Health and safety law

The Health And Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the basis for British health and safety law. The act sets out general duties which employers have towards employees and others, and employees have to themselves and others.

The principle of 'so far as is reasonably practicable' qualifies these duties. This means that the degree of risk in a particular workplace or work activity needs to be balanced against the:

of taking measures, to avoid or reduce the risk.

What the law requires is what good management and common sense should lead employers to do anyway - to look at what the risks are and then take sensible control measures to tackle them.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 generally make more explicit what employers are required to do under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Like the act, they apply to all work activities. The main requirements are to:

Risk assessment forms the basis for most recent health and safety law.

Some of the main regulations generally apply are:

Note: these regulations are not all qualified by 'reasonable practicability'.

Where existing arrangements need to be supplemented, there are three main options for the Health and Safety Commission or Executive .

Guidance

It can be specific to the health and safety challenges of a whole sector or of a particular process in a number of sectors. The main purposes of guidance are to interpret the law, to help people comply with the law and to give technical advice. Following ‘guidance’ is not compulsory and employers are free to take other action. However, following guidance will normally be enough to comply with the law.

Approved codes of practice (ACoPs)

These have a special status above that of guidance. They offer practical examples of good practice and give advice on how to comply with the law. They have a special legal status. If employers are prosecuted for a breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that they have not followed the relevant provisions of the ACoP, a court can find them at fault unless they can show that they have complied with the law in some other way.

Regulations

Regulations are law, approved by parliament. Some risks are so great, or the proper control measures so costly, that it would not be appropriate to give employers discretion in deciding what to do about them. Regulations identify these risks and set out specific action that must be taken.

Employment

Health and safety law is often concerned with the relationship between employers and employees, essentially arising out of the 'contract of employment' agreed between them. There is no simple test for establishing whether a person is working under a contract of employment or not. In general terms however, the existence of a contract of employment should be gauged by reference to several criteria:

Safety duties and liabilities

There exists the possibility of both criminal and civil liability.

Criminal liability arises from the commission a breach of a statutory duty. Statutory duties are found in acts of parliament such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and regulations made under it. The proof of evidence required is ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

Civil liability arises from an act or omission recognised in law as giving one individual (or company) the right to pursue a legal claim against another. In health and safety this will principally involve negligence and/or breach of statutory duty. The duty of care required by common law is that a person takes 'reasonable care' if he is in a situation where, if he were to fail to take such care, it can be foreseen that somebody else might suffer injury or loss. Negligence can therefore arise out of a positive act or, alternatively, an omission or failure to act. Cases are decided on the ‘balance of probability’.

Criminal or civil cases can expose a business to significant financial loss directly or through damage to reputation. This may threaten its survival.

Further information

Health and Safety Executive explanatory leaflets provide further information, including what business must do by law.