Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction, 2nd Ed - (Malestrom)

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland.. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the

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Introduction to

Health and Safety

in Construction

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This page intentionally left blank

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Introduction to

Health and Safety

in Construction

Second edition

Phil Hughes MBE MSc, FCIOSH, RSP, Chairman NEBOSH 1995–2001

Ed Ferrett PhD, BSc, (Hons Eng), CEng, MIMechE, MlEE,

MI0SH, Deputy Chairman NEBOSH

Amsterdam Boston Heidelberg London New York OxfordParis San Diego San Francisco Singapore Sydney Tokyo

Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier

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Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK

30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA

First edition 2005

Reprinted 2005

Second edition 2007

The right of Phil Hughes MBE and Ed Ferrett to be identified as the authors of this work hasbeen asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

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No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons orproperty as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use oroperation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification ofdiagnoses and drug dosages should be made

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Contents

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3 ORGANIZING FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY 31

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6.4 Controlling health risks 85

9 EXCAVATION WORK AND CONFINED SPACES – HAZARDS

Contents

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11 MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND VEHICLES – HAZARDS

11.4 Hazards to the general public and the associated controls in

13 MANUAL AND MECHANICAL HANDLING HAZARDS AND CONTROL 215

Appendix 13.2 – A typical risk assessment for an excavator to be used for lifting 234

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15 FIRE HAZARDS AND CONTROL 253

Appendix 15.2 – Example form for recording significant findings as published in 2006 276

16 CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL HEALTH HAZARDS AND CONTROL 277

17 PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH HAZARDS AND CONTROL 305

Contents

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18.5 Legal recording and reporting requirements 336

Appendix 19.2 – Checklist of items to be covered in a

20.10 Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply)

20.12 Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 1994 and

20.17 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002

20.18 Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres

20.21 Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and

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20.24 Health and Safety (Information for Employees) Regulations 1989 438

20.33 The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

Contents

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an introduction to the subject for all those who have the maintenance of good health and safety standards as part

of their employment duties or those who are considering the possibility of a career as a health and safetyprofessional Health and safety is well recognized as an important component of the activities of any organization,not only because of the importance of protecting people from harm but also because of the growth in the directand indirect costs of accidents These costs have increased more dramatically than the rate of retail price inflation

by a considerable amount in the last few years as the number of civil claims and awards have risen each year

It is very important that basic health and safety legal requirements are clearly understood by all organizationswhether public or private, large or small A good health and safety performance is normally only achieved whenhealth and safety is effectively managed so that significant risks are identified and reduced by adoptingappropriate high quality control measures

Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction is based on the QCA (Qualification and Curriculum Authority)accredited NEBOSH Certificate in Construction Safety and Health syllabus as revised in August 2003 It hasbeen developed specifically for students who are studying for that NEBOSH National Certificate course It wasfelt appropriate to produce a text book that mirrored the Construction Certificate syllabus in its revised unitizedform and in a single volume to the required breadth and depth The syllabus, which follows the general patternfor health and safety management set by the Health and Safety Executive in their guidance HSG 65, isrisk and management based so it does not start from the assumption that health and safety is best managed

by looking first at the causes of failures Fortunately, failures such as accidents and ill-health are relatively rareand random events in most workplaces A full copy of the syllabus and guide can be obtained directly fromNEBOSH

This second edition has been produced in order to update the health and safety legislation, with particularregard to changes in legislation relating to fire – the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 This removes therequirement for fire certificates and revokes the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace)Requirements This additional information enables the book to be useful to students undertaking the newNEBOSH Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management

Other important changes in health and safety legislation, which are included in this edition, are the Work atHeight Regulations, the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations

2005, the draft Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations

2005 and the Introduction of Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) in the 2005 amendments to the COSHHRegulations

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We had hoped to include the new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations but their publicationhas been delayed until 2007 However, a detailed summary of the draft Regulations has been given in Chapter 20.Significant changes are unlikely when the final draft is published.

Some more recent examination questions have been added at the end of each chapter Many questions coverthe contents of more than one chapter It is recommended that students have sight of the published examiners’reports, which are available from NEBOSH These reports not only provide an excellent guide on the expectedanswers to the questions but also indicate areas of student misunderstanding

The book is also intended as a useful reference guide for managers and directors with health and safetyresponsibilities, and for safety representatives Chapter 20 summarizes all the most commonly used Actsand Regulations It was written to provide an easily accessible reference source for students during andafter the course, and for many others in industry and commerce such as managers, supervisors and safetyrepresentatives

There is considerable commonality between the NEBOSH Construction Certificate, the NEBOSH Certificate inFire Safety and Risk Management and the NEBOSH National General Certificate and this commonality is reflected

in the book There is also some overlap of topics between syllabus elements and chapters; the authors havedrawn attention to this when it occurs by indicating where the fullest account of the topic may be found.Finally, one of the objectives of the book is to provide a handbook for the use of any person who has healthand safety as part of their responsibilities We thought that it would be helpful, therefore, to add a few usefultopics that are outside the syllabus These include managing occupational road risks (Chapter 11), fast tracksettlement of compensation claims following the Woolfe reforms (Chapter 18) and demolition using explosives(Chapter 10)

We hope that you find this new edition to be useful

Phil Hughes MBE

Ed FerrettAugust 2006

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Throughout the book definitions used by the relevant legislation, the Health and Safety Commission, the Healthand Safety Executive and advice published in Approved Codes of Practice or various Health and SafetyCommission/Executive publications have been utilized Most of the references produced at the end of each Act orRegulation summary in Chapter 20 are drawn from the HSE Books range of publications

At the end of each chapter there are some examination questions taken from recent NEBOSH NationalGeneral Certificate and Construction Certificate papers Some of the questions may include topics which arecovered in more than one chapter The answers to these questions are to be found within the preceding chapter ofthe book NEBOSH publishes a very full examiners’ report after each public examination, which give furtherinformation on each question Most accredited NEBOSH training centres will have copies of these reports andfurther copies may be purchased directly from NEBOSH The authors would like to thank NEBOSH for giving thempermission to use these questions

The authors’ grateful thanks go to Liz Hughes for her proof reading and patience, and to Jill Ferrett forencouraging Ed Ferrett to keep at the daunting task of text preparation The authors are particularly grateful to Lizfor the excellent study guide that she has written for all NEBOSH students and the section on report writing inChapter 19 The study guide is included at the end of this book

Liz gained an honours degree in psychology at the University of Warwick, later going on to complete amasters degree at the same university She taught psychology in further and higher education where most of herstudents were either returning to education after a gap of many years or were taking a course to augment theirexisting professional skills She went on to qualify as a social worker specializing in mental health and later movedinto the voluntary sector where she managed development for a number of years Liz then helped to set up andmanage training for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (now called ‘Rethink’) in the Midlands

The authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by Hannah Ferrett for the help that shegave during the research for the book and with some of the word processing

Finally, we would like to thank Stephen Vickers, the recent Chief Executive of NEBOSH, for his unwaveringsupport for this second project and various HSE staff for their generous help and advice We would also like tothank Doris Funke and all the production team at Elsevier who continue to work hard to translate our ideas intoreality

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About the authors

Phil Hughes MBE is a well known UK safety professional with over thirtyyears’ worldwide experience as Head of Environment Health and Safety attwo large multinationals, Courtaulds and Fisons Phil started in health andsafety in the Factory Inspectorate at the Derby District in 1969 and moved

to Courtaulds in 1974 He joined IOSH in that year and became Chairman ofthe Midland Branch, National Treasurer and then President in 1990–91 Philhas been very active on the NEBOSH Board for over ten years and served

as Chairman from 1995 to 2001 He is also a Professional Member of theAmerican Society of Safety Engineers and has lectured widely throughoutthe world Phil received the RoSPA Distinguished Service Award in May

2001 and became a Director and Trustee of RoSPA in 2003 He received anMBE in the 2005 New Year’s Honours List for services to health and safety

Dr Edward Ferrett is an experienced health and safety consultantwho has practised for over twenty years He spent thirty years in Higherand Further Education retiring as the Head of the Faculty of Technology

of Cornwall College in 1993 Since then he has been an independentconsultant to several public and private sector organizations, the RegionalHealth and Safety Adviser for the Government Office (West Midlands)and Vice Chair of NEBOSH Ed was the Chair of West of Cornwall PrimaryCare NHS Trust for six years until 2006

He has delivered many health and safety courses and is a manager

of NEBOSH courses at the Cornwall Business School He is currently aninspector for the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further andHigher Education Ed is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of IOSH

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List of principal abbreviations

Most abbreviations are defined within the text Abbreviations are not always used if it is not appropriate withinthe particular context of the sentence The most commonly used ones are as follows:

CIRA Construction Industry Research and Information Association

LOLER Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations

MoT Ministry of Transport (still used for vehicle tests)

NEBOSH National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health

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RIDDOR Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

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Illustrations credits

Figure 1.5 Source HSE. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of

HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 1.12 From HSG65 Successful Health and Safety Management (HSE Books 1997) ISBN 0717612767

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO andQueen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 2.7 From HSG149 Backs for the Future: Safe Manual Handling in Construction (HSE Books 2000)

ISBN 0717611221 Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of theController of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 3.7 Courtesy of Stocksigns

Figure 4.3 From HSG57 Seating at Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717612317. Crown copyright material

is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 4.4 From HSG168 Fire Safety in Construction Work (HSE Books 0) ISBN 0717613321. Crown

copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’sPrinter for Scotland

Figure 4.7 From HSG48 Reducing Error and Influencing Behaviour (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717624528

Figure 6.1 Reproduced with permission from The Argus, Brighton

Figure 6.3 From HSG150 (rev1) Health and Safety in Construction (HSE Books 2001) ISBN 0717621065

Figure 6.5 From HSG110 Seven Steps to Successful Substitution of Hazardous Substances (HSE Books

1994) ISBN 0717606953. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of theController of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 6.6 From PUWER 1998 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998: Open Learning

Guidance (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717624595. Crown copyright material is reproduced withthe permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

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Figure 6.7 Cover of INDG98 Permit-to-Work Systems (HSE 1998) ISBN 0717613313. Crown copyright

material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer forScotland

Figure 7.2 From HSG151 Protecting the Public – Your Next Move (HSE Books 1997) ISBN 0717611485

Figure 7.4 From HSG185 Health and Safety in Excavations (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717615634. Crown

Figure 8.2 Courtesy of Speedy Hire

Figure 8.3 From HSG33 Health & Safety in Roof Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717614255. Crown

Figure 8.7 From CIS49 REV1 General Access Scaffolds and Ladders Construction Information Sheet No 49

(revision) (HSE Books 2003) Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission ofthe Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 8.8b Courtesy of Speedy Hire

Figure 8.9a From CIS49 REV1 General Access Scaffolds and Ladders Construction Information Sheet No 49

(revision) (HSE Books 2003) Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission

of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 8.10 From HSG151 Protecting the Public – Your Next Move (HSE Books 1997) ISBN 0717611485

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Figure 8.15 Courtesy of Speedy Hire.

Figure 8.16a From HSG33 Health & Safety in Roof Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717614255. Crown

Figure 8.16b From HSG33 Health & Safety in Roof Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717614255. Crown

Figure 10.1 Source: Approved Code of Practice for Demolition, published by Occupational Safety and Health

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Figure 11.1 From HSG155 Slips and Trips (HSE Books 1996) ISBN 0717611450. Crown copyright material

Figure 11.5a From HSG144 The Safe Use of Vehicles on Construction Sites (HSE Books 1998) ISBN

071761610X. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller ofHMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 11.8 From HSG6 Safety in Working with Lift Trucks (HSE Books 2000) ISBN 0717617815. Crown

Figure 11.9 From HSG144 The Safe Use of Vehicles on Construction Sites (HSE Books 1998) ISBN

Figure 12.4 Courtesy of Draper

Figure 12.6a Courtesy of Speedy Hire

Figure 12.9 Reprinted from Safety with Machinery, John Ridley and Dick Pearce, pages 20–29, 2002, with

permission from Elsevier

Figure 12.11 Reprinted from Safety with Machinery, John Ridley and Dick Pearce, pages 20–29, 2002, with

Figure 12.12 Courtesy of Allen-Bradley Guardmaster brand from Rockwell Automation

Figure 12.13 Reprinted from Safety with Machinery, John Ridley and Dick Pearce, page 63, 2002, with

Figure 12.14 Reprinted from Safety with Machinery, John Ridley and Dick Pearce, pages 61 and 62, 2002, with

Figure 12.15 Courtesy of Allen-Bradley Guardmaster brand from Rockwell Automation

Figure 12.16 Reprinted from Safety with Machinery, John Ridley and Dick Pearce, page 79, 2002, with

Figure 12.17 Courtesy of Canon

Figure 12.18 Courtesy of Fellowes

Figure 12.20a Courtesy of Draper

Figure 12.20b Courtesy of Draper

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Figure 12.21 From L114 Safe Use of Woodworking Machinery (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717616304. Crown

Figure 12.22a From WIS17 REV1 Safety in the Use of Hand-fed Planing Machines Woodworking Sheet No 17

(revised) (HSE Books 2000). Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of theController of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 12.22b From WIS17 REV1 Safety in the Use of Hand-fed Planing Machines Woodworking Sheet No 17

Figure 12.22c From WIS17 REV1 Safety in the Use of Hand-fed Planing Machines Woodworking Sheet No 17

Figure 12.23a From WIS18 rev1 Safe Use Vertical Spindle Moulding Machines Woodworking Sheet No 18

Figure 12.23b From WIS18 rev1 Safe Use Vertical Spindle Moulding Machines Woodworking Sheet No 18

Figure 12.23c From WIS18 rev1 Safe Use Vertical Spindle Moulding Machines Woodworking Sheet No 18

Figure 12.24 Courtesy of Winget

Figure 12.26 Courtesy of BOMAG

Figure 12.27 Courtesy of TS Thomas and Sons Ltd

Figure 13.4 From L23 Manual Handling Operations – Guidance on Regulations (HSE Books 2004) ISBN

Figure 13.6 From HSG115 Manual Handling Solutions You Can Handle (HSE Books 1994) ISBN 0717606937

Figure 13.8a From HSG149 Backs for the Future: Safe Manual Handling in Construction (HSE Books 2000)

Figure 13.8b From HSG149 Backs for the Future: Safe Manual Handling in Construction (HSE Books 2000)

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Figure 13.8c From HSG33 Health & Safety in Roof Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717614255. Crown

Figure 13.10 From HSG6 Safety in Working with Lift Trucks (HSE Books 2000) ISBN 0717617815. Crown

Figure 13.14 From L64 Safety Signs and Signals (HSE Books 1996) ISBN 0717608700. Crown copyright

Figure 14.3a Courtesy of Speedy Hire

Figure 14.5 Courtesy of DeWalt

Figure 14.6 From Essentials of Health and Safety (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 071760716X. Crown copyright

Figure 14.7 From Essentials of Health and Safety (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 071760716X. Crown copyright

Figure 14.9 From INDG236 Maintaining Portable Electrical Equipment in Offices (HSE Books 1996) ISBN

0717612724. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller ofHMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 14.10a From HSG185 Health and Safety in Excavations (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717615634. Crown

Figure 14.10b From HSG185 Health and Safety in Excavations (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717615634. Crown

Figure 15.1 Amended from HSG168 Fire Safety in Construction Work (HSE Books 0) ISBN 0717613321

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Figure 15.8a Courtesy of Guardian Safety Products

Figure 15.8b From HSG168 Fire Safety in Construction Work (HSE Books 0) ISBN 0717613321. Crown

Figure 16.2 Reprinted from Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness Ninth edition, Waugh and Grant,

pages 240 and 248, 2002, with permission from Elsevier

page 9, 2002, with permission from Elsevier

Figure 16.8 Courtesy of Draeger Safety UK Limited

Figure 16.9 From HSG54 Maintenance, Examination and Testing of Local Exhaust Ventilation (HSE Books

1998) ISBN 0717614859. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of theController of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 16.10 From HSG202 General Ventilation in the Workplace (HSE Books 2000) ISBN 0717617939

Figure 16.12a From HSG53 The Selection, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Equipment (HSE

Books 1998) ISBN 0717615375. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission ofthe Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 16.12b From HSG53 The Selection, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Equipment (HSE

Books 1998) ISBN 0717615375. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission ofthe Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

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Figure 16.12c From HSG53 The Selection, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Equipment (HSE

Books 1998) ISBN 0717615375. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission

of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 16.15 From HSG213 Introduction to Asbestos Essentials (HSE Books 2001) ISBN 071761901X

Figure 17.1 From HSG121 A Pain in Your Workplace (HSE Books 1994) ISBN 0717606686. Crown copyright

Figure 17.3 From INDG175 REV1 Health Risks from Hand-Arm Vibration (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717615537

Figure 17.4 From HSG170 Vibration Solutions (HSE Books 1997) ISBN 0717609545. Crown copyright

Figure 17.8a Reprinted from Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness Ninth edition, Waugh and Grant,

Figure 17.8b Reprinted from Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness Ninth edition, Waugh and Grant,

Figure 17.10 From L108 Reducing Noise at Work (HSE Books 1998) ISBN 0717615111. Crown copyright

Figure 17.11 Source: Heat Stress Card published by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S.A

Figure 17.13 From INDG69 (REV) Violence at Work: A Guide for Employers (HSE Books 2000) ISBN

0717612716. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller ofHMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 18.4 From BI510 Accident Book (HSE Books 2003) ISBN 0717626032. Crown copyright

material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printerfor Scotland

Figure 18.5 From HSE31 REV1 RIDDOR Explained: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous

Occurrences Regulations (HSE Books 1999) ISBN 0717624412. Crown copyright material isreproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland

Figure 19.1 From HSG65 Successful Health and Safety Management (HSE Books 1997) ISBN 0717612767

Figure 19.2 From Guide to Measuring Health and Safety Performance (HSE 2001). Crown copyright

material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printerfor Scotland

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Figure 20.1 From INDG350 The idiot’s guide to CHIP: Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for

Supply) Regulations 2002 (HSE Books 2002) ISBN 0717623335 Crown copyright material

Figure 20.4 From L23 Manual Handling Operations – Guidance on Regulations (HSE Books 2004) ISBN

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Health and safety

foundations

1.1 Introduction

Occupational health and safety is relevant to all branches

of industry, business and commerce including

tradi-tional industries, information technology companies, the

National Health Service, care homes, schools,

universi-ties, leisure facilities and offices It is particularly

impor-tant for the construction industry

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the

foundations on which appropriate health and safety

systems may be built Occupational health and safety

affects all aspects of work In a low hazard organization,

health and safety may be supervised by a single

com-petent manager In a high hazard manufacturing

plant, many different specialists, such as engineers

(electrical, mechanical and civil), lawyers, medical

doctors and nurses, trainers, work planners and

super-visors, may be required to assist the professional

health and safety practitioner in ensuring that there are

satisfactory health and safety standards within the

organization

Construction is a large industry which accounts for

10% of the gross domestic product of the United

Kingdom It employs 2.2 m people and produces activity

worth over £90 billion each year The construction

industry has a world reputation for the quality of its

work but it remains one of the most dangerous in Britain

In 2004/05, the fatal injury rate (per 100 000 workers)

was 3.4 while the industrial average was 0.8 In

re-sponse to the ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ campaign

launched by the Health and Safety Commission and

the Government in June 2000, the construction industry

set itself a target to reduce the rate of fatal and major

injury to its workers by 40% in 2004/05 and by 66%

in 2009/10 The construction client who commissionsthe work is a very important agent in the drive forimproved health and safety standards He should insist

on good evidence of the health and safety recordand performance of a contractor at the tenderingstage, ensure that health and safety standards arebeing met on site He should also require that all thepeople working on the site are properly trained for theirparticular job

There are many obstacles to the achievement

of good standards The pressure of production or formance targets, financial constraints and the com-plexity of the organization are typical examples of suchobstacles However, there are some powerful incen-tives for organizations to strive for high health andsafety standards These incentives are moral, legaland economic

per-Corporate responsibility, a term used extensively

in the 21st century world of work, covers a widerange of issues It includes the effects that an organi-zation’s business has on the environment, humanrights and third world poverty Health and safety inthe workplace is an important corporate responsibilityissue

Corporate responsibility has various definitions.However, broadly speaking it covers the ways inwhich organizations manage their core business toadd social, environmental and economic value inorder to produce a positive, sustainable impact onboth society and the business itself Terms such as

‘corporate social responsibility’, ‘socially responsiblebusiness’, and ‘corporate citizenship’ all refer to thisconcept

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The UK’s Health and Safety Executive believe

its mission is to ensure that the risks to health and

safety of workers are properly controlled In terms of

corporate responsibility, they are working to encourage

organizations to:

S improve management systems to reduce injuries and

ill health

S demonstrate the importance of health and safety

issues at board level

S report publicly on health and safety issues within

their organization, including their performance

against targets

The HSE believe that effective management of health

and safety:

S is vital to employee well-being

S has a role to play in enhancing the reputation

of businesses and helping them achieve

high-performance teams

S is financially beneficial to business

1.2 Some basic definitions

Before a detailed discussion of health and safety issuescan take place, some basic occupational health andsafety definitions are required:

Health – the protection of the bodies and minds ofpeople from illness resulting from the materials, pro-cesses or procedures used in the workplace

Safety – the protection of people from physical injury.The borderline between health and safety is ill-definedand the two words are normally used together to indicateconcern for the physical and mental well-being of theindividual at the place of work

Welfare – the provision of facilities to maintain thehealth and well-being of individuals at the workplace.Welfare facilities include washing and sanitation arrange-ments, the provision of drinking water, heating, lighting,accommodation for clothing, seating (when required

by the work activity), eating and rest rooms First aidarrangements are also considered as welfare facilities.Figure 1.1 At work

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Occupational or work-related ill-health – is concerned

with those illnesses or physical and mental disorders that

are either caused or triggered by workplace activities

Such conditions may be induced by the particular work

activity of the individual or by activities of others in the

workplace The time interval between exposure and the

onset of the illness may be short (e.g asthma attacks) or

long (e.g deafness or cancer)

Environmental protection – arrangements to cover

those activities in the workplace which affect the

envi-ronment (in the form of flora, fauna, water, air and soil)

and, possibly, the health and safety of employees and

others Such activities include waste and effluent

dis-posal and atmospheric pollution

Accident – defined by the Health and Safety Executive

as ‘any unplanned event that results in injury or ill health

of people, or damage or loss to property, plant, materials

or the environment or a loss of a business opportunity’

Other authorities define an accident more narrowly by

excluding events that do not involve injury or ill-health

This book will always use the Health and Safety

Executive definition

Near miss – is any incident that could have resulted in an

accident Knowledge of near misses is very important

since research has shown that, approximately, for every

ten ‘near miss’ events at a particular location in

the workplace, a minor accident will occur

Dangerous occurrence – is a ‘near miss’ which could

have led to serious injury or loss of life Dangerous

occurrences are defined in the Reporting of Injuries,

Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

(often known as RIDDOR) and are always reportable

to the Enforcement Authorities Examples include the

collapse of a scaffold or a crane or the failure of any

passenger carrying equipment

Hazard and risk – a hazard is the potential of a

substance, activity or process to cause harm Hazards

take many forms including, for example, chemicals,

electricity and working from a ladder A hazard can be

ranked relative to other hazards or to a possible level

of danger

A risk is the likelihood of a substance, activity or

process to cause harm A risk can be reduced and the

hazard controlled by good management

It is very important to distinguish between a hazard

and a risk – the two terms are often confused and

activities such as construction work are called high risk

when they are high hazard Although the hazard will

continue to be high, the risks will be reduced as controls

are implemented The level of risk remaining when

controls have been adopted is known as the residual

risk There should only be high residual risk where there

is poor health and safety management and inadequate

control measures

1.3 The legal framework for health and safety

1.3.1 Sub-divisions of lawThere are two sub-divisions of the law that apply tohealth and safety issues: criminal law and civil law.Criminal law

Criminal law consists of rules of behaviour laid down

by the government or the state and, normally, enacted

by Parliament through Acts of Parliament These rules

or Acts are imposed on the people for the protection

of the people Criminal law is enforced by severaldifferent Government Agencies who may prosecuteindividuals for contravening criminal laws It is important

to note that, except for very rare cases, only theseAgencies are able to decide whether to prosecute anindividual or not

An individual who breaks criminal law is deemed

to have committed an offence or crime and, if he isprosecuted, the court will determine whether he is guilty

or not If he is found guilty, the court could sentence him

to a fine or imprisonment Due to this possible loss ofliberty, the level of proof required by a criminal court isvery high and is known as proof ‘beyond reasonabledoubt’, which is as near certainty as possible While theprime object of a criminal court is the allocation ofpunishment, the court can award compensation to thevictim or injured party One example of criminal law is theRoad Traffic Acts which are enforced by the police.However, the police are not the only criminal lawenforcement agency The Health and Safety at WorkAct is another example of criminal law and this isenforced either by the Health and Safety Executive orLocal Authority Environmental Health Officers Otheragencies which enforce criminal law include the FireAuthority, the Environment Agency, Trading Standardsand Customs and Excise

There is one important difference between dures for criminal cases in general and criminal casesinvolving health and safety The prosecution in a criminalcase has to prove the guilt of the accused beyondreasonable doubt While this obligation is not totallyremoved in health and safety cases, section 40 of theHealth and Safety at Work Act 1974 transferred, wherethere is a duty to do something ‘so far as is reasonablypracticable’ or ‘so far as is practicable’ or ‘use the bestpracticable means’, the onus of proof to the accused toshow that there was no better way to discharge his dutyunder the Act However, when this burden of proof isplaced on the accused, they need only satisfy the court

proce-on the balance of probabilities that what they are trying

to prove has been done

Health and safety foundations

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Civil law

Civil law concerns disputes between individuals or

individuals and companies An individual sues another

individual or company to address a civil wrong or tort

(or delict in Scotland) The individual who brings the

complaint to court is known as the plaintiff (pursuer in

Scotland) and the individual or company who is being

sued is known as the defendant (defender in Scotland)

The civil court is concerned with liability and the

extent of that liability rather than guilt or non-guilt

Therefore, the level of proof required is based on the

‘balance of probability’, which is a lower level of certainty

than that of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ required by the

criminal court If a defendant is found to be liable, the

court would normally order him to pay compensation and

possibly costs to the plaintiff However, the lower the

balance of probability, the lower the level of

compensa-tion awarded In extreme cases, where the balance of

probability is just over 50%, the plaintiff may ‘win’ his

case but lose financially because costs may not be

awarded and the level of compensation low The level

of compensation may also be reduced through the

defence of contributory negligence, which is discussed

later under ‘Common Torts and Duties’

For cases involving health and safety, civil disputes

usually follow accidents or illnesses and concern

negli-gence or a breach of statutory duty The vast majority of

cases are settled ‘out of court’ While actions are often

between individuals, where the defendant is an employee

who was acting in the course of his employment duringthe alleged incident, the defence of the action is trans-ferred to his employer – this is known as vicariousliability The civil action then becomes one between theindividual and an employer

1.4 The legal system in England and Wales

The description which follows applies to England andWales (and, with a few minor differences to NorthernIreland) Only the court functions concerning healthand safety are mentioned Figure 1.2 shows the courthierarchy in schematic form

1.4.1 Criminal lawMagistrates CourtsMost criminal cases begin and end in the MagistratesCourts Health and safety cases are brought before thecourt by enforcement officers (Health and Safety Execu-tive or Local Authority Environmental Health Officers)and they are tried by a bench of three lay magistrates(known as Justices of the Peace) or a single districtjudge The lay magistrates are members of the public,usually with little previous experience of the law, whereas

a district judge is legally qualified

Figure 1.2 The court system in England and Wales for health and safety

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The Magistrates Court has limited powers with a

maximum fine of £5000 (for employees) to £20 000 for

employers or for those who ignore prohibition notices

Magistrates are also able to imprison for up to six months

for breaches of enforcement notices The vast majority of

health and safety criminal cases are dealt with in the

Magistrates Court

Crown Court

The Crown Court hears the more serious cases, which

are passed to them from the Magistrates Court –

normally because the sentences available to the

magis-trates are felt to be too lenient Cases are heard by a

judge and jury, although some cases are heard by a

judge alone The penalties available to the Crown Court

are an unlimited fine and up to two years imprisonment

for breaches of enforcement notices The Crown Court

also hears appeals from the Magistrates Court

Appeals from the Crown Court are made to the Court

of Appeal (Criminal Division) who may then give leave

to appeal to the most senior court in the country – the

House of Lords The most senior judge at the Court of

Appeal is the Lord Chief Justice

1.4.2 Civil law

County Court

The lowest court in civil law is the County Court which

only deals with minor cases (for compensation claims of

up to £50 000 if the High Court agrees) Cases are

normally heard by a judge sitting alone For personal

injury claims of less than £5000, a small claims court is

also available

High Court

Most health and safety civil cases are heard in the High

Court (Queen’s Bench Division) before a judge only It

deals with compensation claims in excess of £50 000

and acts as an appeal court for the County Court

Appeals from the High Court are made to the Court

of Appeal (Civil Division) The House of Lords receives

appeals from the Court of Appeal or, on matters of law

interpretation, directly from the High Court The most

senior judge at the Court of Appeal is the Master of the

Rolls

The judges in the House of Lords are called Law

Lords and are sometimes called upon to make

judge-ments on points of law, which are then binding on lower

courts Such judgements form the basis of Common

Law, which is covered later

Other courts – Employment Tribunals

These were established in 1964 and primarily deal with

employment and conditions of service issues, such as

unfair dismissal However, they also deal with appeals

over health and safety enforcement notices, disputesbetween recognized safety representatives and theiremployers and cases of unfair dismissal involvinghealth and safety issues There are usually threemembers who sit on a Tribunal These members areappointed and are often not legally qualified Appealsfrom the Tribunal may be made to the EmploymentAppeal Tribunal or, in the case of enforcement notices, tothe High Court Appeals from Tribunals can only dealwith the clarification of points of law

1.5 The legal system in Scotland

Scotland has both criminal and civil courts but tions are initiated by the procurator-fiscal rather than theHealth and Safety Executive The lowest criminal court iscalled the District Court and deals with minor offences.The Sheriff Court has a similar role to that of theMagistrates Court (for criminal cases) and the CountyCourt (for civil cases), although it can deal with moreserious cases involving a sheriff and jury

prosecu-The High Court of Judiciary, in which a judge andjury sit, has a similar role to the Crown Court and appealsare made to the Court of Criminal Appeal The OuterHouse of the Court of Session deals with civil cases

in a similar way to the English High Court The Innerhouse of the Court of Session is the Appeal Court for civilcases

For both appeal courts, the House of Lords is thefinal court of appeal

There are Industrial Tribunals in Scotland with thesame role as those in England

1.6 European Courts

There are two European Courts – the European Court

of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.The European Court of Justice, based inLuxembourg, is the highest court in the EuropeanUnion (EU) It deals primarily with community law andits interpretation It is normally concerned with breaches

of community law by Member States and cases may

be brought by other Member States or institutions Itsdecisions are binding on all Member States There iscurrently no right of appeal

The European Court of Human Rights, based inStrasbourg, is not directly related to the EU – it coversmost of the countries in Europe including the 25 EUmember states As its title suggests, it deals with humanrights and fundamental freedoms With the introduction

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of the Human Rights Act 1998 in October 2000, many

of the human rights cases are heard in the UK

1.7 Sources of law (England and Wales)

There are two sources of law – common law and

statute law

Common law dates from the eleventh century when

William I set up Royal Courts to apply a uniform (common)

system of law across the whole of England Prior to that

time, there was a variation in law, or the interpretation of

the same law, from one town or community to another

Common law is based on judgements made by courts

(or strictly judges in courts) In general, courts are bound

by earlier judgements on any particular point of law – this

is known as ‘precedent’ Lower courts must follow the

judgements of higher courts Hence judgements made

by the Law Lords in the House of Lords form the basis of

most of the common law currently in use

In health and safety, the legal definition of

negli-gence, duty of care and terms such as ‘practicable’ and

‘as far as is reasonably practicable’ are all based on legal

judgements and form part of the common law Common

law also provides the foundation for most civil claims

made on health and safety issues

1.7.2 Statute lawStatute law is law which has been laid down byParliament as Acts of Parliament In health and safety,

an Act of Parliament, the Health and Safety at Work Act

1974, lays down a general legal framework Specifichealth and safety duties are, however, covered byRegulations or Statutory Instruments – these are alsoexamples of statute law If there is a conflict betweenstatute and common law, statute law takes precedence.However, as with common law, judges interpret statutelaw usually when it is new or ambiguous Although forhealth and safety, statute law is primarily the basis ofcriminal law, there is a tort of breach of statutory dutywhich can be used when a person is seeking damagesfollowing an accident or illness Breaches of the Healthand Safety at Work Act 1974 cannot be used for civilaction but breaches of most of the Regulations produced

by the Act may give rise to civil actions

1.7.3 The relationship between the sub-divisionsand sources of law

The two sub-divisions of law may use either of the twosources of law For example, murder is a common lawcrime In terms of health and safety, however, criminallaw is only based on statute law, whereas civil law may

be based on either common law or statute law Thisrelationship is shown in Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3 Sub-divisions and sources of law

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In summary, criminal law seeks to protect everyone

in society whereas civil law seeks to recompense the

individual citizen

1.8 Common law torts and duties

1.8.1 Negligence

The only tort (civil wrong) of real significance in health

and safety is negligence Negligence is the lack of

reasonable care or conduct which results in the injury

(or financial loss) of or to another Whether the act or

omission was reasonable is usually decided as a result

of a court action

There have been two important judgements that

have defined the legal meaning of negligence In 1856,

negligence was judged to involve actions or omissions

and the need for reasonable and prudent behaviour

In 1932, Lord Atkin said,

You must take reasonable care to avoid acts

or omissions which you reasonably foresee

would be likely to injure your neighbour Who

then, in law is my neighbour? The answer

seems to be persons who are so closely

and directly affected by my act that I ought

reasonably to have them in contemplation

as being so affected when I am directing my

mind to the acts or omissions which are called

in question

It can be seen, therefore, that for negligence to be

established, it must be reasonable and foreseeable that

the injury could result from the act or omission In

practice, the Court may need to decide whether the

injured party is the neighbour of the perpetrator A

col-lapsing scaffold could easily injure a member of the

public who could be considered a neighbour to the

scaffold erector

An employee who is suing his employer for

negli-gence, needs to establish the following three criteria:

S a duty was owed to him by his employer

S there was a breach of that duty

S the breach resulted in the injury, disease, damage

and/or loss

These tests should also be used by anyone affected by

the employer’s undertaking (such as contractors and

members of the public) who is suing the employer for

negligence

If the employer is unable to defend against the three

criteria, two further partial defences are available It could

be argued that the employee was fully aware of the risksthat were taken by not complying with safety instruc-tions, (known as volenti non fit injuria or ‘the risk waswillingly accepted’) This defence is unlikely to be totallysuccessful because courts have ruled that employeeshave not accepted the risk voluntarily since economicnecessity forces them to work

The second possible defence is that of ‘contributorynegligence’ where the employee is deemed to have con-tributed to the negligent act This defence, if successful,can significantly reduce the level of compensation (up to80% in some cases)

1.8.2 Duties of careSeveral judgements have established that employersowe a duty of care to each of their employees This dutycannot be assigned to others, even if a consultant isemployed to advise on health and safety matters or ifthe employees are sub-contracted to work with anotheremployer These duties may be sub-divided into fourgroups Employers must:

S provide a safe place of work

S provide safe plant and equipment

S provide a safe system of work

S provide safe and competent fellow employees.Employer duties under common law are often mirrored instatute law This, in effect, makes them both commonlaw and statutory duties

The requirements of a safe workplace, includingthe maintenance of floors and the provision of walk-ways and safe stairways, for example, are also con-tained in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)Regulations

The requirement to provide competent fellowemployees includes the provision of adequate super-vision, instruction and training As mentioned earlier,employers are responsible for the actions of theiremployees (vicarious liability) provided that the action

in question took place during the normal course of theiremployment

1.9 Levels of statutory duty

There are three levels of statutory duty which form

a hierarchy of duties These levels are used extensively

in health and safety statutory (criminal) law but havebeen defined by judges under common law The threelevels of duty are absolute, practicable and reasonablypracticable

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1.9.1 Absolute duty

This is the highest level of duty and often occurs when

the risk of injury is so high that injury is inevitable unless

safety precautions are taken It is a rare requirement

regarding physical safeguards, although it was more

common before 1992 when certain sections of the

Factories Act 1961 were still in force No assessment of

risk is required but the duty is absolute and the employer

has no choice but to undertake the duty The verbs used

in the Regulations are ‘must’ and ‘shall’

An example of this is Regulation 11(1) of the

Provi-sion and Use of Work Equipment Regulations concerning

contact with a rotating stock bar which projects beyond

a headstock of a lathe Although this duty is absolute,

it may still be defended using, for example, the argument

that ‘all reasonable precautions and all due diligence’

were taken This particular defence is limited to certain

health and safety regulations such as The Electricity at

Work Regulations and The Control of Substances

Hazardous to Health

Many of the health and safety management

require-ments contained in health and safety law place an

absolute duty on the employer The need for written

safety policies and risk assessments when employee

numbers rise above a basic threshold are examples

of this

1.9.2 Practicable

This level of duty is more often used than the absolute

duty as far as the provision of safeguards is concerned

and, in many ways, has the same effect A duty that ‘the

employer ensure, so far as is practicable, that any control

measure is maintained in an efficient state’ means that if

the duty is technically possible or feasible then it must be

done irrespective of any difficulty, inconvenience or cost

Examples of this duty may be found in the Provision and

Use of Work Equipment Regulations (Regulation 11(2)

(a and b)) and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations

where Regulation 14 states, ‘Every employer who

provides any control measure shall ensure, so far as

is practicable, that it is maintained in an efficient state

and in good repair’

1.9.3 Reasonably practicable

This is the most common level of duty in health and

safety law and was defined by Judge Asquith in Edwards

v the National Coal Board (1949) as follows:

‘Reasonably practicable’ is a narrower term

than ‘physically possible’, and seems to me to

imply that computation must be made by theowner in which the quantum of risk is placed

on one scale and the sacrifice involved inthe measures necessary for averting the risk(whether in time, money or trouble) is placed

in the other, and that, if it be shown thatthere is a gross disproportion between them –the risk being insignificant in relation to thesacrifice – the defendants discharge the onus

on them

In other words, if the risk of injury is very small compared

to the cost, time and effort required to reduce the risk,then no action is necessary It is important to note thatmoney, time and trouble must ‘grossly outweigh’ notbalance the risk This duty requires judgement on thepart of the employer (or his adviser) and clearly needs

a risk assessment to be undertaken with conclusionsnoted Continual monitoring is also required to ensurethat risks do not increase There are numerous examples

of this level of duty, including the Manual HandlingOperations Regulations and The Control of SubstancesHazardous to Health

The term ‘suitable and sufficient’ is used to definethe scope and extent required for health and safety riskassessment and may be interpreted in a similar way

to reasonably practicable More information is given onthis definition in Chapter 5

1.10 The influence of the European

Union (EU) on health and safety

As Britain is part of the European Union, much of thehealth and safety law originates in Europe Proposals

Figure 1.4 Diagrammatic view of ‘reasonablypracticable’

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from the European Commission may be agreed by

member states The member states are then responsible

for making them part of their domestic law

In Britain itself and in much of Europe, health and

safety law is based on the principle of risk assessment

described above The main role of the EU in health and

safety is to harmonize workplace and legal standards

and remove barriers to trade across member states

A directive from the EU is legally binding on each

member state and must be incorporated into the national

law of each member state Directives set out specific

minimum aims which must be covered within the national

law Some states incorporate Directives more speedily

than others

Directives are proposed by the European

Commis-sion, comprising 25 commissioners, who are citizens

of each of the member states The proposed Directives

are sent to the European Parliament which is directly

elected from the member states The European

Parlia-ment may accept, amend or reject the proposed

Directives The proposed Directives are then passed

to the Council of Ministers who may accept the

proposals on a qualified majority vote, unless the

European Parliament has rejected them, in which case,

they can only be accepted on a unanimous vote of

the Council The Council of Ministers consists of one

senior Government minister from each of the member

states

The powers of the EU in health and safety law

are derived from the Treaty of Rome 1957 and the

Single European Act 1986 For health and safety, the

Single European Act added two additional Articles

100A and 118A The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam

renum-bered them as Articles 95 and 138 respectively

Article 95 is concerned with health and safety

stan-dards of equipment and plant and its Directives are

implemented in the UK by the Department of Trade and

Industry

Article 138 is concerned with minimum standards of

health and safety in employment and its Directives are

implemented by the Health and Safety Commission/

Executive

The objective of the Single European Act 1986 is

to produce a ‘level playing field’ for all member states

so that goods and services can move freely around

the EU without any one state having an unfair advantage

over another The harmonization of health and safety

requirements across the EU is one example of the ‘level

playing field’

The first introduction of an EU Directive into UK

Health and Safety law occurred on 1 January 1993

when a Framework Directive on Health and Safety

management and five daughter directives were

intro-duced using powers contained in the Health and Safety

at Work Act 1974 (Figures 1.5 and 1.6) These directives,

known as the European Six Pack, covered the followingareas:

S Management of Health and Safety at Work

S Provision and Use of Work Equipment

S Manual Handling

S Personal Protective Equipment

S Display Screen Equipment

Figure 1.5 Health and Safety Law poster — must bedisplayed or brochure given to employees Specimen

Figure 1.6 Health and Safety at Work Act

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Since 1993, several other EU Directives have been

introduced into UK law Summaries of the more

common ones are given in Chapter 20

1.11 The Health and Safety at

Work Act 1974

1.11.1 Background to the Act

The Health and Safety at Work Act resulted from the

findings of the Robens Report, published in 1972 Earlier

legislation had tended to relate to specific industries

or workplaces This resulted in over 5 m workers being

unprotected by any health and safety legislation

Contractors and members of the public were generally

ignored The law was more concerned with the

require-ment for plant and equiprequire-ment to be safe rather than the

development of parallel arrangements for raising the

health and safety awareness of employees

A further serious problem was the difficulty that

legislation had in keeping pace with developments

in technology For example, following a court ruling in

1955 which, in effect, banned the use of grinding wheels

throughout industry, it took 15 years to produce the

Abrasive Wheels Regulations 1970 to address the

prob-lem raised by the 1955 court judgement (John Summers

and Sons Ltd v Frost) In summary, health and safety

legislation before 1974 tended to be reactive rather

than proactive

Lord Robens was asked, in 1970, to review the

pro-vision made for the health and safety of people at work

His report produced conclusions and recommendations

upon which the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was

based The principal recommendations were as follows:

S there should be a single Act that covers all workers

and that Act should contain general duties which

should ‘influence attitudes’

S the Act should cover all those affected by the

employer’s undertaking such as contractors, visitors,

students and members of the public

S there should be an emphasis on health and safety

management and the development of safe systems

of work This would involve the encouragement of

employee participation in accident prevention (This

was developed many years later into the concept of

the health and safety culture)

S enforcement should be targeted at ‘self-regulation’

by the employer rather than reliance on prosecution

in the courts

These recommendations led directly to the introduction

of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act in 1974

1.11.2 An overview of the ActHealth and Safety Commission (HSC)The Health and Safety at Work Act established the HSCand gave it the responsibility to draft new Regulationsand to enforce them either through its executive arm,known as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE),

or through the Local Authority Environmental HealthOfficers (EHO) The HSC has equal representation fromemployers, trade unions and special interest groups

RegulationsThe Health and Safety at Work Act is an Enabling Actwhich allows the Secretary of State to make further laws(known as regulations) without the need to pass anotherAct of Parliament Regulations are law, approved byParliament These are usually made under the Health andSafety at Work Act, following proposals from the HSC.This applies to regulations based on EC Directives aswell as ‘home-grown’ ones

The Health and Safety at Work Act, and generalduties in the Management Regulations, aim to helpemployers to set goals, but leave them free to decidehow to control hazards and risks which they identify.Guidance and Approved Codes of Practice give advice,but employers are free to take other routes to achievingtheir health and safety goals, so long as they do what isreasonably practicable But some hazards are so great,

or the proper control measures so expensive, thatemployers cannot be given discretion in deciding what to

do about them Regulations identify these hazards andrisks and set out specific action that must be taken.Often these requirements are absolute – employers have

no choice but to follow them and there is no qualifyingphrase of ‘reasonably practicable’ included

Some regulations apply across all organizations –the Manual Handling Regulations would be an example.These apply wherever things are moved by hand orbodily force Equally, the Display Screen EquipmentRegulations apply wherever visual display units are used

at work Other regulations apply to hazards unique tospecific industries, such as mining or construction.Wherever possible, the HSC will set out the regula-tions as goals, and describe what must be achieved, butnot how it must be done

Sometimes it is necessary to be prescriptive, and tospell out what needs to be done in detail, since somestandards are absolute For example, all mines shouldhave two exits; contacts with live electrical conductorsshould be avoided Sometimes European law requiresprescription

Some activities or substances are so dangerous thatthey have to be licensed, for example, explosives andasbestos removal Large, complex installations or opera-tions require ‘safety cases’, which are large-scale risk

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assessments subject to scrutiny by the regulator.

An example would be the recently privatised railway

companies They are required to produce safety cases

for their operations

Approved Code of Practice (ACoP)

An ACoP is produced for most sets of regulations by the

HSC/HSE and attempts to give more details on the

requirements of the regulations It also attempts to give

the level of compliance needed to satisfy the regulations

ACoPs have a special legal status (sometimes referred to

as quasi-legal) The relationship of an ACoP to a

regu-lation is similar to the reregu-lationship of the Highway Code

to the Road Traffic Acts A person is never prosecuted for

contravening the Highway Code but can be prosecuted

for contravening the Road Traffic Acts If a company is

prosecuted for a breach of health and safety law and it is

proved that it has not followed the relevant provisions

of the ACoP, a court can find them at fault, unless

the company can show that it has complied with the

law in some other way

Since most health and safety prosecutions take

place in a Magistrates Court, it is likely that the lay

magistrates will consult the relevant ACoP as well as the

regulations when dealing with a particular case

There-fore, in practice, an employer must have a good reason

for not adhering to an ACoP

Codes of Practice generally are only directly legally

binding if:

S the regulations or Act indicates that they are, for

example, The Safety Signs and Signals Regulations

Schedule 2 specify British Standard Codes of

prac-tice for alternative hand signals or

S they are referred to in an Enforcement Notice

Guidance

Guidance comes in two forms – legal and best

prac-tice The Legal Guidance series of booklets is issued

by the HSC and/or the HSE to cover the technical

aspects of health and safety regulations These booklets

generally include the Regulations and the ACoP, where

one has been produced

Best practice guidance is normally published in

the HSG series of publications by the HSE Examples

of best practice guidance books include Health and

Safety in Construction HSG 150 and Lighting at Work

HSG 38

An example of the relationship between these three

forms of requirement/advice can be shown using a

common problem found throughout industry and

commerce – minimum temperatures in the workplace

Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and

Welfare) Regulations states, ‘(1) During working hours,

the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall

be reasonable’

The ACoP states ‘The temperature in workroomsshould normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius unlessmuch of the work involves severe physical effort inwhich case the temperature should be at least 13degrees Celsius .’

It would, therefore, be expected that employerswould not allow their workforce to work at temperaturesbelow those given in the ACoP unless it was reasonablefor them to do so (if, for example, the workplace was

a refrigerated storage unit)

Best practice guidance to cover this example

is given in HSG 194 (Thermal Comfort in the Workplace)

in which possible solutions to the maintenance ofemployee welfare in low temperature environments

is given

1.11.3 General duties and key sections of the Act

A summary of the Health and Safety at Work Act

is given under Chapter 20 (20.4) – only an outline will

be given here

Section 2 Duties of employers to employees

To ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health,safety and welfare of all employees In particular:

S safe plant and systems of work

S safe use, handling, transport and storage of stances and articles

sub-S provision of information, instruction, training andsupervision

S safe place of work, access and egress

S safe working environment with adequate welfarefacilities

S a written safety policy together with organizationaland other arrangements (if there are more than fouremployees)

S consultation with safety representatives and tion of safety committees where there are recog-nized trade unions

forma-Section 3 Duties of employers to others affected bytheir undertaking

A duty to safeguard those not in their employment butaffected by the undertaking This includes members

of the public, contractors, patients, customers andstudents

Section 4 Duties of landlords or owners to ensure thatmeans of access and egress are safe for those usingtheir premises

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