. If you have any queries relating to this event, please contact: [email protected]. 

Individual ticket  

Members - £347 + VAT
Non – Members - £366 + VAT 

Full table (10 seats) 

Members - £3,255 + VAT 
Non – Members - £3,455 +VAT 

Diamond table (10 seats)  

Members- £3,990 + VAT 
Non – Members - £4,190 +VAT 

All ticket prices include: 

• Certificate presentations with official photographs
• Three-course meal with wine 
• One x drink voucher 
• Entertainment including a live band. 

The Diamond ticket price includes all of the above, plus: 

• Early access to pick up certificates (for award winners only) 
• Exclusive VIP reception including drinks and entertainment 
• Champagne on table  
• Best tables in the house – near to stage and dancefloor 
• One additional drink voucher per person for post dinner drinks 
• Group/individual photos with celebrity compere 
• Take away gift bag. 

Booking information and the Gala Dinner booking form will be available in due course. 

Please refer to our events terms and conditions before booking Events terms and conditions | British Safety Council (britsafe.org) 

You can still attend and enjoy the Gala Dinner.

British Safety Council will, upon request, provide an attendee with an invitation letter for purposes of the guest applying for a visa to visit the United Kingdom. British Safety Council cannot give advice or guarantee the issuance of a visa. You are strongly recommended to apply for your visa as early as possible.  

Note: In the event that you are unable to obtain a visa but have already purchased a ticket/s for the Gala Dinner, we will be unable to refund the cost of your ticket. 

Please see our event terms and conditions.

There are no hardcopy tickets for this event. An email confirmation will be sent by  [email protected] prior the event to the contact indicated on the booking form that you submitted. 

The follow attire is expected: 

Black tie 
Evening dress 
National dress 
Honours may be worn. 

Any dietary requirements should be noted on the booking form next to the relevant guest’s name. The venue can cater for a variety of dietary requirements. Please provide clear details on the booking form and we will contact you if we need further details.  

Yes, we kindly ask that guests requiring wheelchair access contact us prior to the Gala Dinner at [email protected].  

All winning sites/business units that book seats at the Gala Dinner are required to be at the Intercontinental between 17:30 and 18:45 to collect their certificate and take an official group photograph with the British Safety Council Chief Executive, Chair or a Trustee. Winners will then go through to the winners’ reception. 

Sites/business units that have achieved the top mark of ‘Distinction’ will be recognised during the Gala Dinner ceremony with an announcement, trophy presentation and photo opportunity. 

Note: only the winners that ordered a trophy will be able to collect it during the ceremony. Your order must have been received within good time before the event otherwise we cannot guarantee your trophy will be available for presentation on the day. 

The Auto Entry and Free to Enter award winners will be announced during the Gala Dinner ceremony with the announcement and photo opportunity. 

All winner attendees will receive an email during the week commencing 17 June which will contain information on how to access your photograph along with a post-event press release template. 

This unique winners’ wall plaque features the International Safety Award logo and is designed to be used indoors or outdoors. The classic design of this 14 inch plaque reflects the impressive achievement of gaining an International Safety Award and all sites/business units have the opportunity to display the name of the winning site on their plaque.  

You can order the commemorative plaque via our website or via the link you will receive on the result email.   

The price per plaque is as follows: 

£257 +VAT including postage and packaging for UK customers 

£391 including packaging and courier charges for overseas customers 

Government regulations state that Value Added Tax (VAT) at the standard rate of 20% is not applicable for overseas customers as the plaque is being shipped abroad. However, for overseas customers any local duties/taxes payable are the responsibility of the purchaser at the point of entry. 

Payment can be made by BACS or credit card. Details are to be completed on the booking form.  

Please note that payment in full is required within 30 days. No refunds are available upon cancellation of an order. 

Plaques will be produced only when payment is received and will be sent directly to the address stated on the booking form. You will receive by email a PDF attachment of your plaque for review and confirmation before it is produced. This can take up to six weeks once payment is received for your plaque to be delivered.  

Please note you will not be able to collect your plaque at the Gala Dinner. 

All sites/business unit winners can purchase the International Safety Awards trophy via our website or using the link shared on the results email. It features the International Safety Awards logo and has been designed to reflect the impressive achievement.  

Those attending the Gala Dinner will receive their certificate on the evening. For those not attending, certificates will be posted to UK-based winners and couriered to international winners.   

Any questions not covered by these FAQs should be sent to [email protected].