Summary of UK Accident at Work Regulations

ACCIDENTS AT WORK: A SUMMARY OF THE KEY REGULATIONS

© Sarah Fox, Enjoy Legal Learning, March 2012. All rights reserved. Please contact the author for rights to copy, distribute or extract.

Relates to Duty holders Duties Comments

Common Law

At work Employers There is a common law duty of care on an employer to guard his employee against harm, by exercising reasonable skill and care. There are three aspects of this duty:

to provide competent staff i.e. to employ personnel who are trained or experienced in the work they are to perform e.g.Hudson v Ridge Manufacturing Co Ltd 1957;

to provide and maintain both premises and plant which ensure the safety of the worker including premises not under the employer’s control;

to provide a safe system of work i.e to guard against known and/or foreseeable risks.

Health and Safety At Work Act 1974

At work Employers

Duty of to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees; also to prepare and revise as appropriate a written statement of his general policy with respect to health and safety at work of his employees and to bring it to employees’ notice (s2)

Duty to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected are not thereby exposed to risks to their health and safety [note no ref to welfare for non-employees] e.g. R v Swan Hunter Shipbuilders [1982] (s3)

not to intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety and welfare: note duty for everyone (s8)

not to charge (no employer who is required by law to do things or provide things for this employees is to levy or permit to be levied on any employee any charge in respect of that matter) (s9)

Under s15 the Secretary of State is permitted to make health and safety regulations for the general purposes of the Act. Under s16 The Health and Safety Commission is given power to approve and issue codes of practice for the purpose of providing practical guidance (and under s17 failure to comply may be given in evidence in any proceedings under the Act). S21 empowers an inspector to issue an improvement notice for a contravention of the law or, under s22, a prohibition notice where there is a risk of serious injury.

Self-employed person to conduct her undertaking in such a away so as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that she and other persons who may be affected are not thereby exposed to risks to their health and safety (s3)

Person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies an article for work

to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the article is so designed and constructed as to be safe and without risks to health when properly used; to carry out testing and examination to satisfy this duty; to take reasonable steps to secure the availability of adequate information as to its use and any conditions which are to be observed to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health (s6)

Employees to take reasonable care of the health and safety of himself and others who might be affected by his work (s7)




CDM Regulations 2007

Construction work (as defined) Construction sites ie any place where construction work is being carried out or to which workers have access reg 3(4)

Client = anyone accepting services of another for a project or carrying out a project in the course of business (reg 2(1)) Contractor = any person who in the course of business carries out or manages construction work (reg 2(1)) Also Designer, CDM Co-ordinator Principal Contractor, Worker (all as defined in reg 2(1))

Duty to appoint defined persons only if he has taken reasonable steps to ensure that the person is competent, accept appointment if himself competent, subcontract to competent persons (reg 4(1))

Duty to seek the co-operation of any other person concerned in any project involving construction work at the same or adjoining site so far as necessary to enable him to perform any duty or function under these regs (reg (5(1)(a)) and to co-operate with any other person for the same reasons (reg 5(1)(b))

Duty to report to person whose control you are under anything which he is aware is likely to endanger health or safety of self or others (reg 5(2))

Duty to co-ordinate activities which ensures so far as reasonably practicable the health and safety of others (reg 6)

Duty on client to take reasonable steps to ensure that arrangements for managing the project are suitable to ensure that the construction works can be carried out so far as is reasonably practicable without risk to health and safety of any person (reg 9(1)) and to maintain/review such arrangements throughout the project (reg 9(2))

Duty on designers in preparing or modifying design to avoid foreseeable risks to the health and safety of anyone coming in contact with the project (reg 11(3))

Duty on contractor to plan, manage and monitor construction work which ensures so far as is reasonably practicable, it is carried out without risks to health and safety (reg 13(3)) to provide information on planning minimum times to subcontractors (13(3)) and to provide any information and training to workers needed for the work to be carried out safely and without risk to health (13(4))

There are additional duties in Part 3 where projects are notifiable (ie over 45 man-days); and Part 4 contains duties relating to the health and safety of construction sites eg:

Duty on the contractor to ensure that every place of work so far as is reasonably practicable is made and kept safe for and without risks to health to any person at work there (reg 26(2))

Not one of the six-pack1 The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 previously defined ‘construction site’ Reg 7 sets out that the duties are subject to a general principle of preventing harm.

1 The six-pack refers to regulations passed under s47(2) Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and implementing six Directives




Work at Height Regulations 2005

Work at or below ground level, where persons could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (reg 2(1)) and holes in workplace floor (reg 11) Applies to work carried out by employees and any other person under his control to the extent of his control (reg 3(2))

Duty holders = employers and those who have control (reg*)2 Duties cannot be delegated

Essentially risk assessment and inspection

Duty to ensure work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in manner which so far as reasonably practicable is safe (reg 4)

Duty to ensure no person is involved in activity in relation to work at height or relevant work equipment unless competent or being trained and supervised by competent person (reg 5)

Duty to take into account the risk assessment from reg 3 Mgmt Regs (reg 6(1))

Duty to ensure work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height (reg 6(2))

Duty to take suitable & sufficient measures to prevent, so far as rbly practicable, any person falling from a distance liable to cause personal injury (reg 6(3))

Duty to provide work equipment for preventing, so far as reasonably practicable, a fall occurring (regs 6(4)(b) and 5(a))

Duty to provide such additional training and measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury (reg 5(b))

Duty to ensure no person at work passes across or near or works on, from or near a fragile surface where it is reasonably practicable to carry out work safely & under appropriate conditions without doing so3 (reg 9)

Duty to ensure workplace equipped with devices to prevent persons entering places where falls or falling objects are likely (reg 11)

Duty to ensure that the surface and every parapet, permanent rail or other such fall protection measure of every p[lace of work at height are checked on each occasion before the place is used (reg 13)

Not one of the six-pack See Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 reg 14A for employee caving and climbing events Regulation 7 gives details of what is required when selecting equipment for work at height. Ladders are subject to Schedule 5 requirements and HSE Guidance in INDG401, 402 and 405.

Falling objects (reg 10) Duty to take suitable and sufficient steps to prevent any person being struck by the fall of any material or object (reg 10(1)). Where it is not reasonably practicable to prevent a person being so struck then take suitable and sufficient steps to prevent any person being struck by an object liable to cause personal injury (reg 10(2))

Duty to ensure no material or object is thrown or tipped from height in circumstances where it is liable to cause injury to any person (reg 10(3)) and related duty in relation to storage (reg 10(4))

2 Control: Tafa v Matsim, Gilling-Smith and Agora QBD (23/5/11). 3 If not the employer has to ensure suitable platforms, covering, guard rails or similar means of support or protection are available and to take suitable and sufficient measures to

minimise the distances and consequences of a fall (reg*). Employer also under a duty to ensure that there are prominent warning notices affixed to the approach to any fragile surface.




Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and 1999

Employees Employer Self-employed persons

Duty to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to health and safety of employees, persons under his control or as self-employed person, to which each are exposed at work for the purpose of identifying the measures it needs to take to comply with relevant statutory provisions (reg3(1) and 3(2)) and keep it under review (reg 3(3))

Duties in relation to preventative measures (reg 5(1))

Duties to provide appropriate health surveillance (reg 6)

Duties to establish critical risk procedures (reg 8)

Duties to inform employees on risks and measures (reg 10)

Duties to take account of individual capabilities (reg 13(1))

Duties to train and repeat training (regs 13(2) and (3)) Note: the risk assessment should (Allison v London Underground [2008] CA) be a ‘blueprint for action’4

HSE guidance on what is a ‘suitable and sufficient risk assessment’ requires:

Reviewing all activities undertaken by the orgn;

Evaluating regulations, standards and guidance incl codes of practice5;

Deciding actions required to ensure adequate control of risks

Confirm risks are under and identify actions necessary for adequate control

Specify short term measures to protect employees

Provision and Use of Work Equipment 1998 (PUWER)

Work equipment= “any machinery appliance apparatus tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not)” (reg 2(1))

Employer (reg 3(2)) Self-employed persons (reg 3(3)(a)) A person who has control of work equipment, a person who uses, supervises or manages the use of work equipment or the way in which works equipment is used at work (reg 3(3)(b))6

Duty to ensure work equipment is so constructed or adapted to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided (reg 4(1))

Duty to ensure that work equipment is used only for operations for which and under conditions for which it is suitable (reg 4(3))7

Duty to ensure work equipment8 is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair (reg 5(1))

Duty to ensure adequate training for the purposes of health and safety for users (reg 9(1)) and supervisors (reg 9(2))9

Suitable “means suitable in any respect which it is reasonably foreseeable will affect the health or safety of any person” (reg4(4)(a)) Excludes private vehicles

4 Other cases on risk assessment: Griffiths v Vauxhall Motors Ltd [2003] EWCA Civ 412, Allsop v Sheffield CC [2002] EWCA Civ 71 Ammah v Kuehne & Nagal [2009] EWCA Civ 11. 5 Ellis v Bristol City Council [2007] EWCA Civ 685. 6 Duty holder: Ball v Street (4/2/2205), Smith v Northamptonshire CC [2009] UKHL 27, Toner v George Morrison [2010] CSOH 125, Mason v Satelcom Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 494. 7 Suitability: Robb v Salamis [2006] UKHL 56. 8 Work equipment: Hammond v the Commissioner for the Metropolis (2004), Spencer-Franks v Kellog Brown & Root Ltd [2008] UKHL 46, PRP Architects v Reid [2006] EWCA Civ

1119. 9 Training: Gower-Smith v Hampshire CC (27/6/08), Allison v London Underground cited above.




Work equipment = “any machine apparatus tool or installation used at work” (Art 2(a) directive 89/655/EEC)

Provided it is in connection with a business (reg 3(4)) Provided equipment is not provided by way of ale, agreement for sale, or hire-purchase (reg 3(5))

Duty to ensure work equipment complies with health and safety regulations (reg 10)

Workplace (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

Premises which are not domestic premises and which are made available to any person as a place of work (reg 2(1))

Anyone with control of non-domestic premises (reg*)10

Duty to keep the premises and relevant equipment devices and systems in an efficient state, in efficient working order and good repair11 (reg 5(1))

Duty to ensure that every floor in a workplace and the surface of every traffic route in a workplace shall be of a construction such that the floor or surface is suitable for the purpose for which it is used (reg 12(1))12

Duty, so far as is reasonably practicable, to keep every floor in a workplace free from any substance which may cause a person to slip (reg 12(3))13

Duty to ensure windows and skylights capable of being opened can be opened closed or adjusted without exposing persons to risks to health or safety (reg 15(1)) and so not in a position to expose anyone to such risk (reg 15(2))

Code of Practice 153 refers to safe windows

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulations 1992

At work PPE Is “all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be work or held by a person at work and

Employer and self-employed persons ..except where noted & occasionally employees

Duty to ensure suitable personal protective equipment is provided to employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work except where and to the extent that such risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective (reg 4(1))14

Duty to ensure that an assessment is made to determine whether the PPE intended to be provided is suitable (reg 6(1))15

Duty on employer to take all reasonable steps to ensure that any PPE provided is properly used (reg 10(1))

Employees: Duty to use PPE provided under Regs in accordance with any training

Regulation 4(3) explains what is meant by suitable Regulation 6(2) sets out the content of the risks assessment

10 Control: Ceva Logistics Ltd v Lynch [2011] EWCA Civ 188. 11 Ball v Street: Reg 5 duty is strict; efficient refers to health and safety so if a defect causes an injury then the machine was inefficient; foreseeability is irrelevant. See also Munro v

Aberdeen CC [2009] CSOH 129, Wallace v Glasgow CC [2011] CSIH 57. 12 Traffic route: Home Office v Lowles [2005] EWCA Civ 985 13 Slips and trips: Burgess v Plymouth CC [2005] EWCA Civ 1659, Anderson v Newham College [2002], Bassie v Merseyside FCDA [2005] EWCA Civ 1474, Eliis v Bristol CC cited

above. 14 PPE: Splatt v Lancashire CC (16/3/10), UEA v Spalding QBD (3/3/11) 15 Suitability of PPE: Threlfall v Hull CC [2010] EWCA Civ 1147.




which protects him against one or more risks to his health or safety” (reg 2(1))

in the use of the PPE and the instructions given (reg 10(2))

Self-employed: duty to make full and proper use of any PPR provided (reg 10(3))

Employees and self-employed: duty to return PPE to accommodation provided for it after use (10(4))

Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Employer Duty so far as is reasonably practicable, to avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of them being injured (reg 4(a))

Where unavoidable, to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of such manual handling operations, to reduce the risk of injury as low as possible and to provide employees undertaking manual handling with certain information about the loads (reg 4(b))

Schedule 1 to the Regs show factors to which the employer must have regard and questions he must consider when making his assessment

Note defective equipment is covered by Workplace Regulations reg 5, PUWER reg 5 and PPE Regulations reg 7. Each regulation provides that the employer shall keep equipment “in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair” [see also Noise at Work Regulations 1989 reg 10, and COSHH 1998 reg 9]. This working first appeared in s152 Factories Act 1937 and Galashiels Gas Co Ltd v Miller [1949] a House of Lords case. Recent cases include: Stark v Post Office [2002] CA.

Summary of UK Accident at Work Regulations

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