Health and Safety Legislation

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The main piece of legislation governing health and safety at work in Britain. This act is the umbrella piece of legislation that protects the health, safety and welfare of all individuals within a workplace.

HASAWA provides broad statements in relation to minimum health and safety requirements and places legal responsibilities on both employers and employees.

Factors regarding health and safety

• ventilation

• temperature

• lighting

• cleanliness

• room dimensions

• space and ambience

• workstations and seating

• maintenance

• washing and toilet facilities

• drinking water

• rest facilities

• changing and storage facilities

Employer Responsibilities

• provide a safe place of work, with safe access and exit that are clearly marked

• provide safe equipment and ongoing maintenance of equipment

• provide information about safety in the workplace and provide training programmes and advice to employees

• provide information to all employees about safety in the workplace by displaying health and safety information on noticeboards

• provide a written health and safety policy, circulate written statements and ensure that details are kept up to date

• provide a safety representative to represent employees needs

Employee responsibilities

• take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and ensure that they report any faults immediately

• take reasonable care for the health and safety of other people; be observant and report any hazards outside their own area

• co-operate with the employer or line manager by attending any health and safety sessions and knowing the organisational policy on health and safety

• refrain from misusing or interfering with anything provided for health and safety and never operate machinery that they are not authorised to use

• ensure they are fully aware of their organisation’s health and safety policy by reading it fully

• wear the protective clothing that has been allocated at all times (PPE)

• immediately report any faults or damage to machinery and equipment