Road Legal

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

06 December 2006

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) is the most significant act in the remit of health and safety. It applies to everyone "at work" which includes employers, the self-employed and employees. It also protects the general public who may be affected by work activities.

HSWA 1974 imposes duties and responsibilities on employers, the self-employed and employees. These duties are all-encompassing and are often more specifically interpreted through detailed regulations.

The most important duties found in HSWA 1974 are:

Duties on employers

Section 2 of the HSWA 1974 is a catch-all provision which states that it is the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees. More specific requirements relate to:

the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work
the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
the provision of information, instruction, training and supervision
places of work and means of access and egress
the working environment facilities and the welfare arrangements

Section 3 of the HSWA 1974 provides a duty on every employer to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that persons not in his employment, who may be affected by conduct of his undertaking, are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Under this section, employers therefore have a duty to contractors (and their employees), visitors, customers, members of the emergency services, neighbours, passers-by and the public at large. Individuals who are self-employed operate under a similar duty and must also take care of themselves.

These duties are qualified in the act by the principle of "so far as is reasonably practicable". In other words, it requires the risk to be weighed against the cost necessary to avert it (including time and trouble as well as financial cost). If, compared with the costs involved, the risk is small then the precautions need not be taken - such a comparison should be made before any incident has occurred!

In effect, considering what is reasonably practicable requires that a risk assessment is carried out. Neither risks nor cost remain the same forever and what is practicable or reasonably practicable will change with time - hence the need to keep risk assessments up to date.

Duties on employees

Section 7 of the HSWA 1974 provides a duty on every employee, while at work, to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.

It also places a duty on employees to co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary to enable their duties to be complied with.

Enforcement

The HSWA 1974 gives powers to enforcement officers, if they are of the opinion that a provision of the HSWA 1974 is or will be contravened, to produce legal notices requiring a person or company to do or stop doing something. The two types of notices are:

Improvement - which states what is wrong and how to put it right within a set time.
Prohibition - which prohibits the use of equipment/unsafe practices immediately.

The maximum fine which can be imposed by the magistrates' court is currently £20,000 for breaches of the main sections of HSWA 1974 and £5,000 for most other offences. Where cases are heard by the crown court, there is no limit on the fines which can be imposed (usually only serious cases are heard by the crown court). There are also a limited number of health and safety offences which can result in prison sentences for individuals of up to two years.

Duties to ensure safety therefore apply not only to employers but to drivers, those who work at depots and delivery sites and individual managers and directors. Issues such as vehicle maintenance and safety, safe driving practices, driver hours, hazardous loads, loading arrangements, fall risks and manual handling risks should always be considered.