The document introduces the UK health and safety legal regime and the importance of managing health and safety risks. It outlines employers' duties to protect employees and others under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Effective health and safety management requires identifying hazards through risk assessment, determining appropriate control measures, and regularly reviewing performance. Key topics include stress, field trips, noise, and occupational road safety.

1. Effective Health & Safety
Management
Kev Coghill MIOSH RSP
Senior Risk Consultant
Marsh Risk Consulting Practice

2. Objectives
 Introduce the UK H&S legal regime
 Appreciate why H&S is important
 Understand the risk assessment process
Summarise current “hot” topics - e.g. field

trips/stress/noise
 Recognise why H&S should be managed

3. So why bother with H&S?
Fines and costs
Pain and
Court time
suffering
Civil cases
Duty to fellow
Notices
Legal
human being
Moral
Business
Premiums
Uninsured losses
Reputation
Morale
Productivity

4. 2003/04 Statistics
 235 fatalities
 159,809 RIDDOR reported injuries
 An estimated 2.2 million people suffering
from an illness caused or made worse by
their current or past work
 An estimated 39 million working days lost -
30 million due to ill health & 9 million due
to injury

5. UK legal system
Criminal Civil
By HSE or LA By injured person
Leads to a Leads to award of
fine/imprisonment damages
Not insurable Must be insured

6. Legal process B
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 Someone is injured at work or by people at
work
 They make a civil claim for compensation
(damages)
 The HSE or local authority prosecute on
behalf of the state (fine/imprisonment)

7. Health and Safety at Work etc
Act 1974
Duties on all at
work
To protect all
affected by work

8. Pre 1974 Legislation
Factories Act OSRP Act Other Safety
1961 1963 Acts
Regulations Regulations Regulations

9. Post 1974 Legislation
HASAWA 1974
Regulations
A.C.O.P’s
Factories Act OSRP Act Other Safety
1961 1963 Acts
Regulations Regulations Regulations

10. Legal Requirements
Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Management of Health & Safety at Work
Regulations 1999
Failure to comply is a criminal act
Employers CANNOT insure against failure
to comply

11. Section 2
Section 2(1) - employers’ general duty
Duty to ensure „so far as is reasonably

practicable‟, the health, safety and welfare at work
of employees and any others who may be affected
by the undertaking….

12. Legal Standards
“Reasonably Practicable” or “SFARP”
 Implies a weighing up of the risk against the cost
(in terms of time, money or trouble) of preventing
or controlling the risk

13. Section 2 (cont.)
 Provision of such information, instruction, training
and supervision as is necessary to ensure , SFARP,
the health and safety at work of employees and
any others who may be affected….

14. Section 2 (cont.)
Duty of Employers to Employees cont.
 2.2a - safe plant and systems of work
 2.2b - safe use, handling, storage and transportation of
articles and substances
 2.2c - information, instruction, training and adequate
supervision
 2.2d - safe place of work and a safe means of access and
egress
 2.2e - safe working environment and adequate welfare
facilities

15. Section 7
Duty of Employees at Work
It shall be the duty of every employee whilst at work:-
 to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and
of any other person who may be affected by their acts or
omissions
 to co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary to
enable that employer to meet their requirements with
regards to any statutory provisions

16. Section 21
Improvement Notices
If an inspector is of the opinion that a person:-
 is contravening one or more of the relevant
statutory provisions; or
 has contravened one or more of those statutory
provisions, in circumstances that it is likely that
the contravention will continue or be repeated,
then he will issue an Improvement Notice.

17. Section 22
Prohibition Notices
If any activity is being, or is about to be, carried
out that could result in serious personal injury,
then an inspector may issue a Prohibition Notice.
This notice will cause the immediate cessation of
the activity involved until all measures are
rectified.

18. Enforcement
The HSE can take legal action against an
employer/employee in a criminal court for H&S
failures:
Unlimited fine and/or
Custodial sentence
(Remember - you cannot insure against failure to
comply with H&S legislation)
If guilty = criminal record

19. British Justice
INNOCENT
until proven
GUILTY
beyond
ALL
REASONABLE
DOUBT

20. Civil Litigation
Provides for compensation to be paid to
persons who suffer harm as a result of a work
activity.
Can insure - Employers Liability Insurance
Burden of proof is NEGLIGENCE
Proof is “on the balance of probabilities”
Effectively “guilty until you prove your
innocence”

21. Reportable
Reporting of:
Injuries (accidents & incidents)
Disease
Dangerous Occurrences
(Regulations)

22. Accident/Incident Investigation
 RIDDOR only requires reporting of
incidents etc.
 No explicit legal requirement in any H&S
legislation to investigate - therefore WHY
DO IT?

23. Accident/Incident Investigation
HSW Act states - “employers must

ensure….the health, safety and welfare of
employees...” etc.
 Reactive monitoring - to prevent the same
or similar from happening again
 Review/revise risk assessments and
associated H&S documentation/working
practices

24. The Management Of Health &
Safety At Work Regulations
1999

25. Management of H&S Regs
Risk Assessments
Every employer shall make a „suitable and

sufficient‟ assessment of risks to the health and
safety:-
– of his employees
– of persons not in his employment

26. Management of H&S Regs
Suitable & Sufficient
 Should enable the employer to identify and
prioritise the measures that need to be taken
 Should identify the significant risks arising out of
or as a result of the work activity

27. Management of H&S Regs
(Definitions)
 HAZARD
 RISK
 HARM
TAKEN FROM THE MHSWR APPROVED CODE OF PRACTICE 1999

28. Management of H&S Regs
What is a Hazard ?
“Something with the potential to cause

harm”
 May be chemical, mechanical,electrical,
environmental etc. OR quot;Humanquot; in nature

29. Management of H&S Regs
What is a Risk ?
 'Risk expresses the likelihood that harm
from a particular hazard is realised'
Risk therefore reflects both the likelihood
that harm will be caused and its severity

30. Management of H&S Regs
What is Harm?
 HARM = death, bodily injury and damage to
physical or mental health.
Safety law is only concerned with harm to
property or the environment if that entails a risk of
harm to people.
Now consider risk ranking

31. Risk Ranking - Probability
Measurement of frequency/likelihood
3 Categories :
Likelihood of incident recurring
Frequent 3 repeatedly during course of the
work activity
Likelihood of incident occurring
Occasional 2 sometime during course of the
work activity
Likelihood of incident virtually
Rare 1 never occurring during course
of the work activity

32. Risk Ranking - Consequence
Measurement of severity
3 Categories :
May lead to lost-time or
Severe 3 recordable incident
May lead to recordable or first-
Moderate 2 aid incident
May result in minor first-aid
Minor 1 treatment or no harm being
caused

33. Risk Assessment Matrix
Risk = Probability x Consequence (Severity)
Severe Moderate Minor
(3) (2) (1)
Frequent
(3) 9 6 3
Occasional
(2) 6 4 2
Rare
(1) 3 2 1

34. Existing Control Measurers
 Assess your existing control measures
 Take into account whether controls are
being applied / complied with etc.
 If there are no controls, enter this on the
assessment

35. Required Actions
 What
What is to be undertaken
 Who
Who is charged with undertaking the action
 By When
Action target date
 Completion confirmed [Formalised]
Action completion date

36. Review
 Assessment Review date
 Remember that the required actions progress must
be monitored to ensure that the actions are carried
out and are effective.
 A review should be undertaken following the
implementation of the improved controls to assess
the effectiveness and ensure other new risks have
not evolved from these actions

37. Reviewing cont.
 Legal requirement
 Reason to suspect no longer valid
 Significant change
 Think “systems” approach to constant
monitoring and review

38. Risk Control Hierarchy
 Hierarchy of risk controls
– Eliminate hazard at source
– Reduce hazard at source
– Remove person from hazard
– Contain hazard by enclosure
– Reduce employee exposure
– Systems of work
– Personal protective equipment (PPE)
– * pay attention to order*

39. “Hot Topics”
 Stress
 Field trips
 Noise
 Occupational road safety

40. Stress
 Should be considered under Management
Regs & risk assessment
 HSE published “Management standards for
tackling work related stress”
 First improvement notice issued this year to
a NHS Trust for failing to assess stress risks

41. Field Trips
 Management Regs risk assessment
requirement
 Popular item for press when something goes
wrong
 Require detailed management plans -
obviously dependent upon each trip

42. Noise
 Existing Noise at Work Regs set levels at
85dBA & 90dBA
 New Physical Agents Directive to be
incorporated into UK legal regime by
15/02/06 - noise levels reduced to 80dBA &
85dBA

43. Occupational Road Safety
 Currently on the HSE top 10 inspection
topics
 Traditionally excluded from any statistics
because it is Road Traffic Act & therefore
the police who enforce
 Now looking at all work related driving -
excluding commuting to/from work

44. Health & Safety Management

45. HSG65
Policy
Organising
Planning and
Auditing Implementing
Measuring
Performance
Reviewing
Performance

46. Organising
 Split into four sections, four Cs
– Co-operation
– Communication
– Control
– Competence

47. Planning & Implementing
Objectives/Actions should be - SMART
Specific
Measurable
Ambitious & agreed
Relevant
Tied to a timetable

48. Measuring Performance
 Important management tool
 Use work already being done
– Risk assessment
– Active monitoring
– Accident/incident data
 Detailed techniques in BS 8800/OHSAS 18001
 Implementing goes back to effective
communication

49. Review & Audit
 Remember systems theory - monitor and review
(audit and feedback)
 Helps to determine whether actions have been
achieved and if so, what new ones should be set
 Once review completed - communicate findings
and remember both positive and negative feedback
 Set new SMART objectives

50. Poor Communication……...
“Well this certainly buggers
up our plans to conquer the
Universe”