Issues Of Health And Safety At Work Affecting Employees

Employers have legal obligations to ensure your health and safety at work. Normally the law makes provision for your rights to health and safety at work as a member of staff, and these rights cannot be altered or removed by your employer. Your most important responsibilities as an employee are:

• To take reasonable care of your own health and safety
• Avoid wearing jewellery or loose clothing when operating machinery
• Make sure your hair or any head covering is out of the way
• Other people – fellow employees and members of the public – should never be put at risk by what you do or don’t do in the course of your work
• Make sure you get proper training, cooperate with your employer, and understand and follow the company’s health and safety policies
• Don’t interfere with or misuse anything that’s been provided for your health, safety or welfare
• Any injuries or ill health you experience as a result of doing your job should be reported immediately
• Tell your employer about any condition that might affect your ability to work
• Tell your employer if you take medication that makes you drowsy, especially if you drive or operate machinery – they should temporarily move you to another job if they have one for you to do

The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 is the basis of British health and safety law. The responsibilities that businesses have toward their workforce and members of the public are qualified in the Health and Safety at Work Act by the standard of “so far as is reasonably practicable.” To put it simply, health and safety is about preventing harm to people.

For many workplaces, despite accepted principles, health and safety is not too complex and needs only a little time. Companies have been dealing with health and safety for a number of years now because of the variety of regulations that exist. Fire safety is covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which replaced the Fire Precautions Act 1971 in October 2006.

Objectives of the Health and Safety at Work Act

The Health and Safety at Work Act seeks to:

• Secure the health, safety and welfare of persons at work
• Protect other persons such as customers, service providers, etc. against risks to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of people at work
• Controlling the keeping and use of explosive or highly flammable or otherwise dangerous substances, and generally preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of such substances, and
• Controlling the emission into the atmosphere of noxious or offensive substances from premises of any class

Many parts of the health and safety law are rooted in the principle of reducing the probability of someone being harmed. Health and Safety Law is a specific section of criminal law in the UK, and is enforced by the local authority. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act itself requires employers to ensure the safety of people who are not employees.

The general safety precautions that are put into place for staff and volunteers will generally ensure that the Duty of Care (where employers take reasonable care for people’s safety) is fulfilled. One of the largest issues for many workplaces is deciding who will be responsible for health and safety at work. One person could take on some aspects of health and safety in some situations, such as testing the fire alarm and keeping paperwork up-to-date. However, all members of staff and volunteers are responsible for their own health and safety and the safety of others through their own actions and omissions.

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