HSE GRIP ratings explained
What did the stars mean—and how do you choose footwear today?
An HSE GRIP rating was a one-to-five-star assessment of footwear slip resistance under a voluntary scheme developed by the Health and Safety Executive. Five stars represented the highest category within that scheme. It was separate from the slip tests used for standard footwear certification.
The scheme used the ramp test, which the HSE Laboratory had used for a long time for both flooring and footwear assessment. It is close enough to real walking that the results relate to the slip risk in use. The testing was very expensive due to the labour involved and the overheads at the Government laboratory. Ultimately, the scheme ceased around COVID. Its research remains useful, but an old rating should not be mistaken for a current approval. The good news is, GRIP will be reborn at NeoGRIP from Neospire.
By Kevin Hallas, former Technical Lead for Falls Prevention at HSE. Updated 13 November 2026.
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Why was the HSE GRIP scheme developed?
Two shoes can meet the same minimum standard and still provide quite different levels of grip. GRIP gave buyers additional information about footwear performance, helping them look beyond a simple “slip-resistant” claim.
The scheme assessed and categorised footwear using defined test conditions. Research behind the scheme explored testing under more lifelike conditions to better represent pedestrian slipping. A star rating described performance within that method; it was not a guarantee against slipping on every floor or contaminant.
What did a five-star GRIP rating tell you?
Five stars identified the highest category in the former scheme. It was sole-specific, so a brand with a GRIP rating might not have that rating across all of its designs. But what we do know about 5 Star rated shoes is that they dramatically reduce the slip incident rate which we will explain below.
But it was never just about 5 Stars - each star rating has a measureable risk profile.
SRC and SR rated footwear has been tested and some fails to achieve even 1 Star, so it’s not about everyone buying 5 Star footwear, its about knowng the risk and comparing options. If you buy 1 Star footwear you are avoiding the most slippery footwear on the market which the standard test fails to exclude. From this basic starting point, the more stars the fewer accidents. The trade off is that getting 5 Stars is not so easy, so you will find more stars means less choice, your staff may need somethign else from their shoes that isn’t available in combination with a five star sole.
Is HSE GRIP Rating Scheme still running?
No. Older webpages, catalogues and documents still describe it in the present tense, so check the date and source of any claim.
What did the SSHeW trial find?
The SSHeW randomised trial involved 4,553 NHS staff. Offering and providing five-star HSE GRIP-rated footwear reduced the rate of self-reported workplace slips by 37% compared with usual footwear. The rate of falls caused by slipping was 49% lower in the intervention group.
The primary analysis included participants as allocated, whether or not they wore the supplied shoes consistently. In fact, they didn’t wear the shoes consistently, and the study did not record any incidence of slipping in the shoes, so the 37% could have been 100% reduction if they had been worn 100% of the time.
Read the published trial · Read our NHS footwear briefing
Is GRIP the same as SR or SRC?
No: they describe different assessments.
HSE GRIP: the former voluntary star-rating scheme, providing additional information about footwear slip performance.
SR: an additional slip-resistance marking under the 2022 EN ISO safety and occupational footwear standards, based on specified ceramic-tile and glycerol test conditions.
SRA, SRB and SRC: markings under earlier standards. SRC indicated that the requirements for both SRA and SRB test conditions had been met.
These are not a single scale. You cannot convert an SR or SRC marking directly into a GRIP star rating, or assume that shoes carrying the same marking offer identical grip. The test used for SR and SRC does not replicate the critical phaseof walking, so the results have poor predictive power when it comes to slip risk.
Where does NeoGRIP fit?
NeoGRIP will be Neospire’s own footwear assessment protocol. We will use the SoleXT® whole-shoe testing system to help manufacturers and employers understand differences in grip, support product development and make better footwear choices.
Our approach grew out of HSE slip-prevention research and the development of more realistic footwear testing. Neospire is an independent business: NeoGRIP is not the former HSE GRIP scheme, and a Neospire test result is not an HSE approval.
When requesting testing, ask us to set out the method, surfaces, contaminants and reporting approach. Results should be interpreted for the conditions tested, alongside the other requirements of the job.
Testing for footwear manufacturers · Testing for employers and procurement teams · Discuss footwear testing
How should I choose slip-resistant footwear now?
Until we are in a position to launch NeoGRIP we are doing custom testing for buyers and sellers. For individual buyers, our slip-resistant footwear guide includes a checklist and links to WearerTech and Shoes for Crews—two current Neospire clients whose footwear we recommend considering.
For employers, comission suitable test evidence from Neospire, talk to us about this. Review performance as footwear wears and workplace conditions change.