HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW

General requirements

Under Health and Safety Law, businesses have a duty to protect their employees and customers. In general, you must:

• Make your premises safe and without risks to health.
• Ensure equipment is safe and safe work practices are set and followed.
• Ensure articles and substances are moved, stored and used safely.
• Give staff information, training and the supervision necessary for their health and safety.

Causes of accidents

Health and Safety Executive reports for 2004/5 show the following accident statistics:

Fatal accidents 2004/5
Type of accident	As a percentage of all fatal accidents
Falling from height	24.1%
Struck by moving vehicle	15.9%
Struck by moving or falling object	20.9%

Non-fatal major injuries
Type of accident	As a percentage of all non-fatal major accidents
Slipping and tripping	35.7%
Handling, lifting, carrying	16.1%
Falling from height	12.4%
Struck by moving or falling object	12.8%

Over-3-day injuries*
Type of accident	As a percentage of all over-3-day accidents
Handling, lifting, carrying	41.6%
Slipping and tripping	22.7%
Struck by moving or falling object	11.7%

*Note: an over-3-day injury is one which results in the injured person being away from work or unable to do their full range of normal duties for more than 3 days.

Assessing risks

You must undertake a health and safety risk assessment following the 5-step process:

• 1Look for the hazards.
• 2Decide who might be harmed and how.
• 3Evaluate the risks and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.
• 4Record your findings.
• 5Review your findings when necessary.

Other obligations

You must also:

• Provide adequate first-aid facilities.
• Avoid hazardous manual handling operations; or where they cannot be avoided, reduce the risk of injury.
• Ensure safety signs are provided and maintained.
• Display the ‘Health and Safety Law Poster’ if you employ anyone. Alternatively, provide your employees with individual copies of the same information in a leaflet called Your Health and Safety – a guide for workers. (The poster and leaflet are available from the Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books.)
• Prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances.
• Take precautions against danger from flammable or explosive hazards.
• Make sure that the workplace satisfies health, safety and welfare requirments, eg noise, ventilation, temperature, lighting, sanitary and washing facilities.
• If you have 5 or more employees, you must draw up a health and safety policy statement, and bring it to the attention of your employees.

Your employees also have legal duties. These include:

• Taking reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others.
• Cooperating with you on health and safety issues.
• Correctly using work items provided by you, including any personal protective equipment, in accordance with training and instruction.
• Not interfering with, or misusing, anything provided for their health, safety and welfare.