Manual Handling (Employees)

What is the Manual Handling Course? The Manual Handling course is a mandatory safety programme for all personnel involved in the movement, lifting, or supporting of loads. Aligned with Part 4, Chapter 2 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, this training provides the technical competence to identify musculoskeletal risks, apply biomechanical principles to lifting, and implement ergonomic controls to prevent workplace injuries.

Statutory Compliance & Biomechanical Safety

Under Irish law, employers must ensure that any staff member engaged in manual handling is appropriately trained. This course maps to the following core safety pillars:

• Regulatory Standard: Compliance with the 2007 General Application Regulations regarding the manual handling of loads.
• Risk Mitigation: Focus on reducing the incidence of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).
• Practical Competence: Direct application of the 8 Steps of a Safe Lift and the Hierarchy of Risk Control.

This course is required for those who work in the lifting, moving, carrying, pushing, or pulling of loads in the workplace. It is designed for employees across every operational industry who need certified competence in safe manual handling principles to protect their physical health and uphold statutory safety standards.

Primary Candidate Profiles

• Warehousing and Logistics Operatives: Warehouse order pickers, forklift drivers, and dispatch teams manually loading pallets, boxes, and freight cages.
• Construction and Civil Trades: General operatives, trade apprentices, carpenters, and scaffolders transporting building products, tools, and site equipment.
• Manufacturing and Assembly Technicians: Factory operatives, production line workers, and plant staff conducting repetitive manual loading and product handling.
• Healthcare, Care, and Support Staff: Hospital assistants, residential carers, and portering personnel handling heavy medical supplies and facility assets.
• Retail and Wholesale Stock Handlers: Supermarket staff, store clerks, and stockroom assistants unloading deliveries, stacking shelves, and moving retail roll cages.
• Facilities, Maintenance, and Cleaning Teams: Janitorial staff, facility technicians, and waste management crews handling heavy bins, floor machinery, and maintenance supplies.
• Hospitality and Catering Personnel: Kitchen porters, cellar staff, food production workers, and delivery drivers lifting beverage kegs, food crates, and cooking items

• Legislation
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Ergonomics
• Hazard Identification
• Risk Assessment
• Principles of Lifting
• Practical: Lifting, Moving, Carrying, Push and Pull.

• Assess the relevant danger or safety of manual handling tasks
• Recommend preventative measures which can reduce the risk of injury
• Lift and handle loads safely.

Candidates are advised that this course involves practical exercises in lifting, moving, carrying, pushing and pulling loads.

Delegates who successfully complete the course will receive a Holland Certificate in Manual Handling which is valid for three years.

To be successful delegates must pass

• Written Assessment (50%)
• Practical (50%)