Health and safety: Your questions answered

If you run a business in the UK and have five or more employees, you are legally required to provide a health and safety policy. This became law in 1974 as part of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

If you’re based in the UK, you’re legally required to appoint someone to be responsible for health and safety on your premises. They are known as ‘competent persons’ in official terms. If this isn’t possible in-house, you’ll need to outsource this to an external health and safety professional. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the UK’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It provides guidance to prevent work-related accidents, injuries, death and ill health.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is an important piece of legislation that was introduced to support the health, safety and wellbeing of people in the workplace. It provides a framework to help employers and employees create a safe working environment. It covers :

• General duties
• Health and safety policy
• Enforcement and participation
• Offenses and penalties
• Protecting the public
• A safe working environment that is properly maintained and where operations within it are conducted safely.
• Suitable provision of relevant information, instruction and supervision.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 means that companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter. This is relevant to deaths in the workplace that have happened as a result of serious management failures and a breach in the duty of care.

Corporate manslaughter is when a company or organisation fails to manage health and safety properly, resulting in avoidable loss of life in the workplace. 

Failure to comply with Health and Safety Laws can have serious consequences – for both organisations and individuals. Sanctions include fines, imprisonment and disqualification. In addition, courts will follow sentencing guidelines that were introduced in 2016. They’ll take into account the size of the business, who is responsible and the level of harm caused. 

If there’s been an accident or a near miss, there are six key steps you should follow: 

• Check the area for immediate danger
• Make sure anyone injured receives immediate medical attention
• Report what happened in your company accident book
• Start a formal investigation
• Report the accident to the HSE if the type of accident is a reportable incident under RIDDOR
• Review and update your relevant risk assessments

In your company accident book you should record: 

• The name, date of birth and job title of the injured person 
• The date of the accident 
• The details of what happened 
• The type and severity of the injury 
• The name and job title of the person logging the accident 

RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. It’s a health and safety law aimed at making sure employers, the self-employed and premise owners report workplace accidents that have resulted in a reportable injury.

Under the RIDDOR, you’ll need to report any of the following: 

• Death: includes any fatalities within 365 days of sustaining an injury from a workplace accident (note that suicide isn’t considered a reportable injury). 
• Non-fatal injuries: includes members of the public, customers or volunteers requiring immediate hospital treatment.
• Occupational diseases: includes diseases likely to have been caused or made worse by work, e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome, cramp of the hand or arm, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome, occupational asthma and tendonitis.
• Near misses: officially known as Dangerous occurrences are certain incidents with a high potential to cause death or serious injury. Those incidents which must be reported are listed in Schedule 2 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).
  
• Gas incidents: includes death, loss of consciousness or hospital treatment resulting from flammable gas accidents.

There are two ways you can submit a RIDDOR report: 

1. Online via the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk 
2. By phone: 0345 300 9923 

Make sure you include: 

• Your name, job title and contact details 
• The date, time and location of the accident 
• A description of how the accident happened and the resulting injuries  
• The names, job titles and contact details of any witnesses 

Here’s a brief summary of the seven key health and safety regulations and what’s expected of employers: 

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Carrying out regular risk assessments, so that risks are identified and reduced 
• Appointing a competent person to oversee health and safety 
• Informing and training workers on all necessary aspects of occupational health and safety 
• Completing a written health and safety policy  

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Providing adequate lighting, heating, ventilation and cleanliness in the workplace 
• Providing facilities including toilets, washing areas and rest spaces 
• Preventing slipping and tripping hazards  

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 

When employees use a computer as part of their normal working day, employers are responsible for: 

• Completing workstation risk assessments 
• Providing regular eye tests and any other necessary equipment adjustments 

The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Providing free and suitable PPE that mitigates risks 
• Making sure all workers know how to use the PPE provided 

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Where practical, introducing alternatives to workers carrying out manual handling activities that could potentially cause injuries 
• Completing a manual handling risk assessment  
• Telling workers how much each load weighs 

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Making sure that all work equipment is safe and suitable for its intended purpose 
• Providing training and information about the equipment 
• Protecting employees from hazardous machinery 

 The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 

Employers are responsible for: 

• Reporting work-related incidents, injuries and diseases to the relevant authorities 
• Maintaining an accident log that contains relevant details about reportable incidents 

At a minimum, UK employers must: 

• Create a health and safety policy if they employ more than five people 
• Buy Employers Liability Insurance 
• Appoint a health and safety rep 
• Appoint a competent person to identify and assess workplace risks and hazards 
• Arrange regular risk assessments 
• Inform staff of any risks and what’s being done to protect them 
• Establish procedures to follow if there’s dangerous event 
• Provide clear and relevant health and safety information, instruction and training

Employers in the UK have a legal duty to protect their employees. They’re expected to: 

• Provide a safe working environment 
• Provide and implement safe working practices 
• Provide equipment that’s safe and fit for purpose 
• Recruit a competent and safety-oriented team 

If your business fails to comply, it could be fined or prosecuted. Your employees should also cooperate to create a safe working environment.   

They do. The training you provide your staff will help to keep them safe at work. Here are some examples of the most common topics employees are trained on: 

• Fire safety and emergency procedures 
• Manual handling 
• First aid 
• Welfare facilities 
• How to use tools, machinery and equipment safely 
• Workplace risk assessments 

Health and safety training is usually provided as part of an employee’s induction. The training will obviously vary depending on the type of work the employee will be doing. Following the induction training, we recommend introducing refresher training for all employees, so that workplace safety stays top of mind.  

These are informal presentations about a specific aspect of health and safety. They’re designed to be quick and easy to remember, and provide an opportunity for experienced staff members to share their insights.