Online Food Hygiene Training FAQs
Find clear answers about choosing the right food safety course, certificates, legal responsibilities, online learning, staff training and business purchases.
Choosing the Right Course
The right level depends on your job and responsibilities:
- Level 1 is introductory training for people who work around food but do not normally prepare or handle it directly.
- Level 2 is generally suitable for people who prepare, cook, handle or serve food, including chefs, kitchen assistants, café staff, baristas, caterers and many front-of-house staff.
- Level 3 is designed for supervisors, managers, head chefs, business owners and anyone responsible for managing food safety procedures or supervising food handlers.
If you are unsure, our team will be happy to help you choose the correct course.
The levels reflect the learner’s role and level of responsibility. Level 1 provides basic awareness, Level 2 covers the practical knowledge needed by food handlers, and Level 3 provides more detailed training for people who supervise staff or manage food safety within a business.
You do not normally need to complete the lower levels before taking a higher-level course. Choose the level that matches your current role.
UK law does not require every food handler to hold a particular food hygiene certificate. However, food businesses must ensure that staff are appropriately supervised, instructed or trained in food hygiene for the work they carry out.
A recognised training course and certificate provide a clear way to demonstrate a learner’s knowledge and your business’s commitment to staff training during an inspection.
Food businesses must manage allergen risks and provide customers with accurate allergen information. Dedicated allergy training is particularly valuable for managers, chefs, kitchen staff, servers, counter staff and anyone who answers customer questions about ingredients.
A separate allergy certificate is not always specifically required by law, but relevant staff must understand allergens, cross-contamination and how to provide correct information. Our course provides structured training and a clear training record.
Food businesses must have food safety management procedures based on HACCP principles. The level of training you need depends on your responsibilities.
If you follow established food safety controls during your daily work, HACCP Level 2 is generally suitable. If you develop, manage, review or supervise your business’s HACCP-based system, HACCP Level 3 is normally the better choice.
HACCP Level 2 is suitable for food handlers and team members who need to understand hazards, controls and the HACCP procedures used in their workplace.
HACCP Level 3 is designed for supervisors, managers, business owners and anyone responsible for creating, maintaining, reviewing or monitoring a HACCP-based food safety management system.
Owners, managers and supervisors will usually benefit from Level 3 Food Hygiene training. You may also need Food Allergy Awareness training and HACCP Level 3 if you are responsible for allergen controls or your food safety management system.
The exact training required depends on the type of food you handle, your processes and your responsibilities.
Staff who prepare, handle or serve food will generally need Level 2 Food Hygiene training. Staff who provide allergen information or handle food allergy requests should also receive appropriate allergy training.
Supervisors and managers normally require more advanced training, such as Level 3 Food Hygiene and, where relevant, HACCP Level 3.
Front-of-house staff may handle food, serve customers, manage allergens or work near food preparation areas, so they need training appropriate to their duties. Level 2 is often suitable for staff who serve or handle food, while allergy awareness is especially important for anyone answering allergen questions.
Yes. You do not normally have to complete Level 2 before taking Level 3. You should choose the course that matches your current responsibilities and experience.
Level 3 is intended for supervisors, managers, head chefs, owners and others with responsibility for food safety and staff supervision.
If you prepare or sell food from home, you must understand how to produce food safely and meet the requirements that apply to your business. Level 2 Food Hygiene is generally suitable if you prepare, cook or handle food yourself.
If you manage other people or are responsible for the business’s food safety procedures, Level 3 Food Hygiene may be more appropriate. You should also consider Food Allergy Awareness and HACCP training where these responsibilities form part of your work.
Staff who prepare, cook, handle or serve food will generally need Level 2 Food Hygiene training. Supervisors, managers, head chefs and business owners responsible for food safety will usually benefit from Level 3 Food Hygiene.
Relevant staff should also receive allergy training, and anyone responsible for developing, maintaining or reviewing the food safety management system should consider HACCP Level 3.
Training should match the tasks a person performs. Someone who does not handle open food may only need basic food safety awareness, while anyone who handles, transports, stores or serves food needs more detailed instruction appropriate to those duties.
Level 1 may be suitable for introductory awareness. Level 2 is generally more appropriate where the person directly handles or serves food.
The law does not normally require every employee to hold a separate allergy certificate. However, food businesses must provide accurate allergen information and ensure that relevant staff are trained to manage allergies safely.
Dedicated allergy training is a clear way to teach staff about the 14 regulated allergens, cross-contamination, customer communication and safe procedures, while providing a record that the training has taken place.
Food businesses must put in place and follow food safety management procedures based on HACCP principles. The system should be appropriate for the nature and size of the business.
Small catering businesses may use an established system such as Safer Food, Better Business, but the people operating and managing the system still need enough knowledge to use it correctly.
Safer Food, Better Business is a practical food safety management system designed to help smaller businesses apply HACCP principles. It can help you document and manage your procedures, but it does not automatically train staff to understand why the controls are needed or how to manage the system.
HACCP training complements the pack by helping staff and managers understand hazards, controls, monitoring, corrective action and record keeping.
Food Hygiene training teaches the everyday practices needed to prepare, handle, store and serve food safely. Food Allergy Awareness focuses on allergen information, cross-contamination and protecting customers with food allergies. HACCP training explains how a business identifies, controls, monitors and records food safety hazards through its management system.
Many food businesses need all three areas covered because they address different responsibilities.
Certificates, Recognition and Legal Requirements
Yes. Our online training courses are accredited and certified by The CPD Group, helping to provide recognised, high-quality training.
Our courses are designed around current UK food safety legislation and recognised industry practice. They are suitable for businesses wishing to demonstrate staff training and competence during an Environmental Health Officer or local authority inspection.
An inspector will consider the training, supervision, procedures and practical standards in place across the business rather than relying on a certificate alone.
Yes. Online food hygiene training is widely used by food businesses throughout the UK. What matters is that the training is suitable for the learner’s role, covers the appropriate subject matter and helps the business demonstrate that staff are properly trained.
Yes. Once you have successfully completed the course and assessment, your personalised digital certificate is available immediately to download. A copy is also sent by email.
You can also choose to purchase a printed and posted certificate.
There is no legal expiry date for food hygiene certificates in the UK. However, the UK Government recommends that food handlers refresh their training every 3 years so their knowledge remains up to date with current food safety requirements and best practice.
For this reason, Eversley Training certificates are valid for 3 years from the date of completion. After this time, we recommend retaking the course to refresh your knowledge and demonstrate ongoing competency.
Yes. During checkout, you’ll have the option to add a printed certificate to your order. Printed certificates are professionally produced and sent by First Class Royal Mail on the next working day.
If you’ve already completed your course and would like to order a printed certificate afterwards, please contact our Customer Service team.
Yes. If your course was completed on the new website, log in and download another copy from My Courses.
If the certificate was issued on our previous website, email info@eversley-training.co.uk and we’ll retrieve the historic record for you. You may also already have a copy in your inbox, as certificates were emailed when a course was completed. Try searching your emails for “Eversley Training”.
Our food safety courses are written for UK learners and businesses. They explain the core food safety principles and legal duties relevant across the UK, while also recognising that some local guidance and enforcement arrangements differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Our certificates provide evidence that you have completed accredited online training and passed the course assessment. They are widely suitable for employers seeking evidence of role-appropriate food safety training.
An employer remains responsible for deciding which training is appropriate for a particular role, so check any specific requirement stated in a job advert or workplace policy.
Yes. Your certificate belongs to you and can be shown to another employer while it remains current. Your new employer may still provide additional workplace-specific instruction or ask you to complete refresher training.
Your certificate identifies the learner, the course completed and the date of completion. Please enter the learner’s name and email address carefully when enrolling them so the training record and certificate are created for the correct person.
Please contact our Customer Service team with the learner’s correct details and information about the course completed. We will check the training record and advise what can be changed.
Taking an Online Course
Yes. All Eversley Training courses are completed online and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You can start as soon as your payment has been completed and the course has been assigned to a learner.
Log in and go to My Account > Manage Courses. Choose Enrol Me if the course is for you, or Enrol New User if you’re assigning it to someone else. Once assigned, the course will appear under My Courses, ready to start.
Yes. Log in to your account using your device’s web browser. Our courses are designed to work on desktop computers, laptops, tablets and modern smartphones.
For the best experience, use an up-to-date browser and a stable internet connection.
Yes. Your progress is saved automatically as you work through the course, so you can log out and return whenever it’s convenient.
When you return, go to My Courses, click Resume, then scroll down to the first unticked lesson to continue from where you left off.
Unused courses remain available in your account until they are assigned. Once enrolled, learners can complete their training at their own pace unless a specific business deadline has been set by their employer.
Do not worry. The assessment is designed to confirm your understanding of the course. You can review the training material and retake the assessment in accordance with the course settings.
No. The training runs through your web browser, so there is no software to install. You only need a suitable device, an internet connection and access to your learner account.
Our courses use clear language, structured slides and audio narration to make the training easier to follow. Learners can pause, replay and revisit content as needed. However, learners must have sufficient English understanding to follow the course and complete the assessment independently.
Course length varies depending on the subject and level. You can work through the training at your own pace, pause when needed and return later. The relevant course page provides more information about the expected learning time.
Yes. Courses include an online assessment designed to confirm that you have understood the key learning points. You must successfully complete the course and assessment before your certificate is issued.
Yes. You can pause and replay the course narration as needed. Where the player provides speed controls, you can also increase the playback speed, including selecting 2x speed.
No. Your progress is saved automatically as you work through the course, so you can complete it over several sessions and return whenever it’s convenient.
Business and Team Training
Yes. You can purchase one or multiple courses and assign them individually to staff through the online course management system.
You can buy courses now and enrol learners whenever you are ready.
Yes. Automatic bulk discounts are available:
- 10 or more courses: 10% off
- 20 or more courses: 20% off
- 50 or more courses: 30% off
- 100 or more courses: 40% off
Eligible discounts are automatically applied at checkout.
Yes. If you’ve purchased multiple courses, go to Manage Courses and click Enrol New User for each learner. Enter each person’s details and click Submit.
Each learner will receive their own login details by email. Larger groups can also be enrolled using a CSV file.
Yes. Log in and go to Manage Courses. Open the relevant course and click the Report button.
You’ll be able to see each learner’s status, including whether their course is Not Started, In Progress or Completed.
Yes. Managers can access training reports and completed learner records through the course management area. Learners also receive their certificate by email and can download it from their account.
Yes. The online system can be used to purchase and assign training to staff working across different sites. Managers can oversee training centrally through the same business account.
An unused course can be assigned to any learner. If it has already been assigned, you’ll need to request that the learner is removed before it can be reassigned.
Go to Manage Courses, open the relevant course and use the Request Remove button. In many cases, we can remove the learner provided the course has not yet been started.
Once a learner has started a course, it forms part of their training record and cannot normally be transferred. Please contact Customer Service as soon as possible if you’ve made a mistake.
No. Unused courses remain available in your account until you’re ready to assign them, allowing you to purchase training in advance and enrol learners when needed.
Yes. You can purchase courses in advance and leave them unused in your account until you’re ready to assign them. Unused courses remain available until needed.
Yes. Larger groups can be enrolled using a CSV file, which saves entering every learner individually. Make sure each learner’s name and email address are accurate before submitting the file.
Please visit the Help Centre or contact Customer Service if you need guidance preparing the upload.
Yes. Open the relevant course in Manage Courses and select Report. The report allows you to review learner status and identify who has not started, who is in progress and who has completed their training.
Orders, Payments and Support
You can pay securely online using the payment methods shown at checkout. Eligible business orders may also be paid by BACS following prior arrangement with our Customer Service team.
Yes, we accept payment by BACS for eligible business and organisation orders.
This is normally available to businesses purchasing 10 or more courses, although exceptions may be made for organisations such as schools and small businesses. Contact our Customer Service team before placing your order.
Yes. A VAT receipt is produced when your online payment is successfully completed.
If you need another copy, contact our Customer Service team and provide your order number.
Invoices are only produced when a customer pays via invoice and BACS
Don’t worry. If your order wasn’t completed successfully, no payment should have been taken.
Try placing your order again. If you’re still experiencing problems, contact our Customer Service team and we’ll help you complete your purchase.
Contact our Customer Service team as soon as possible and include your order number.
Cancellation and refund requests are considered in accordance with our Terms and Conditions and your statutory consumer rights. If no learner has been enrolled and no course has been started, we may be able to assist more quickly.
Our Help Centre contains step-by-step guidance on logging in, assigning courses, enrolling learners, continuing training and downloading certificates.
Our friendly Customer Service team is happy to help:
Email: info@eversley-training.co.uk
Telephone: 01626 911014
WhatsApp: 07502 477054
Yes. Businesses, schools, care providers, charities and other organisations can contact us to discuss larger purchases or request documentation before placing an order.
Please tell us which courses you need, the quantity required and your organisation’s billing details.
Yes. Our Customer Service team can help you choose suitable courses, discuss team training and answer questions about enrolment, certificates and payment.
Email: info@eversley-training.co.uk
Telephone: 01626 911014
WhatsApp: 07502 477054
Still unsure which course you need?
Our friendly team can help you choose the right training for yourself, your staff or your food business.