Health & Safety at Work Act:1974

The umbrella legislation that enables the subordinate regulations and places specific responsibilities upon the employers, suppliers and employees among others. Among these responsibilities are:

The employers section of the Act begins with: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees"

To best meet the requirements of the act, the following should be considered best practice:

• Provide and maintain machinery along with introducing safe systems of work thereby assuring so far as is reasonably practicable the health and safety of his employees.
• Make arrangements to ensure that all risks with regard to the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances are minimised.
• Provide information, instruction, training and supervision as is deemed necessary in order that the employee can work safely.
• Provide and maintain a place of work keeping it in a safe condition and without risks to health also ensuring access and egress from it are safe.
• Provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health also provide adequate welfare arrangements.

Under HASAW, a supplier should:

• Design and construct any article so that when it is used in a proper manner there is no risk to the health and safety of the workforce.
• Test and examine as is necessary any article to be used in the workplace to confirm that it will give no risk to the health and safety of the workforce.
• Supply adequate information about the article regarding the use, testing and any condition necessary for its safe use in the workplace.
• Supply revisions of information regarding any changes to equipment which may give rise to risks to health and safety in the workplace.

And employees responsibilities are also legally binding:

• Take care of the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their work or failure to carry out some of their work.
• Co-operate with their employer to take part in training or instruction from suppliers to enable work to be carried out in accordance with any regulations.
• No to intentionally or recklessly interfere or misuse anything provided for health, safety or welfare purposes.

Further enhanced by the Management of Health and Safety at Work:1999 it require that employees only use equipment for which they are trained and they use it in the manner they were trained.

For further information please contact us on 020 8305 1919, or email us at lifting@delmark.co.uk