What are my employer's duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act? | Mark Reynolds Solicitors

Nobody should go to work and come home ill or injured.

Workplace health and safety is about identifying risks and taking steps to minimise them to ensure that employees always have a safe working environment.

If an employer neglects their health and safety obligations, it can have serious consequences, putting employees in danger of harm.

In this article, we identify the laws in place to protect people at work, and what you can do if you believe your employer has breached health and safety regulations.

What is workplace health and safety?

When we go to work, we expect to be safe and not exposed to hazards.

No one should be put at risk simply by doing their job.

Workplace health and safety ensures that everyone can perform their role with peace of mind that there are rules and processes in place to protect them from harm, illness, or injury.

Workplace health and safety refers to laws, policies, and procedures that protect people from harm at work or in public spaces.

UK employers are primarily governed by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which set out both the employer’s and employee’s legal duties for maintaining a safe working environment.

Is health and safety a legal requirement?

Yes, the law requires every business to have a health and safety policy.

It should explain how your business manages health and safety, clearly stating who does what, when, and how to maintain a safe working environment.

If a business has fewer than five employees, then it’s not legally required to write the policy down (although it’s recommended that it does!).

If it has five or more employees, the law requires it to have a written health and safety policy.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 explained

If there exists one piece of health and safety law that employers and employees should know inside out, it’s the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

This important piece of legislation sets out the framework for managing workplace health and safety in the UK and is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

What are your employer’s duties according to the Health and Safety at Work Act?

There are six key duties outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that employers are legally obliged to comply with.

These are:

Provide a safe work environment

Employers must ensure that their premises meet safety standards, are free from hazards, and are maintained to prevent accidents and injuries.

Provide safe equipment

All equipment, machinery, and tools provided must be maintained to ensure it is safe to use. This should include regular inspections and maintenance of equipment and a process for reporting faults.

Provide adequate health and safety training

All employees should receive health and safety training, including manual handling training and fire safety training so that they understand the risks involved at work and what they can do to keep themselves and others safe at work.

Carry out risk assessments

Employers must conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential hazards and assess the level of risk.

Provide proper facilities

Employers must ensure that their premises have adequate facilities for the number of employees using them. This includes basic necessities like toilets, drinking water, heating, and air conditioning.

Appoint a health and safety officer

The employer should appoint a dedicated person to take responsibility for managing health and safety matters and ensuring that they are being adhered to.

It’s important to note that employees also have obligations for looking after their own and others’ health and safety whilst in the workplace.

What happens if an employer breaches safety regulations?

Employers have a legal duty to protect their staff.

If an employer does not comply with workplace safety regulations, it can have serious repercussions – potentially leading to an employee becoming seriously injured or unwell because of their negligence.

If they’re found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations, they could find themselves facing serious consequences, including investigations and enforcement action, fines, prosecution, compensation claims, and damage to their reputation.

Are there industry-specific safety obligations?

Yes, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covers general health and safety obligations.

Depending on what industry a business is in and what risks it faces, it may also need to comply with various other health and safety laws.

Some other common industry-specific health and safety laws include:

Why reporting and record-keeping are important

Keeping thorough health and safety reports and records helps organisations comply with their legal obligations, protect their employees, and improve their practices over the long term.

According to the law, some workplace incidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Keeping thorough records of any incidents will help to ensure that your organisation complies with these requirements.

If you keep up-to-date records of accidents, illnesses, and other health and safety incidents that occur in the workplace, it can help to highlight recurring issues or trends.

This insight is extremely valuable as organisations can use it to take proactive steps to reduce risks in the workplace.

And finally, if an employee decides to take legal action against their employer, detailed records can be used as vital evidence of what happened, how it was handled, and the health and safety measures that the organisation has in place.

What rights does an employee have under health and safety law?

Employees have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment where risks to their health and safety are carefully controlled.

This includes the right:

to be informed about potential risks and how they are being managed
to be provided with free personal protective and safety equipment
to be provided with the appropriate health and safety training for their role
to stop working if they have reasonable concerns about their safety
to raise health and safety concerns with their employer
to have rest breaks during the working day

However, it’s important to note employees are also responsible for taking reasonable care of their own health and safety at work.

What should you do after a workplace injury?

If you are injured due to an accident at work, it’s important to record as much information as possible about what happened.

Record the accident at work: Make sure you report the accident at work and ensure that it is recorded. If your employer has more than ten employees, then they should have an accident book for recording details of accidents.

See a doctor: If necessary, see your doctor to ensure you get the appropriate care and so that you have a medical record of what happened.

Collect evidence: It is also useful to get the name and content details of anyone who witnessed the accident, take photographs of your injury, and make notes about what happened.

Need help after an accident at work?

At Mark Reynolds Solicitors, we’ve helped countless people to successfully claim compensation after an accident at work.

If you believe the accident was your employer’s fault, you may be able to make a personal injury compensation claim.

Arrange a free consultation with one of our specialist accident at work solicitors by dialling 0800 002 9577.