health and safey act 1974

1. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK

2. HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK
 Introduction
 Employee’s responsibilities
 Employer’s responsibilities
 Protective equipment and other safety measures
 Reporting an accident at work
 Bullying and harassment at work
 Make a complaint about health and safety at work.

3. INTRODUCTION
• Health and safety laws apply to all employers, self-employed people
and employees in their workplaces. This includes fixed-term
employees and temporary employees.
Laws on health and safety at work
• The rights and obligations of both employers and employees in
relation to health and safety at work are set out in the Safety, Health
and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (as amended). This Act also provides for
substantial fines and penalties for any breaches of the health and
safety laws.

4. EMPLOYEE’S RESPONSIBILITIES:
• As an employee, your duties at work include:
 Taking reasonable care to protect the health and safety of yourself and other people in
the workplace
 Not engaging in improper behaviour that will endanger yourself or others
 Not being under the influence of drink or drugs in the workplace
 Undergoing any reasonable medical assessment (or other assessment) if requested by
your employer
 Reporting any defects (faults) in equipment or the workplace which might be a danger
to health and safety.

5. EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITIES
Employers must ensure their employees’ safety, health and welfare at work, as far as reasonably practicable.
• To prevent workplace injuries and ill-health, the employer must:
• Provide and maintain a safe workplace (which uses safe plant and equipment)
• Prevent risks from employees using any article or substance, and from exposure to physical agents, noise and
vibration
• Prevent any improper conduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk
• Provide instruction and training to employees on health and safety
• Provide protective clothing and equipment to employees
• Appoint a competent person as the organization's safety officer
• Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, employers must allow you paid time off for safety
awareness training.

6. RISK ASSESSMENT AND SAFETY STATEMENT
Every employer must carry out a workplace risk assessment to:
Identify any hazards in the workplace
Assess the risks arising from such hazards
Identify the steps to be taken to deal with any risks
• The employer must also prepare a safety statement, based on the risk
assessment. The statement should include details of people in the workforce
who are responsible for safety issues. Employees should have access to this
statement and employers should review it regularly.

7. HEALTH AND SAFETY OF YOUNG PEOPLE AT WORK:
• Employers should carry out a separate risk assessment if they are
employing someone aged under 18. This risk assessment must be
carried out before the young person gets the job.
• The young person should not be given the job if certain risks are
identified. For example, risks that the young person cannot
recognise or avoid because of their lack of experience.

8. HEALTH AND SAFETY LEAVE AFTER MATERNITY LEAVE:
• When an employee returns to work after maternity leave, any risk to her
because she has recently given birth (or because she is breastfeeding),
should be removed. If this is not possible, the employee should be moved to
alternative ‘risk-free’ work. If a move is not possible, she should be given
health and safety leave.
• If a doctor certifies that night work is unsuitable after the birth, alternative
work should be provided. If alternative work cannot be provided, the
employee should be given health and safety leave.

9. YOUR RIGHTS DURING HEALTH AND SAFETY LEAVE:
• During health and safety leave, you are treated as if you are still
in employment. This means you continue to accumulate (build
up) your entitlement to annual leave. However, you are not
entitled to leave for any public holidays that happen during this
time.

10. PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND OTHER SAFETY
MEASURES:
• Employers should tell employees about any risks that require wearing
protective equipment (such as protective clothing, headgear, footwear,
eyewear or gloves).
• The employer should give employees the protective equipment (free of
charge if it is intended for use at the workplace only). They should also
provide training on how to use the equipment, where necessary.
• Usually, employees are given their own personal equipment, rather than
equipment to share. Employees have a duty to take reasonable care for their
own safety and to use any protective equipment provided.

11. COMPUTER SCREENS
• Employers have responsibilities in relation to visual display units
(VDUs), such as computer screens. For example:
 Checking the reflection and glare
 Checking the employee’s position in front of the VDU
 Checking the keyboard and software used
 Giving employees adequate breaks from the screen

12. REPORTING AN ACCIDENT AT WORK
• All accidents in the workplace should be reported to the employer, who
should record the details of the incident.
• Reporting the accident will help to protect the employee’s rights to social
welfare payments (see ‘Social welfare payments’ below). It also helps
employees regarding other rights that may arise due to an occupational
accident.
• employer must report the accident to the Health and Safety Authority
(HAS). This is a legal responsibility set out in the Safety, Health and Welfare
at Work.

13. SOCIAL WELFARE PAYMENTS:
•If you have an accident at work, you can apply for Injury
Benefit. This is a weekly payment from the Department
of Social Protection (DSP) for people who are unfit for
work due to an accident at work, or due to an
occupational disease.

14. PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS
• You cannot claim compensation from your employer under the
health and safety legislation, but you can make a personal injury
claim through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
• The PIAB is an independent statutory body that assesses personal
injury claims after workplace accidents. If the PIAB finds your
employer is responsible for the accident, it will set the amount of
compensation they must pay you.

15. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT AT WORK:
•By law, employers have a duty to prevent bullying and
harassment in the workplace.
•Employers should have procedures for dealing with
complaints of bullying and harassment, and they should deal
with these complaints immediately. Ignoring complaints
could leave an employer open to a possible claim by an
employee for damages or compensation.

16. MAKE A COMPLAINT ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY AT
WORK
• To make a complaint about your rights under health and safety
legislation, contact the Workplace Relations Commission using
their online complaint form.
• You must make the complaint within 6 months of the incident.
The time limit may be extended for a further 6 months if there is
a reasonable cause for the delay.

17. PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY RIGHTS:
• By law, you cannot be victimised for taking action to access your
rights under health and safety legislation.
• For example, your employer cannot penalise you for making a
complaint to the HAS about health and safety at work. Penalising
could be dismissing you, taking disciplinary action, or treating you
less favourably than other employees.