Checked 25 October 2026. The test format is as the CITB pages as archived on 21-22 April 2026 and read on 25 October 2026. The law and guidance behind each answer was read on legislation.gov.uk and hse.gov.uk on 25 Oct 2026; CITB says you will be tested on the knowledge in the most up-to-date edition of its revision materials, and that it makes every effort to keep the test and revision material up to date as law, regulations and best practice change.
These are four practice questions for the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test for operatives, one from each of four of the test’s core knowledge areas. Each has four options and one correct answer, and the answer below it explains the reason from the UK law or HSE guidance it comes from. They are not CITB questions. CITB sells its own revision material, GT100, which it says contains all of the content covered in the test as questions and answers; nothing here is taken from or based on GT100 or the real test. The questions are ProSyllabus’s own, written from legislation and HSE guidance, and they are the four questions of our practice test’s free sample.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of CITB (the Construction Industry Training Board), CSCS or Pearson VUE, and nothing here is the official test. Every rule on this page is quoted or summarised from the official pages listed at the foot of the page.
Test facts: CITB pages as archived on 21-22 April 2026 and read on 25 October 2026.
FreeTests: Working environment · Occupational health · Safety · High risk activities
CITB HS&E Test Practice: free sample
Answer 4 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 4 minutes · free · no sign-in.
4 questions to answer
Start nowThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
How to use these questions
Read each question and choose an answer before you open "Show the answer". The point is to find out what you would have chosen under test conditions, not to recognise the right answer once you have seen it. Then read the reason: the HS&E test checks that you know what to do on site, and the reason is what lets you answer a differently worded question on the same rule. CITB itself says questions in the test may be worded differently from those in its revision materials, while the meaning stays the same, so use each explanation to understand the rule behind the answer.
| Question | Core knowledge area | What it tests | Source of the answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Working environment | The legal duties of every employee at work | Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, sections 7 and 9 |
| 2 | Occupational health | What an employer must do first about risky manual handling | Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, regulation 4 |
| 3 | Safety | What to assume about overhead power lines | HSE guidance on overhead power lines |
| 4 | High risk activities | The first step in managing work at height | HSE, Working at height: a brief guide (INDG401) |
Question 1: working environment
Question 1 · Working environment
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which of these is a legal duty of every employee at work?
- (A) To take reasonable care of themselves and of others affected by their work
- (B) To carry out the risk assessments for the tasks they are given
- (C) To report every accident on site directly to the Health and Safety Executive
- (D) To buy any personal protective equipment they need for the job
Show the answer
Answer: (A) To take reasonable care of themselves and of others affected by their work. Section 7 of the Act makes every employee at work take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work, and, as regards any duty or requirement imposed on their employer by the relevant statutory provisions, co-operate with the employer so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with. Section 9 says no employer may charge an employee of his for anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of the relevant statutory provisions, so an employee does not pay for PPE that the law specifically requires the employer to provide.
An original ProSyllabus question written from UK law and HSE guidance. Not a CITB question, and not from GT100.
Why this matters on site: duties at work fall on employees too, not only on employers. The answer turns on two parts of the 1974 Act: the employee’s own duty of reasonable care, and of co-operating with the employer so far as is necessary for the employer’s legal duties to be met (section 7), and the rule that an employer may not charge its employees for anything done or provided in pursuance of a specific requirement of the relevant statutory provisions (section 9).
Question 2: occupational health
Question 2 · Occupational health
Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, what must an employer do first about manual handling that carries a risk of injury?
- (A) Make sure the heaviest loads are always lifted by two people
- (B) Set a weight limit of 25 kg for everyone
- (C) Give every worker a back belt
- (D) Avoid the need for it, so far as is reasonably practicable
Show the answer
Answer: (D) Avoid the need for it, so far as is reasonably practicable. Regulation 4(1)(a): each employer shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for employees to undertake manual handling operations that involve a risk of injury. Only where that is not reasonably practicable must the employer assess the operations and reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
An original ProSyllabus question written from UK law and HSE guidance. Not a CITB question, and not from GT100.
Why this matters on site: the Manual Handling Operations Regulations put the steps in an order. Avoiding a risky lift comes first, so far as is reasonably practicable; assessing and reducing the risk comes only where avoiding it is not reasonably practicable.
Question 3: safety
Question 3 · Safety
You are told to dig near an overhead power line on a site. What does HSE say you should assume about the line?
- (A) That it is safe as long as you do not touch it
- (B) That it is a telephone wire if it is on wooden poles
- (C) That it is live unless its owner proves otherwise
- (D) That it is dead, because lines on sites are always switched off
Show the answer
Answer: (C) That it is live unless its owner proves otherwise. HSE guidance on overhead power lines: if lines are found, assume they are live unless proved otherwise by their owners. Do not mistake lines on wooden poles for telephone wires, and contact is not needed for danger: a close approach may allow a flashover.
An original ProSyllabus question written from UK law and HSE guidance. Not a CITB question, and not from GT100.
Why this matters on site: HSE says contact with live overhead lines kills people and causes serious injuries every year, and that contact is not even necessary for danger: a close approach may allow a flashover. Its guidance tells you to assume lines are live unless their owners prove otherwise, and not to take lines on wooden poles for telephone wires.
Question 4: high risk activities
Question 4 · High risk activities
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, what is the first step in the order for managing work at height?
- (A) Train everyone to work carefully and keep their balance at height
- (B) Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so
- (C) Provide everyone with a harness
- (D) Provide a soft landing such as air bags
Show the answer
Answer: (B) Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so. HSE's brief guide to working at height (INDG401) sets out the order: avoid work at height where reasonably practicable; where it cannot be avoided, prevent falls using an existing safe place or the right equipment; and minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment, where the risk cannot be eliminated.
An original ProSyllabus question written from UK law and HSE guidance. Not a CITB question, and not from GT100.
Why this matters on site: HSE’s brief guide to working at height sets out an order. Before any equipment is chosen, the first question is whether work at height can be avoided where it is reasonably practicable; where it cannot, falls are prevented, and where the risk cannot be eliminated, the distance and consequences of a fall are minimised with the right type of equipment.
The five core knowledge areas, and what CITB publishes about them
CITB lists five core knowledge areas for the Operatives test: working environment, occupational health, safety, high risk activities, and specialist. The CITB pages read give no topic list under each name; they point candidates to GT100, the demo test and the app. The table below shows the five areas and, for each, the kind of UK law and HSE guidance our own practice questions are written from. The right-hand column describes our questions, not CITB’s test content.
| Core knowledge area (CITB) | Our practice questions draw on (ProSyllabus) | In the ProSyllabus practice test |
|---|---|---|
| Working environment | Duties of employers and employees, site welfare, first aid, accident reporting (RIDDOR), safety signs, fire and emergency routes, waste | Yes |
| Occupational health | Manual handling, noise, vibration, dust and silica, asbestos, hazardous substances | Yes |
| Safety | Electricity and buried and overhead services, personal protective equipment, work equipment, site vehicles | Yes |
| High risk activities | Work at height, ladders, scaffolds, fragile roofs, excavations, lifting operations, confined spaces | Yes |
| Specialist | Not covered: the CITB pages read name this area but give no topic list for it | No |
ProSyllabus practice test for operatives: 154 questions across three mocks of 50 and this 4-question sample. These are our counts, not the weighting of the real test, which CITB does not publish on the pages read.
What the real test is like
CITB says every HS&E test lasts 45 minutes and contains 50 questions, and that the pass mark for the Operatives test is 90%: at least 45 of 50 correct. Its demo test shows "a sample of different question styles", is not scored, and CITB says it "should not be used in isolation, but as part of your revision." Our questions are all single-answer with four options; the real test shows other question styles too, which the demo lets you see. For the format, the £23.50 fee, booking and cancelling, see our CITB HS&E test guide.
| Fact | Real test (CITB) | ProSyllabus mock |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 50 | 50 |
| Time | 45 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Pass mark | 90%: at least 45 of 50 | Your score is shown out of 50; a practice score does not guarantee a pass in the real test |
| Question styles | Several styles, shown in CITB’s demo test | Single answer, four options |
| Core areas | Five: working environment, occupational health, safety, high risk activities, specialist | Four: all but specialist |
| Question source | The official CITB HS&E test | Original ProSyllabus questions, written from UK law and HSE guidance |
Want the full practice test?
CITB recommends working through all the sample questions in its revision materials and taking a relevant training course; start there. If you also want timed practice, the ProSyllabus HS&E practice test for operatives has three timed mocks of 50 questions in 45 minutes, your score by area, your time per question and the reason behind every answer. These four questions are the free part; the mocks are paid. Our own questions, not CITB’s, not the official test, and not endorsed by CITB.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real CITB test questions?
No. They are ProSyllabus’s own questions, written from UK law and HSE guidance. They are not from CITB’s GT100 or the real test, and this is not the official test.
How many questions are in the CITB HS&E test?
CITB says every HS&E test contains 50 questions and lasts 45 minutes. The pass mark for the Operatives test is 90%: at least 45 of 50 correct.
Where can I find official CITB practice questions?
CITB offers a demo test of the question styles for the Operatives and Specialist tests and sells its GT100 question and answer book, a digital version and an app with test simulations.
Which areas does the Operatives test cover?
CITB lists five core knowledge areas: working environment, occupational health, safety, high risk activities and specialist.
Do the ProSyllabus mocks cover the specialist area?
No. They cover four of the five areas: working environment, occupational health, safety and high risk activities. The CITB pages read name the specialist area but give no topic list for it.
Will passing the ProSyllabus mocks mean I pass the real test?
No. A practice score does not guarantee a pass in the real test. The mocks follow the published format of 50 questions in 45 minutes, but the questions are ours, not CITB’s.
Sources
- official — CITB: Operatives test (five core knowledge areas, pass mark, GT100, app, demo test, booking), archived 22 Apr 2026
- official — CITB: About the Health Safety and Environment HS&E test (cost, test types, structure, cancelling and rescheduling, group bookings, mobile testing), archived 21 Apr 2026
- official — CITB: Prepare for the test (revision materials, wording of questions, up-to-date editions), archived 21 Apr 2026
- official — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
- official — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 9 (legislation.gov.uk)
- official — Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, regulation 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
- official — HSE: Overhead power lines (construction safety topics)
- official — HSE: Working at height, a brief guide (INDG401)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
