|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
The Regulation of Health and Safety
What health and safety law requires The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The act sets out general duties which employers have towards themselves, their employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and each other. These duties are qualified in the Act by the principle of ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. 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 would lead employers to do anyway, that is, to look at what the risks are and then take sensible (control) measures to tackle them. The 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:-
The principle of risk assessment forms the basis for most modern health and safety law in this country. A list of the main regulations which apply generally include:-
In implementing arrangements, the Health and Safety Commission/Executive have 3 main options: 1. Guidance
2. Approved codes of practice (ACoP)
3. Regulations
Employment Health and safety law is most often concerned with the relationship between employers and employees, which essentially arises 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 responsibilities In the field of health and safety there exists the possibility of criminal and civil liability. Criminal liability arises from the commission of a crime or criminal offence (a breach of a statutory duty). Such statutory duties are to be found in Acts of Parliament (e.g. the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974) or in Regulations etc. which govern standards of health and safety. Civil liability arises from an act or omission which is recognised by the law as giving one individual (or company) the right to pursue a legal claim against another. In the health and safety field this may principally involve either 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. Criminal or civil liability can expose a business to significant financial loss that may threaten its profitability or even its survival. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|