The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places broad duties on employers to ensure health, safety and welfare of employees. It requires employers to provide safe plant and equipment, safe systems of work, information and training, and a safe workplace. The Act also gives powers to inspectors to enforce these requirements and issue notices ordering improvements or prohibiting dangerous work practices. Failure to comply with duties under the Act can result in fines or imprisonment for employers and managers.

1. Health & Safety at
Work Etc. Act 1974

2. Section 2 (1)-Employers Duty
“to ensure, so far as is reasonably
practicable, the health, safety and
welfare at work of all his employees”

3. Section 2(2)
(a) Provide and maintain plant & systems of
work that are, safe and without risks to
health.
(b) Have arrangements for ensuring, sfairp,
safety and absence of risks to health in
connection with the use, handling,
storage and transport of articles &
substances.

4. Section 2(2)
(c) Provide such information, instruction,
training & supervision as is necessary to
ensure, sfairp, the health & safety at
work of his employees.
(d) Sfairp as regards any place of work
under the employers control, maintain it
in a condition that is safe and without
risks to health, and provide and
maintain means of access and egress
that are safe and without such risks.

5. Section 2(2)
(e) Provide and maintain a working
environment for his employees that is,
sfairp, safe, without risks to health, and
adequate as regards facilities and
arrangements for their welfare at work.

6. Section 2(3)
 Prepare written general h&s policy
 If 5 or more employees
 Organisation and arrangements for
carrying out the policy
 Revise when appropriate
 Bring statement and any revision to
notice of all employees

7. Section 2(4), (5), (6) & (7)
 Appointment of Safety Reps from
Trade Unions
 Election of Safety Reps
 Consulting Safety Reps
 Establish a safety committee if
requested by Safety Reps

8. Section 3 (1)-Duties to Others
 It shall be the duty of every
employer to conduct his undertaking
in such a way as to ensure, so far as
is reasonably practicable, that
persons not in his employment who
may be affected by his work, are not
exposed to risks to their health or
safety.

9. Section 3(2)
 Self employed to look after himself
and others who may be affected by
his work (sfairp)

10. Section 3(3)
 Provide information on risks from
employers undertaking to others
who may be affected

11. Section 4 – Persons in Control of
premises
 Ensure safety of people who work in
the premises
 Criminal counterpart of Occupiers
Liability Act

12. Section 5-Control of harmful
emissions into the atmosphere
 Persons in control of premises to use
best practicable means to prevent
noxious or offensive substances
being emitted into the air
 Also a duty to render harmless and
inoffensive such substances as may
be emitted
 The Environmental Protection Act
1990 places greater emphasis on
this

13. Section 6-Designers, Manufacturers,
Importers & Suppliers
 Ensure that articles, sfairp, are so
designed and constructed as to be
safe and without risks when being
set, cleaned, used or maintained by
a person at work
 Articles must be tested and
information provided
 Amended by Consumer Protection
Act 1987

14. Section 7-Duties of Employees
 Take reasonable care for health &
safety of himself and other persons
who may be affected by his acts or
omissions
 Co-operate with employer to enable
him to meet his statutory obligations

15. Section 8-Interference & Misuse
 No person shall intentionally or
recklessly interfere with or misuse
anything provided in the interests of
health, safety or welfare.
 One of the few duties under h&s law
where the “guilty mind” has to be
proven (mens rea)

16. Section 9 – No Cost to Employees
 No employer shall levy, or permit to
be levied on any employee of his,
any charge in respect of anything
done or provided in pursuance of
any specific requirement of the
relevant statutory provisions.

17. Section 15
 Power to make regulations under
the Act
 Proposals are submitted by HSC
after consultation (CD’s)
 Power to repeal or modify existing
statutory provisions

18. Section 16
 Gives HSC power to approve and issue
ACOP’s which provide guidance on how to
comply with the Act and related
legislation
 HSC requires consent of Secretary of
State, but must consult first (CD)
 Examples:
 SR&SC Regs 1977
 Management of H&S at Work Regs 1999
 COSHH 1999

19. Section 18-Enforcement
 LA’s: retail sale, offices, catering,
entertainment, residential
accommodation etc.
 HSE: All circumstances where no
other authority has been given
responsibility

20. Section 19-Inspector Appointment
 Every inspector issued a warrant of
appointment which specifies what
powers they have been given

21. Section 20-Powers of Inspectors
 Enter premises – take policeman or
others
 Investigate – measurements,
photographs, samples, tests
 Inspect/take copies of documents
 Confiscate or dismantle any article
 Interview anyone/take written
statements

22. Section 21-Improvement Notices
 When h&s legislation is contravened
 Inspectors must specify the
statutory provision breached and
reasons why
 Inspectors may state what action is
necessary to remedy matters (e.g.
by referring to guidance or ACOP’s)

23. Section 22-Prohibition Notices
 When there is a risk of serious personal
injury
 Prohibits the carrying on of the work
activity
 Can be immediate or deferred
 Doesn’t have to be breach of law
 If law is being broken, it must say so
 Must state the matters which give rise to
the risk, and may include required
remedial actions

24. Section 33 – Offences,
Penalties and Prosecutions
 Summary, Indictment
 Fines
 Imprisonment

25. Who can be Prosecuted?
 Section 37 – If an offence
committed by a corporate body was
committed with the consent or
connivance of or because of the
negligence of a director, manager,
secretary or other officer, then they
are also guilty of the offence and
may be prosecuted as well as the
corporate body

26. Who can be Prosecuted?
 Section 36 - If someone (person A)
commits an offence because of an
act or default of another person
(person B), then person B will also
be guilty of the offence and can be
prosecuted, whether or not
proceedings are taken against
person A.

27. Section 40-Exclusion of Civil
Liability
 No right of civil action arising from
failure to comply with Sections 2-8
 Breaches of any duties imposed by
b&s Regs are actionable unless the
Regs themselves state otherwise
(e.g. Management Regs (for now))