The Health and Safety At Work Act is the primary legislation relating to health and safety in the UK. It sets the framework for our legislation and sets the general duties which employers and others must comply with. This is then supported by a number of specific regulations and codes of practice which make explicit the general duties identified in the Act. The Act reinforces the common law duty of care.
What are my duties as an employer?
Your principle duties are to:
?Protect the health and safety and welfare of your employees while they are at work.
?Protect the health and safety of others under your control. This includes visitors, contractors, customers, agency staff, temporary staff and those on work placements, as well as the public.
You must also ensure that all parts of your operation are safe and without risks to health. In particular you need to:
?Provide and maintenance a safe working environment;
?Provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work;
?Make arrangements for the safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
?Ensure all employees have sufficient information, instruction, supervision and training.
Safety Policy
You have to provide a written safety policy for your business. This policy should set down your commitment to provide a safe working environment, you arrangements for implementing this policy, and identify those individuals with key health and safety responsibilities.
What if I own commercial property?
If you have control over commercial property which is used by others as a workplace, e.g. landlord or managing agent, then you have to ensure that the building, and any equipment you provide, is safe.
Designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers
Have duty to ensure that any article provided by them for use at work is safely designed and constructed.
What about employees?
Each employee has a duty to protect their own health and safety, and that of other people who may be affected by their actions. They must also cooperate with management, and not misuse of interfere with any equipment provided for safety purposes, e.g. remove guards when operating machinery.
Enforcement of health and safety
Health and safety laws are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), or local authorities, depending on the main activity.
For factories, manufacturing, railways, supply industries, agriculture and other such high risk activities HSE is usually the enforcing body.
For offices, retail, warehousing, leisure, consumer services, hotels and catering the local authority is usually the enforcing authority.
Enforcement officers have powers to visit workplaces at any reasonable time, and without prior notice. This could be to investigate a complaint or an accident, or to carry out a routine inspection.
They also have the right to talk to employees and safety representatives, to take photographs and samples, and to impound dangerous equipment. They are entitled to cooperation and answers to questions. You also have rights which you need to fully understand.
Improvement notice
Where the law is being contravened the enforcement officer can issue an Improvement Notice or a Prohibition Notice.
An Improvement Notice can be served where the law has been breached. The officer must give there reason for issuing the notice, and what needs to be done. They must also give the responsible person a minimum of 21 days to rectify the problem.
Prohibition notice
A Prohibition Notice can be served where it is considered that the activity involves a risk of serious personal injury. The notice comes into effect immediately and prohibits the unsafe practice, equipment or activity.
If you are served with a notice you have the right to appeal to an Industrial Tribunal. It is an offence not to comply with the terms of a notice.
Enforcement officers also have powers to prosecute a firm or an individual for breaking health and safety law. Penalties can be severe (the fines can be unlimited, plus imprisonment in certain cases). Officers can decide to prosecute in addition to serving an Improvement or Prohibition Notice.
Prosecutions
It is an offence if you do not comply with the requirements set out above. Penalties can include unlimited fines and imprisonment. Those in control of the business can be prosecuted, as can managers and individual employees. Depending on the offence, fines can be unlimited, and you could be imprisoned.
The principle sections
Section
The requirementSection 2 (1)
Every employer has a duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of his employees, including in particular:-
?The provision and maintenance of safe plant and systems of work.
?The safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances.
?The provision of information, instruction, training and supervision
?The provision of a safe working environment, including the means of access and egress, and welfare facilities.
Section 2 (3) Employers have a duty to prepare a written policy statement (and revise it as appropriate) covering the health and safety of their employees, and the organisation and arrangements for carrying out the policy. The policy, and any revisions, must be brought to the attention of employees
Section 2 (4 - 7) There are powers for employees to appoint safety representatives. Employers must consult and cooperate with employee representatives in promoting and developing measures to ensure health and safety, and for checking the effectiveness of these measures. The employer must establish a safety committee if requested to do so.
Section 3 Employers, and the self employed, have a duty to ensure the health and safety of persons not in their employment but who may be affected by their work. They must also provide them with information about aspects of their work which might affect their health and safety.
Section 4 Persons who have control of non-domestic premises have a duty to those who are not their employees but who use the premises as place of work, or use any plant or substance provided. They must ensure that the premises, all means of access or egress, and such plant or substance are safe.
Section 6 Persons who design, manufacture, import or supply articles or substances used at work have a duty to ensure that they are safe when properly used. They must also provide adequate information about their use and any conditions to ensure safety. Any person who install or erects articles for use at work must ensure nothing in the way that it is installed or erected make it unsafe when properly used.
Section 7 Employees have a duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their work. They must also co-operate with their employers.
Section 8 No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health and safety.
Sections 20 Enforcement officers have powers to enter premises at any reasonable time. They can:
?Take a constable if they believe they will be obstructed.
?Make examinations and investigations,
?Direct that the premises remain undisturbed,
?Take measurements, photographs and recordings,
?Take samples of any articles or substances,
?Cause any article or substance which may cause danger to be dismantled Require the production of records and take copies,
?Require facilities and assistance to enable them to exercise their powers.
Sections 21 If the inspector is of the opinion that a person is contravening a statutory provision, or has contravened and is likely to continue to do so, then they can serve an Improvement Notice stating the reason for their opinion and requiring it to be remedied within a period not less than 21 days.
Sections 22 If an inspector is of the opinion that any activity involves a risk of serious personal injury, they can serve a prohibition notice. This will state the matters which give rise to the risk and direct that the activity is not carried out unless the matters specified are remedied.
Sections 24 A person who is served a notice can appeal to an industrial tribunal within 21 days. The tribunal can cancel or affirm the notice. In the case of an improvement notice the notice is suspended until the appeal is disposed of. In the case of prohibition notices the notice is only suspended if the tribunal so directs.
Section 33 It is an offence for any person to fail to discharge a duty by virtue of sections 2 to 7, to contravene any health and safety regulations, or to contravene any requirement of an improvement or prohibition notice.
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