Health and Safety At Work Act 1974

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.

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