The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Overview
These Regulations set out broad general duties which apply to almost all work activities in Great Britain and offshore. They are aimed mainly at improving health and safety management and can be seen as a way of making more explicit what is required of employers under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Although, they also introduce requirements contained in the European Health and Safety Framework Directive into British Law.
Employers
The Regulations require employers to:
o Assess the risks to the health and safety of employees and to
anyone else who may be affected by their work activity. This
is so that the necessary preventive and protective
measures can be identified. Employers with 5 or more
employees have to record the significant findings of the
assessment. (Regulation 3)
o Ensure that the principles of prevention are applied. In practice, start
by avoiding risk and then assess, reduce and control any remaining risk that
cannot be avoided. (Regulation 4).
o Make arrangements for putting into practice the health and
safety measures that follow from the risk assessment. This will
have to cover planning, organisation, control, monitoring and
review of the protective and preventative measures, in other words,
Again, employers with 5 or more employees will have to
record their arrangements. (Regulation 5)
o Provide appropriate health surveillance for employees where
the risk assessment shows it to be necessary. (Regulation 6)
o Appoint one or more competent people (by preference from within the
organisation rather than an outside consultant) to help him in undertaking the
measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions
imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions. Where more
than one competent person is appointed, the employer shall make
arrangements for ensuring adequate co-operation between them. The
competent person(s) must have time available to fulfil their functions and be
provided with the necessary information. They must also have adequate means
available at their disposal. (Regulation 7)
o Identify danger areas and have procedures in place to deal with serious and
imminent danger. Appoint competent persons to take charge and implement
evacuation procedures. (Regulation 8).
o Liase with the external services when drawing up emergency procedures etc. (Regulation 9).
o Provide employees with comprehensible information about specific health
and safety matters. For example: the results of risk assessments and the
introduction of control measures, the names of competence persons appointed
to assist the employer and the names of persons placed in charge of evacuation
procedures etc. (Regulation 10).
o Co-operate with other employers sharing the work site.
(Regulation 11).
o Ensure comprehensible information and instruction is
provided to other employers, the self-employed and
employees of other employers working in the workplace.
(Regulation 12).
o Ensure that employees have adequate health and safety training
and are capable enough at their jobs to avoid risks.
Training required: on induction, when job responsibilities change, upon the
introduction of new technology or new systems of work. Refresher training to
be provided. All training to be within normal working hours. (Regulation 13).
o Provide temporary workers with some particular health and
safety information to meet special needs. (Regulation 15).
o Carry out specific risk assessments relating to new or expectant mothers. (Regulation 16).
o Obtain certificate from registered medical practitioner concerning new or expectant mothers. (Regulation 17).
o Protection of young persons, including need to carry out specific risk assessment and to take into account their age, lack of maturity and inexperience etc. (Regulation 19)
Employees
The Regulations:
o Extend the duties on employees, as contained in Section 7 of the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974, to follow health and safety instructions,
to report serious and imminent danger and to point out any
shortcomings in their employer's arrangements. These duties are limited by the training and instruction that the employee has received.