This presentation gives a detailed insight into the enabling act also known as the Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 and the information within it.

1. AMR212
The Enabling Act HASAWA 1974
David Smith

2. English Law
Section title
Section title

3. Legal Framework
LAW
Criminal Civil
Common Statute

4. COMMON LAW
• duty of one individual to another -
“Duty of Care”
STATUTE LAW
• Criminal Law
• duty between individual and the
English Law

5. Common Law Duty Of Care
• Common law imposes a duty on all of us
to avoid injuring each other.
• This applies whether we are
householders, road users, manufacturers,
suppliers of goods or otherwise engaged
in business, social or sporting activities
involving risk of injury to others.

6. • You must take reasonable care to avoid
acts or omissions which you can
reasonably foresee would be likely to
injure your neighbour.
• So who might our neighbour be?
Common Law Duty Of Care

7. Neighbours
• Employers owe a duty of care to:
• Employees
• Visitors
• Contractors
• People in the surrounding area

8. The Law Of Tort
• A sub division of civil law.
• The law of tort is concerned with such
civil wrongs as trespass, nuisance and
defamation

9. The Law Of Tort
• Under the law of tort, a duty of care arises
when two persons are directly related that
the activities of one may involve
appreciable risk of injury to the other.
• Example, Under the law of tort who does
a car driver owe a duty of care to?
• Pedestrians
• Other road users
• Owners of property adjacent to the road.

10. The Tort Of Negligence
• What is negligence?
• “Negligence is the omission to do
something which a reasonable man,
guided upon those considerations which
ordinarily regulate the conduct of human
affairs, would do, and something which
prudent and reasonable man would not
do”.
• Judge Alderson in Blyth v Birmingham
Waterworks Co (1856).

11. The Tort Of Negligence
• Before an action for damages can be
considered there are three conditions that
must be satisfied:
• It must be shown that there was a legal duty
on the part of the defendant to take care of
the safety of the plaintiff.
• The plaintiff must demonstrate that the
defendants negligent conduct resulted in a
breach of that duty of care.
• The plaintiff must have received injuries or
damage caused by the defendants negligent
conduct.

12. The Tort Of Negligence
• All these elements together constitute a
tort of negligence, and may give rise to
civil action for damages against the
negligent person.

13. The Tort Of Negligence Summary
• The plaintiff must show that the defendant:
• Owed a duty of care
• Failed to take reasonable care
• Damage resulted

14. The Law
• Absolute duty
• This standard means that there is no
choice-it must be complied with.
• E.g. certain machinery must be guarded
in a certain way.

15. The Enabling Act.
• What is it?
• The Health And Safety At Work Act 1974
• Main Provisions
• All persons at work
• General duties
• Encouragement to employers to improve
organisational safety
• Seeks to involve employees
• Strengthens powers of inspectors
• Creates a framework for developing and
updating detailed safety law

16. The Enabling Act.
SO FAR AS IS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE
• If current knowledge and technology are
available then this standard of compliance
must be met – it is not possible to guard
against hazards that are not known.
• Inconvenience and expense cannot be
used to claim something is not
practicable.
• The burden of proof that something was
not practicable lies with the defendant.

17. Section 2(1) HASAWA 1974
• Employers to ensure the health and safety
of employees so far as reasonably
practicable.

18. Section 2(2) HASAWA 1974
• The general duty extends to:
• The provision and maintenance of safe plant and
systems of work
• Adequate arrangements to ensure the safe use,
handling, storage and transport of articles and
substances
• Providing necessary information, instruction, training
and supervision
• Provision of a safe workplace with access and egress
• Provision of a healthy working environment and
welfare facilities

19. Section 2(3) H&S Policy
• It is your basic action plan on health and
safety and should include:
• Safety policy - general aims
• Organisation – allocation of responsibilities
• Arrangements – hardware and software
• Should be brought to the attention of
employees
• Should be regularly updated-
implementation and monitoring

20. Section 3 HASAWA 1974
• Employers’ duties to non – employees
• Duty to conduct his undertaking so that
anyone not in employment who may be
affected by his activities are not at risk
e.g. general public and contractors etc.

21. Section 4 HASAWA 1974
• Persons in control of premises – duty to
other persons
• To ensure premises, access, egress and
plant are without risks to others e.g.
visitors, contractors etc.

22. The powers of a HSE inspector
• General
• Enter at a reasonable time
• Authorise others to enter e.g. gas,
electricity
• Examine and investigate
• Measurements
• Photographs
• Machinery
• Evidence (records)

23. The powers of a HSE inspector
• Take samples
• Require premises to be left undisturbed
• Take into possession, is articles or substances are
dangerous
• Dismantle and test dangerous articles and
substances.
• Ask questions and take statements
• Require information and assistance
• Issue improvement/prohibition notices
• Seize destroy or render harmless articles
/substances if imminent danger
• Any other power necessary to carry out functions

24. Next week
• We will cover machinery safety

26. What’s It All About?
Section title
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