Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA, HASWA or HASAWA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (statute number 1974 c. 37) enacted in 1974 that set basic principles which must be followed by both employees and employers to help ensure a safe working environment.

HASAWA was an act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work, for controlling the keeping and use and preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of dangerous substances, and for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere and to make further provision with respect to the employment medical advisory service (EMAS). It set up the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment can be imposed by a Crown court on organisations or persons failing to comply with their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Enabling Act

The Health and Safety at Work Act is an enabling act, meaning that secondary legislation can be made under it. Most Health and Safety legislation is enacted under HASAWA, for example the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992, the First Aid Regulations, etc. Over time, the source of UK law in this area has tended to be from the EU rather than from the UK. EU Directives are generally enacted into UK law by means of secondary (devolved) legislation made under HASAWA.

Key parts

There are several key parts to the Act.

Section 2(1) gives the general duties of all employers:

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/her employees.

Section 2(2) expands on this general duty: employers shall:

• provide and maintain plant and systems of work that are safe
• ensure safety with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
• provide information, instruction, training and supervision as necessary
• ensure maintenance of any place of work, and provide and maintain means of access and exit
• provide a safe working environment

Section 2(3) requires employers to have a safety policy.

Section 3 gives the general duties owed to others, including contractors, visitors, the general public, clients, etc.

Sections 7 and 8 details the responsibility that employees have for taking reasonable care over their own Health and Safety, including co-operating with their employers and not misusing any items providing for their safety.

The Act is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by inspecting workplaces, giving advice, issuing letters, issuing enforcement notices (see Sections 21 to 24) and prosecuting employers for serious failures.

Sections 36 and 37 detail the responsibilities of managers and directors (the "directing mind" of the company), especially where they have allowed a safety breach to occur with consent or connivance, or where the act or omission by another person allowed a breach to occur.

Section 40 puts the burden of proof onto the accused: rather than presuming innocence, this section states that if a breach has occurred, then it is down to the company or individual responsible to prove that they had taken reasonable steps to prevent it (strict liability)

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, a comparable United States federal law.