The Wellness and Safety at Perform and so on Act 1974 is the basis for British health and safety law. My understanding is that with this exeption, it is now not open to anyone to bring a breach of statutory duty claim in respect of wellness and security as non of the regulations make express provisions for such a claim. By way of an instance, a single requirement of the Workplace (Well being, Safety and Welfare) Regulations is that there shall be a affordable working temperature. Appoint competent personnel to secure compliance with statutory duties and to undertake testimonials of the policy as necessary.
These incorporate some of the regulations with which UK wellness and security practitioners will be most familiar such as the Provision and Use of Perform Equipment Regulations (ʺPUWERʺ) 1998 and the Workplace (Wellness, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. When taking an employer to court for breach of wellness and security, you either have to prove ‘negligence’ or a breach of ‘statutory duty’.
To attain these objectives it has appointed designated member(s) of employees to be responsible for well being and safety to keep workplace overall health, safety and welfare procedures under continual review to liaise with the Health and Safety Executive wherever needed and to hold the Authority and its Board abreast of new legislation, EU Directives, Regulations and British Requirements, in order to make certain on-going compliance with the law.
Most well being and security regulations are made below the Wellness and Safety at Perform and so on Act by the Secretary of State after consultation with the Overall health and Security Executive (HSE). To serve an improvement notice, an inspector need to be of the opinion that there is a breach of relevant statutory provisions, or that there has been a breach that is most likely to be continued or repeated (e.g. a floor that has been poorly maintained in contravention of the specifications of the WHSWR 1992).
Prior to the passing of the ERR Act 2013 (in addition to any claim based on a breach of their contract of employment), employees could bring a claim against their employer for a breach of the typical law duty of care as well as a claim based on a breach of the employer’s statutory duty. This would address the perceived unfairness that responsible and safety-conscious employers were becoming held to a duty that was larger than the typical law duty of care. The Government obliged and Section 69 ERRA has now removed the doctrine of strict liability for employers from all overall health and safety regulations which are silent as to civil liability.
