health and safety

1. HEALTH AND SAFETY
MANAGEMENT
Presentation
By
James McCann
1

2. Health and Safety Management
Duties of Employers
It is the duty of every employer, so far
as is reasonably practicable, to ensure
the health, safety and welfare at work
of all his employees (HASAWA S2.1).
This includes:
2

3. – provision and maintenance of plant and
systems of work that are safe and
without risks to health
– arrangements for ensuring the safety
and absence of health risks in
connection with the use, handling,
storage and transport of articles and
substances
– provide such information, instruction,
training and supervision as is necessary
to ensure the health and safety at
workplaces under the employer's control
3

4. – ensure that work places, plant and
processes are safe and without risk to
health
– provide and maintain safe means of
access and egress (entry, exit and
escape) from premises and work areas.
– provide and maintain a working
environment for employees that is safe,
without risks to health and adequate as
regards facilities and arrangements for
their welfare at work. This includes
transport, store , handle and use
materials in a safe manner.
4

5. An employer must:
– produce and distribute a statement of
safety policy and its implementation to
all employees.
5

6. – consult with employees' representatives
on matters related to health and safety
and establish safety committees if
sought by representatives. Such
consultation is guided by published
codes of practice.
6

7. – ensure that those who are not
employed are informed of safety and
hazards for when they work or are
present on employer premises and use
equipment and materials.
7

8. The HASAW Act 74 is backed by the
criminal law.
(nb. Employees whose health and safety is
affected at work are also protected by their
contract of employment and associated civil
law responsibilities in respect of employer
negligence and their own responsibility to
work with due care and attention).
8

9. Criminal offences under HASAWA stem from failure
to discharge duties, breach of specific sections or
non-compliance with an inspector's requirements as
authorised by the Act.
Directors and senior managers have personal
responsibility for health and safety under the Act
(individuals are thus not protected by quot;corporate
resourcesquot;. It is possible that senior management
have carried out all their responsibilities and the
failure is traceable to a local operations manager
who has failed to carry out policy. Such a manager,
as an individual responsible for the reasonable care
of others, is also liable under civil proceedings.
9

10. Common law (case law)
Is based on past court judgments,

which explain the facts of cases, the
law applying and the court's legal
reasoning for conclusions or findings.
Case judgments are recorded (Law
Reports) and form a body of
decisions, interpretations or
precedents for other courts to follow.
10

11. At common law, employers owe employees a
general duty to take reasonable care (of
themselves and others ) in avoiding injuries,
health problems and deaths etc at work.
11

12. These common law duties are covered by
HASAWA (s2) - the general duties of the
employer.
Employers must
provide a safe place of work with safe
means of access and egress
maintain safe appliances/equipment
and plant for doing work
maintain safe systems of work
employ competent, diligent people to
do the work.
12

13. Duties of employers to persons other

than their employees
 Every employer must conduct his
undertaking in such a way as to ensure,
so far as is reasonably practicable, that
persons not in his employment, e.g.
contactors, are not exposed to risks to
health or safety (S3.1).
13

14. NEGLIGENCE
(Tort of Negligence)
The general law of negligence

contributes to specific aspects of an
employer's (and employee's) duty to
take reasonable care. To prove
negligence, an injured party must
demonstrate that;
14

15. – A duty of care is owed by the defendant (the
employer) to the plaintiff (the employee)
– That this duty has been breached
– Injury, loss or damage stems from the
breach.
15

16. UK Health and Safety at Work Regulations
These slides summarize some of the H&S

regulations published over recent years.
Readers are recommended to obtain the
regulations directly for themselves from
the Health and Safety Commission as the
summary below offers an illustrative
overview only and should not be
taken as definitive.
16

17. The regulations apply to most work
activities. They up-date and extend
existing UK health and safety law
(1974 Act) and impact on employer
duties in relation to employees and
others affected by work activity. They
also affect the self- employed's
obligations to protect themselves and
others. They cover European Union
(EU) Article 118A directives on health
and safety at work in relation to:
17

18. Control over Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

 Health and Safety Management
 Work Equipment Safety
 Manual Handling of Loads
 Workplace Conditions
 Personnel Protective Equipment
 Display Screen Equipment
 Construction (Design and Management)
 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
1994
(1) The pre-tender stage health and safety plan and
(2) the role of the planning supervisor
 Signpost to the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and
Signals) Regulations 1996
18

19. The regulations emphasise sound
health and safety management and
broad duties to assess risk and
prevention by applying protective
measures. Further codes/guidance
notes are also available on the
regulations themselves.
19

20. HEALTH AND SAFETY (CONSULTATION WITH
EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS 1996
20

21. INTRODUCTION
21

22. These slides gives information on the Health and
Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations
1996 (HSCER 1996) which came into force on 1
October 1996. They confer duties upon employers to
consult with all employees who are not represented
by a recognized trade union, on health and safety
issues. This information should be read in
conjunction with guidance book L95, A guide to the
Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees)
Regulations 1996.
22

23. The HSCE Regulations are made under the European
Communities Act 1972. They extend to all
employees in Great Britain to whom HSW Act
applies including non-employed trainees under the
Health and Safety (Training for Employment)
Regulations 1990, but exclude the master or crew
of sea-going ships and domestic servants employed
in private households.
23

24. 3 They are separate from but enhance the
Safety Representatives and Safety Committees
Regulations 1977 (SRSCR 1977) which permits
recognised trade unions to appoint safety
representatives. The SRSCR 1977 remain in
force in their entirety. The HSCER 1996 only
apply to employees who are not being
represented by safety representatives
appointed under the SRSCR 1977 (see paras 8-
9 of L95).
24

25. 5 It is the duty of employers to ensure that they
have arrangements in place to meet the
requirements of the SRSCR 1977 and/or the HSCER
1996. To implement the HSCER 1996 they must
decide whether to consult employees directly or via
appointed safety representatives. Enforcement
officers will take the appropriate action to enforce
this, but should not suggest that any one method is
preferable or better. The enforcement of the HSCER
1996 should be informed by the principles of
proportionality, consistency, targeting, and
transparency, as laid out in MISC 030 10/95, the
HSC's Enforcement Policy Statement.
25

26. 6 Enforcement Officers should avoid being drawn
into any industrial relations disputes.
Disagreements between employers and employees
should be resolved through the usual industrial
relations machinery with recourse to the Advisory
Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) as
appropriate. In such cases, these procedures should
first be exhausted, and formal enforcement action
regarded as a last resort, since it indicates a serious
breakdown in the industrial relations machinery.
26

27. 7 The HSCER 1996 impose requirements which may
rarely have to be enforced by the use of an
improvement notice, or even prosecution. Further
guidance to enforcement officers on both the SRSCR
1977 and the HSCER 1996 is planned.
27

28. Health and Safety (Consultation
With Employees) Regulations
1996
28

29. Regulation 2
1 The term quot;employeequot; is defined in reg 2(1)
as anyone who works under a contract of
employment. Workers who are self-
employed for fiscal etc reasons, may be
employed for the purposes of health and
safety legislation.
29

30. 2 Employers do not need to alter any
existing arrangements that comply fully
with the SRSCR 1977 or the HSCER 1996.
Under the SRSCR 1977 letters of notification
from the trade union to the employer should
state which group(s) of employees each
representative covers. If however, a
recognized union has failed to appoint
representatives and is not going to do so in
the near future, then the HSCER 1996 apply
in respect of the group(s) of employees
concerned.
30

31. Regulation 3
3 Appendices A and B of the HSE guidance
L95, list respectively, the information that
employees are required to be provided with,
and the training they must receive, under
other regulations. Consultation has to be quot;in
good timequot; which means that the employers
have to provide employees, or their elected
representatives, with the necessary
information and give them time to discuss
the matter and express their opinions before
a decision is reached.
31

32. Regulation 4
4. How this should be done is not prescribed
The employer may choose to consult either
directly with his employees or indirectly via
representative(s) of employee safety elected
by the constituencies of employees
concerned but the guidance offers advice on
deciding which method to employ (paras 15-
19) and, where representatives are to be
elected, factors to take into account when
organizing elections (paras 25-28). It is not
compulsory for employers to keep written
records of consultations.
32

33. REGULATION 5
5 Elected representatives of employee safety
must be employees of the employer
concerned but are not restricted to
representing employees of a particular
group or at a particular location, except by
the terms of their appointment. The
Regulations do not prescribe the number of
representatives to be elected or their
constituencies - it is for the local parties
concerned to agree.
33

34. RGULATION 6
6 Employees or their elected
representative(s) must be given such
information as is necessary to allow them to
participate fully and effectively in
consultation. This is subject to the same
exceptions as the SRSCR 1977.
34

35. REGULATION 7
7 Elected representatives of employee safety
may make representations to the employers
when they wish - not simply when they are
consulted. However, the HSCER 1996 do not
place any legal duty upon them.
35

36. REGULATION 8
8 Employers may have to establish two
parallel consultation systems under both the
SRSCR 1977 and the HSCER 1996 and co-
ordination will be necessary. Trade union
appointed representatives have additional
powers of investigation, inspection and the
formation of and participation in safety
committees.
36

37. REGULATION 9
9 Employers must pay for all reasonable
costs associated with necessary training for
elected representatives of employee safety,
including travel and subsistence, although
the source of that training is not stipulated.
Both representatives and candidates in
elections should be given time off with pay
to permit them to perform their functions.
Enforcement action will not be appropriate
in quot;time offquot; cases, since both employee and
representatives have the right to apply to an
industrial tribunal.
37

38. REGULATION 10
10 Anyone wishing to present a complaint to
an industrial tribunal under reg. 7 must give
certain details using form IT 1 (in Scotland
IT 1(Scot)). The Department for Education
and Employment (D of E E) booklet
quot;Industrial Tribunals procedure (ITL.1)quot;
gives guidance to parties concerned in
industrial tribunal proceedings. This material
is available primarily from local employment
offices, job centres and unemployment
benefit offices.
38

39. 11 Most complaints to industrial tribunals,
apart from those relating to time off with
pay, are automatically referred to ACAS
before the hearing, so that conciliation can
be attempted. LA enforcement officers
should be aware of this, and may advise that
ACAS will be ready, at the request of either
party to the case, to offer advice and/or
conciliation, before or after the submission
of a formal complaint to an industrial
tribunal, so that a conciliation officer can
attempt to promote a settlement without
the need for a tribunal hearing.
39

40. 12 There is a right of appeal from a tribunal
decision on points of law only to the
Employment Appeals Tribunal. Parties
automatically receive information about how
to make an appeal with their copy of the
tribunal's decision. LA enforcement officers
are therefore unlikely to be involved beyond
being asked, before such documents are
received, for information which may be
given in the general terms indicated above.
No attempt should be made to speculate or
elaborate on the detailed procedure which is
a matter for DfEE.
40

41. 13 No employee may suffer detriment in
connection with anything reasonable they
do, or propose to do, in connect with health
and safety consultation. They are protected
by the Employment Rights Act 1996 against
detriment and unfair dismissal and may take
the matter to an industrial tribunal
regardless of how long they have been
employed at their place of work.
41

42. 14 Breach of duty under the HSCER 1996
shall not confer any right of action in civil
proceedings.
42

43. 15 Although made under the European
Communities Act 1972, the HSCER 1996 are,
in respect of such matters as who enforces
them and powers of inspection, the same as
regulations made under HSW Act 1974. NB:
a LA enforcement officer may not serve a
prohibition notice and has no power to deal
with the cause of imminent danger under
these regulations.
43

44. 16 The armed forces of the Crown may
appoint, rather then elect, representatives of
employees safety. Regulation 7(1)(b), (2)
and (3) relating to the provision of training
for representatives, time off with pay and
recourse to industrial tribunals do not apply
to the Crown.
44

45. 17 The SRSCR 1977 have been amended so
that they apply in respect of employees
working in mines.
45

46. Safety Representatives and Safety
Committees Regulations1977.
46

47. The Safety Representatives and Safety

Committees Regulations 1977. These
Regulations give legal rights to safety reps
appointed by trade unions recognised by
the employer for negotiating purposes.
 Safety reps are not legally liable for
anything which they do or don't do as a
safety rep. However, they have the same
responsibilities as all employees.
47

48. These Regulations give safety reps the legal right to:
 represent their members on health and safety matters
 raise health and safety complaints with management
 investigate potential hazards, and complaints from their
members
 inspect their members workplaces at least once every
three months
 make additional inspections if work practices have
changed or new information has come to light
48

49. investigate causes of accidents, dangerous occurrences

and work-related diseases
 obtain facilities, assistance and information from their
employer, to help them carry out their safety rep
functions
 obtain information and reports from health and safety
inspectors
 insist that their employer sets up an agreed safety
committee,if there isn't one already
 take time off with pay to carry out safety rep functions
and to attend TUC or union approved training
49

50. The Management of Health and Safety at
Work Regulations 1992 give the following
additional rights:
50

51. a) to be consulted by the employer in good time on:

any measure which may substantially affect the health

and safety of employees whom the safety rep represents
appointment of Competent persons to provide health

and safety assistance to the employer
appointment of persons to oversee emergency

procedures
any health and safety information provided to employees

whom the safety rep represents
the planning and organisation of health and safety

training
51

52. the effects on health and safety of new

technology. Safety reps must be consulted
on this from the planning stage
 b) to have provided by the employer any
facilities and assistance that safety reps
may reasonably require to carry out their
safety rep functions
52

53. Safety committees

 Following written requests from at least two safety reps.
the employer must form a safety committee. When
setting this up, the employer must within 3 months:
 consult with representatives making this request and
trade union representatives whose members work in any
workplace covered by the committee
 notify employees of the committee's composition and the
workplace area it covers
 The employer can give the lead in defining the
objectives and functions of the committee, frequency of
meetings, chairing, agenda/minutes etc.
53

54. Occupiers of premises

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act

employers and occupiers of premises have
statutory duties to people other than employees
The duties cover those

are not their employees but who

use non-domestic premises as a place of work or

where, as provided, they may use plant or
substances - thus this would include schools,
computer rooms in colleges or adult education
pottery studios or even health and fitness clubs.
54

55. Those controlling the premises must

ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable,
that the premises: access/egress,
plant/substances on the premises or
provided for use etc, are safe and without
risks to health.
55

56. This therefore applies to
visitors to a workplace (the factory, the

office, the warehouse, the shop),
 employees of a contractor to a firm
 members of the public picking
strawberries on a farm
 students of all ages
 shoppers
 and many others.
56

57. Of course to each of these visitors there is

a common law obligation on the part of
employers and occupiers - not to be
negligent.
57

58. Management of Health and Safety
Regulations 1992
58

59. These elaborate the employer's broad duties
in relation to H&S management (HASAW Act
1974.) and apply to almost all work
activities in the UK and offshore. Basically
the regulations require employers to
demonstrate that they have adopted a
systematic and controlled approach to
dealing with health and safety and risk
assessment. Employers must
59

60. Do risk assessment
 Employers must assess the risks to the
health and safety of employees and
anyone else affected by the work activity.
 necessary preventive and protective
measures must be identified.
 employers with five or more staff must
record the findings of risk audits and how
plans and controls are implemented.
60

61. An employer need not duplicate assessment

work. Assessments done e.g. for compliance
with COSHH are likely to contribute to servicing
the management regulations.
Employers must devise and implement

arrangements for putting measures (plans,
organizational arrangements, control systems,
monitoring and review methods etc) that follow
from risk assessment, into practice.
61

62. This includes

– emergency procedures
– co-operating with other employers sharing a work site
– providing employees with clear, understandable
information about H&S matters, ensure they have
adequate H&S training and are capable enough at
their jobs to avoid risks
– temporary workers must be provided with particular
H&S information to meet special needs.
62

63. if a risk audit identifies health needs, then

employers must provide appropriate
health surveillance for employees
 when developing and applying measures
needed for compliance, employers must
appoint competent people (internal or
external)
63

64. Employee duties
Employees are explicitly required to follow

H&S instructions and report dangers
 the law requiring consultation of employee
safety representatives is extended.
 Facilities must be provided for safety
reps.
64

65. Provision and Use of Work
Equipment Regulations 1992
65

66. These consolidate (implementation up to
1997) existing rules (the legacy of
piecemeal laws from the past) covering
work equipment used across different
industries. Duties and minimum
requirements are defined for equipment to
deal with selected hazards irrespective of
the industry. Some up-grades to older
equipment may be needed.
66

67. General Employer Duties
67

68. make sure equipment is suitable for the

use that will be made of it. Work
equipment - covers everything: a hand
tool, machines of all kinds, a complete
plant such as a refinery. Use - includes
starting, stopping, repairing, modifying,
installing, dismantling, programming,
setting, transporting, maintaining,
servicing and cleaning.
68

69. – take into account the working conditions and
hazards of the workplace when selecting
equipment
– ensure equipment is used only for the
operations and conditions for which, it is
suitable and that it is maintained efficiently
(working order and good repair)
69

70. – give adequate information, instruction and
training on the equipment
– ensure equipment conforms with EU product
safety directives.
70

71. The regulations specifically reference
– guarding of dangerous parts of machinery (replaces
current law) and equipment stability
– specified hazards i.e. falling/ejected articles and
substances, rupture/disintegration of equipment
parts, equipment catching fire or overheating,
unintended or premature discharges, explosions
– equipment parts and substances at high or very low
temperatures
– control systems and devices, maintenance operations,
warnings and markings.
– isolation of equipment from sources of energy
– Lighting
71

72. Further directives set out conditions that
much new equipment (especially machinery)
must satisfy before it can be sold in EU
states.
72

73. THE MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
REGULATIONS 1992
73

74. 1 The Manual Handling Operations
Regulations 1992 (MHO) came into force on
1 January 1993. This circular highlights the
key issues for inspection and enforcement
by local authority enforcement officers.
Practical guidance on the regulations is
given in the HSE booklet manual handling:
guidance on regulations ISBN 0 11 886335
5.
74

75. BACKGROUND
2 The MHO Regulations implement

the EC Directive on manual handling
(90/269/EEC), one of the first series
of individual Directives under the
Frame Directive on health and safety
(89/391/EEC).
75

76. 3 These regulations seek to reduce the very
large incidence of injury and ill-health
arising from the manual handling of loads at
work. More than 1 in 4 of all reportable
injuries are caused by manual handling.
These accidents do not include cumulative
injuries, particularly to the back which can
lead to physical implement or even
permanent disablement.
76

77. 4 The MHO Regulations place duties upon
employers in respect of their own
employees. Identical duties are placed on
the self-employed in respect of their own
safety.
77

78. 5 The regulations do not impose duties on
employers in relation to other persons, e.g.
customers lifting goods within a DIY store.
However HSW Act, s.3 and provisions of the
Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1992 Regulations may be
relevant in such cases.
78

79. 6 The regulations have replaced a number of
outdated statutory provisions on the manual
handling of loads. One exception is OSRP
Act, s.23 insofar as it relates to office
holders (such as police officers) for whom
the application of HSW legislation as a
whole is under separate consideration. The
Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and its
Scottish equivalent have been partially
retained. Local Education Authorities
(Education Authority in Scotland) will
continue to exercise control in this area of
enforcement.
79

80. 7 The MHO Regulations apply to all work
activities with the exception of those
normally covered by Merchant Shipping
legislation, for which the Department of
Transport are separate provision. Thus the
regulations apply fully to the Ministry of
Defence, emergency services and offshore
activities.
80

81. 8 HSE has published extensive guidance on
the regulations which is supplemented by a
free booklet. In addition, HSC is strongly
encouraging the preparation of more
specific guidance where particular industries
and sectors would find it helpful.
81

82. 9 The approach to enforcement should
initially be to provide advice and guidance,
and to generally raise awareness,
particularly where requirements are new
and more prescriptive. The Lighten the Load
campaign is the obvious initiative through
which awareness can be raised and advice
and assistance given to employers. It is
important to ensure employers concentrate
on the hierarchy described in Para 16 of this
circular and ensure that ergonomic aspects
are considered and not merely the weights
lifted. Emphasis should be placed on the
action planned as a result of any
assessment. 82

83. 10 These regulations impose significant
requirements not specifically covered in
previous regulations. Action has rarely been
taken under the general requirements of
HSW Act. When readily avoidable unsafe
practices are identified, enforcement officers
should seek improvements. Where
enforcement action is considered, it is
advisable to seek advice from EMAS at an
early stage.
83

84. 11 It is anticipated that enforcement will be
concentrated around reg. 4. Where an enforcement
officer is considering proceedings solely for failing
to make an assessment they should decide whether
the employer has had sufficient time to carry out
the task (under reg 4 (1) (b)).
84

85. 12 The MHO Regulations are concerned with risk of
injury from a manual handling operation by itself,
and not with risks posed by loads which are
intrinsically hazardous. They do not apply for
example to risks of injury from toxic or corrosive
which might contaminate or leak from loads being
handled. Such risks are dealt with elsewhere, e.g.
by the COSHH Regulations.
85

86. 13 The regulations extend to the manual
handling of people and animals.
86

87. 14 The definition of 'manual handling
operations' is broadly drawn: ' ..any
transporters or supporting of a load
(including the lifting, putting down, pushing,
pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand
or by bodily force'. Practical examples are
given in the HSE guidance on the
regulations. Manual handling implies that an
attempt is being made to move a load.
Therefore, if a girder being moved manually
is dropped and fractures an employee's foot,
it is a manual handling accident. If the
girder is inadvertently knocked over and
causes a similar injury this would not be due
to manual handling. 87

88. 15 An important exception is that a tool or
machine being used for its normal purpose is
not a load. Therefore chainsaws being
unloaded from a vehicle would be regarded
as a 'load' and subject to the MHO
Regulations, but they would not be a 'load'
in normal use.
88

89. 16 Reg. 4 sets out a hierarchy of 3
measures:
89

90. (1) avoid manual handling operations which
involve a risk of injury, so far as is
reasonably practicable (reg - 4 (1) (a));
90

91. (2) assess all such operations which cannot
be avoided, taking account of Schedule 1
(reg. 4(1)(b)(i)); and
91

92. (3) take steps to reduce the risk of injury
during those operations to the lowest level
reasonably practicable (reg. 4(1)(b)(ii)).
92

93. 17 These measures do not stand in isolation.
They follow on from the more general
assessment required by the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations, reg.
3.
93

94. 18 If there is no evidence of risk of injury,
reg. 4 has no effect and the employer has no
duty. Deciding the presence and degree of
risk will be a matter of judgment in each
case. The regulations do not set out the
steps employers must take to reduce the
risks to their workers. The HSE guidance on
the regulations includes some steps that
employers will wish to consider in the light
of the assessment, but it is up to employers
to choose appropriate measures.
94

95. 19 The assessment must be 'suitable and
sufficient'. A 'generic' assessment is
acceptable if it can legitimately draw
together strands common to several
operations or employees. For example, the
unloading of a variety of materials on
building sites and routine delivery to several
separate locations might be best covered in
a generic assessment.
95

96. 20 The numerical guide-lines provided in
Appendix 1 of the HSE guidance should help
employers determine which operations carry
a greater risk of injury and therefore require
a more detailed assessment. The regulations
however, set no weight limits and therefore
the guidelines are not enforceable.
96

97. 21 Schedule 1 of the regulations provides a
list of the factors for which the employer
must have regard and the questions to be
considered, particularly when making a
more detailed assessment of manual
handling operations. Appendix 2 of the
guidance to the Regulations gives an
example of an Assessment Checklist which
may be used. Clearly employers can devise
their own checklists.
97

98. 22 Most employers should be able to carry
out their own assessments; where there are
particularly complex manual handling
operations it might be necessary to seek
outside help, but as a general rule this
should not be necessary.
98

99. 23 The duty to make the assessment rests
upon the employer; it cannot be passed to
the employees concerned, e.g. by 'training
them to make their own assessments'.
However the employer's assessment might
properly conclude that the steps to be taken
to reduce the risk of injury should include
training which enable employees to deal
safely with the range of handling operations
they are likely to have to carry out, perhaps
without immediate supervision.
99

100. 24 Logically the additional steps required by
reg. 4 (1) (b) (iii) form part of the general
risk reduction required by reg. 4 (1) (b) (ii).
The provision of information about the
weights of loads is singled out in the MHO
Regulations only because it is mentioned
very specifically in the EC Directive (Article
6). Loads will not always need to be marked
with their weights; it will often be possible
to provide sufficient information in other
ways, e.g. through training. Moreover the
provision should not be pursued to the
exclusion of other steps which can be called
for under reg 4(1)(b)(ii) and which might be
more effective in reducing the risk of injury.100

101. 25 The employee's duty under reg. 5 extends
only to a system of work properly provided.
If employers do not fulfill their duty under
reg. 4 (1) (b) (ii) , e.g. because the system
of work is not 'appropriate', their employees
are under no obligation to follow it. The
provision should not be seen as a bar to
well-intentioned Improvisation, e.g. in
dealing with an emergency for which no
prior provision could reasonably be made.
101

102. 26 The employee's duty is in addition to that
under reg. 12 of the MHSW Regulations
which requires the use of machinery and
equipment provided, such as handling aids,
in accordance with the training and/or
instruction given by the employer.
102

103. Workplace
Health, Safety and Welfare
Regulations 1992
103

104. The regulations apply to all places of work
and cover
104

105.  temperature indoor workplaces
 ventilation and lighting including
Working
emergency lighting
environment
 room dimensions and space
105

106.  safe passage of pedestrians and
vehicles e.g. traffic routes (must be wide
enough and marked where necessary and
there must be enough of them)
 windows and skylights (safe opening,
closing and cleaning)
 transparent and translucent doors and
partitions (use of safety materials and
Safety
marking)
 doors, gates and escalators (safety
devices)
 floors (construction and maintenance,
obstructions and slipping and tripping
hazards)
 falling a distance and into dangerous
substances falling objects
106

107.  toilets,
 washing, eating and changing
facilities, clothing storage, drinking
water,
 rest areas (and arrangements to
Facilities
protect people from the discomfort of
tobacco smoke)
 rest facilities for pregnant women
and nursing mothers
107

108.  maintenance of workplace,
equipment and facilities
Housekeeping
 cleanliness
 removal of waste materials
108

109. From 1996, any workplace within the
employer's control comes within the
regulations. Others connected with the
workplace e.g. owners of buildings, must
ensure that requirements falling within their
control are satisfied.
109

110. The regulations are supported by a Code of
Practice (x)
110

111. Excluded from these regulations are
means of transport

 construction sites and sites e.g.
mineral resource extraction or
exploration.
 Workplaces on agricultural or
forestry land away from main
buildings (however requirements on
toilets, washing facilities and
drinking water do apply).
111

112. THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AT
WORK REGULATIONS 1992
112

113. These replace parts of more than 20 pieces
of old law and define principles for selecting,
providing, maintaining and using PPE.
Recent law dealing with PPE e.g. COSHH or
Noise at Work Regulations are not replaced
and PPE does not apply where specific
similar regulations do. Normally only one set
of regulations for all the PPE requirements
covering a particular risk needs to be
considered.
113

114. PPE covers all equipment designed to be
worn or held to protect against a risk to
health or safety.
114

115. – most types of protective clothing
– equipment such as eye, foot and head
protections, safety harnesses, life jackets and
high visibility clothing.
115

116. Exceptions e.g. ordinary working clothes and
uniforms (including clothing provided only
for food hygiene), PPE for road transport
(e.g. crash helmets) and sports equipment.
116

117. PPE should be relied upon only as a last
resort. Where risks are not adequately
controlled by other means employers have a
duty to ensure that suitable PPF is provided,
free of charge, for employees exposed to
these risks.
117

118. Suitable PPE means that it is
– appropriate for the risks and the working
conditions
– it takes account of worker's needs and fits
properly
– it gives adequate protection
– it is compatible with another item of PPE that
is worn
118

119. Employer Duties
assess the risks and evaluate PPE to be issued

to ensure suitability
maintain, clean and replace PPE

provide storage for PPE when not being used

ensure that PPE is properly used and give

training, information and instruction to
employees on care and usage.
119

120. New PPE is also separately subject to the
PPE (EC Directive) Regulations 1992 which
covers design, certification and testing of
PPE. PPE compliant items carry a CE mark.
The regulations are supported by further
guidance (x).
120

121. Health and Safety (Display Screen
Equipment) Regulations 1992
These cover work involving display screen
equipment (for the display of text, numbers
and graphics regardless of the display
process used). Risks associated with VDUs
and work stations are low but eye fatigue
and muscular disorders associated with poor
design of the ergonomics of the work-
station e.g. inadequate furniture, back-
problems, glare/lighting, wires etc and fast,
all-day typing do occur.
121

122. The regulations apply where the quot;userquot; is an
employee who habitually uses display screen
equipment as a significant part of their
normal work.
122

123. Employer duties also extend towards the
self-employed using VDUs in their
undertakings.
123

124. Exclusions

– systems on board a means of transport (bus,
aero plane)
– systems mainly for public use (bank cash
dispenser)
– portable systems not in prolonged use
(laptops?)
– cash registers and typewriters with small
window displays
124

125. Employer Duties
– audit display screen equipment work-stations and
reduce risks that are discovered
– ensure that workstations satisfy minimum
requirements for the display screen itself, the
keyboard, desk and chair, lighting and ventilation in
the working environment, the design of the task etc
– plan work involving display screen equipment to
accommodate breaks and variation in activity
– provide information and training for target users.
125

126. Eye and eyesight tests
Display screen equipment users are

also entitled to appropriate eye and
eyesight tests by a qualified
practitioner and to special spectacles
if corrective devices are needed and
normal ones cannot be used. The
employer must provide tests and
special spectacles if required.
126

127. So far as is reasonably practicable
H&S duties under different statutes

vary. Some are absolute and some
qualified by terms such as 'where
practicable' or 'so far as is reasonably
practicable'.
127

128. Absolute duties
Where there is high risk of death or

serious injury should safety
precautions not be taken (e.g. in
various machine or gas
environments) the duty may be an
absolute and laid down at law. the
Factories Act 1961 covers the
fencing/guarding of prime moving
machinery for instance.
128

129. Practicable
means more than just physically possible. In
a case between Adsett v Steel Founders Ltd
it was determined that practicable measures
related to what was 'current knowledge and
invention'. 'Practicable' thus implies a higher
standard of care than the term 'reasonably
practicable'. NO consideration of size of
company or organization.
129

130. Reasonably practicable
Means comparing the nature/extent of the

risk and the what is involved to
minimize/eliminate it in terms of costs,
time and effort. If the risk (injury
outcomes and probability of occurrence) is
low and the costs of elimination are high -
then a defendant may be able to argue this
particular case. This does not however
give grounds for complacency. the
defendant would be in a better position if
a systematic risk assessment has been
undertaken.
130

131. Recent legislation, such as the Control of
Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regs
1988, Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
and the Pressure Systems/Transportable
Gas Containers Regs 1989 has tied in a
defense (from food safety legislation)
enabling someone charged to argue that
they took quot;all reasonable precautions or
steps and exercised all due diligencequot; to
prevent the offence occurring. Proof of
management, operation of systems and
procedures and supporting documentation
e.g. internal codes of practice, will be
needed to support the defense.
131

132. The Working Time Regulations
132

133. DTI
Employment Relations - Working Time
Regulations.
133

134. The Working Time Regulations came into
force on 1 October 1998 and were amended
in 1999. The Regulations implement the
European Working Time Directive and parts
of the Young Workers Directive which relate
to the working time of adolescent workers
aged between 16 (school leaving age) and
18. Certain sectors, such as transport, and
occupations, such as junior doctors, are
excluded from the scope of the Regulations.
134

135. The basic rights that are provided by the
Regulations include:
135

136. a limit of an average of 48 hours a week which a

worker can be required to work (though workers
can voluntarily work more if they want to)
 a limit of an average of eight hours work in 24
which night workers can be required to work
 a right to a day off each week
 a right to a rest break if the working day is longer
than six hours
 a right to 11 hours rest a day
 a right to four weeks‟ paid leave per year.
136

137. Unless you, as an individual, have signed an
opt out agreement with your employer,
these regulations apply to you.
137

138. What do these rights mean?
138

139. The maximum working week.
139

140. The maximum working week including
overtime, is now set at 48 hours per week (i.e.
seven days) when averaged over 17 weeks. This
is known as the reference period.
140

141. The average is calculated as follows:
The total amount of hours worked in

the reference period + the amount of
hours worked in a number of days
following this period, equal to the
number of days taken as holiday, sick
or maternity leave during the 17
week period¸
141

142. This means that it is possible to work more
than 48 hours in any given week, provided
that the average over the reference period
does not exceed 48 hours.
142

143. Night workers.
Night workers must not normally work

more than 8 hours in each 24-hour period
when averaged over the reference period.
Unless an agreement says that one
reference period starts after the previous
one finishes, i.e. the 17-week periods
succeed each other, the reference period is
any 17 weeks during the course of
employment.
143

144. The average is calculated as follows:
The total amount of hours worked at

night in the reference period ¸ the
number of days worked (total
number of days minus rest days).
144

145. The total amount of hours worked at night in
the reference period ¸ the number of days
worked (total number of days minus rest
days).
145

146. Weekly rest period.
Adult workers are entitled to an

uninterrupted rest period of at least 24
hours in each seven-day period they work.
The employer can decide that this is taken
as two uninterrupted rest periods of at
least 24 hours in each 14 day period, or
one uninterrupted rest period of at least
48 hours in each 14 day period. This
means that you cannot work more than 12
consecutive days without a break.
146

147. Young workers (under 18) are entitled to at
least 48 hours in each seven-day period.
This may be interrupted.
147

148. Rest breaks.
Workers are entitled to a rest break where they

work more than six hours in a day. The length of
the rest break and the way in which it is taken
are determined by collective or workforce
agreements. However the rest break must be an
uninterrupted period of at least 20 minutes and
away from the workstation if the worker has
one. It must also be a „break‟ and cannot be
taken either at the start, or at the end, of the
working time.
148

149. Young workers are entitled to a rest break of
30 minutes where the daily working time is
more than four and a half hours.
149

150. Daily rest.
Adult workers are entitled to at least

11 consecutive hours rest period in
each 24-hour period.
150

151. This means that there should be a break of
at least 11 hours between the end of one
working day and the beginning of the next.
151

152. Young workers are entitled to at least 12
consecutive hours in each 24-hour period.
152

153. Paid leave.
Workers are now entitled to four

weeks paid leave in any leave year.
153

154. The leave year begins on the date provided
for in an agreement or contract or, where it
is not specified, on the date which
employment begins. Unless this was on or
before 1st October 1998 in which case it
begins on 1st October.
154

155. –Injuries, Diseases and
Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations 1985
The reporting requirements of these
regulations covering everyone at work,
require all employers and self-employed to
report immediately by phone if (as a result of
or in connection with the work)
155

156. someone dies, receives a major injury or is

seriously affected by e.g. poisoning,
electric shock.
 there is a dangerous occurrence (near
miss)
156

157. A written report has to be sent within 7 days
157

158. to confirm a telephoned report of a death, major

injury etc
to notify an accident resulting in injury that

stops someone doing their normal job for 3 days
or more
to report certain diseases suffered by certain

types of workers
report occurrences e.g. involving flammable gas

in domestic and other premises
158

159. Designers, manufacturers,
importers and suppliers
159

160. The HASAW Act section 6 (as amended by
S36 and Schedule 3 of Consumer Protection
Act 1987 - articles for use at work) places
specific duties on the designers,
manufacturers, importers and suppliers such
people must:
160

161. ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that articles

they design, constructed, make, import, supply etc are
safe and without risks to health at all times e.g. when it
is being set up , cleaned, used or maintained by
someone at work
 carry out (or arrange for) such testing and examination
necessary to perform the duties above
 take steps to ensure that those supplying someone with
quot;the article/substancequot; have adequate information about
its designed and tested use. This includes essential
conditions for dismantling and disposal
 act to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that
people so supplied are given updated information where
it becomes known that the article/substance gives rise to
serious risk to health/safety.
161

162. HOW PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED BY OR AT WORK
162

163. Work related stress
As „stress‟ is the most popular and

commonly used term to describe this
experience, HSE has chosen to retain the
use of this word and define it as “the
adverse reaction people have to excessive
pressure or other types of demand placed on
them.” Pressure in itself is not necessarily
bad and some people thrive on it, it is
when the pressure is experienced as
excessive by an individual that ill health
can result.
163

164. Some academics have argued that stress is
an almost meaningless term and does not
exist. However numerous research reports
have shown that whatever you choose to
call it, there is a clear link between poor
work organisation and subsequent ill-health.
164

165. Although stress can be experienced in all
areas of life, figures from a 1995 survey
indicated that ill health stemming from
work-related stress is the second biggest
cause of occupational ill health in Great
Britain.
165

166. HSE commissioned research has indicated that:
about half a million people experience

work-related stress at a level they believe
was making them ill;
 up to 5 million people in the UK feel “very”
or “extremely” stressed by their work; and
 work-related stress costs society between
£3.7 billion and £3.8 billion every year
(1995/96 prices).
166

167. Between 50% and 60% of absenteeism has been related

to work-related stress.
 It is estimated that 16% of male and 22% of female
cardiovascular diseases in the EU are due to work-
related stress. Other diseases and conditions associated
with this issue include musculoskeletal disorders and
mental health problems.
 One of the most common causes of stress is lack of
control at work. 35% of employees, for instance, say
they have no say in the order of their tasks and 55%
claim no influence over how long they work. Monotony,
tight deadlines (29% of staff claim to work regularly to
these) and bullying are some of the other factors that
enter the equation.
167

168. Bullying:
The HSC/E recognise that relationships at work
(including negative relationships involving bullying
and harassment) can be a source of work-related
stress.
Primarily an industrial relations issue and as such
should be dealt with by employers‟ internal
grievance and disciplinary procedures long before it
becomes a risk to employees' health.
Remember also that line managers can be affected
by bullying or intimidating behaviour from
employees.
168