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SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Health and Safety Law

The legal position

The concept that employees should be safe at work is not a recent phenomenon. Legislation was developed in the 1970s to streamline the many different statutes governing safety issues making management responsible for the provision and maintenance of adequate standards and policies. But although there are many different statutes governing safety issues, health and safety is not only governed by legislation. Under what is known as ‘common law’ all employers have a duty of care imposed on them to protect their employees. There is also a term implied into all employment contracts requiring employers to take care of their employees’ health and safety. For example, employers must:

If an employer fails to take reasonable care in any of these areas, an employee may have a number of claims, including the ability to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal. Employees, too, have responsibilities and should work with their employer to develop a safe place of work.

Main legislation

The legislation relating to health and safety is very extensive. One of the most important statutes is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA). All work places are covered by this legislation which says that an employer must do everything reasonably practicable to provide a safe and healthy workplace with adequate welfare facilities. HSWA has been supported and extended by various sets of regulations, codes of practice and guidance, all of which deal with various aspects of health and safety.

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were established under the HSWA to respectively decide upon and implement health and safety policy. In January 2008 a draft order was issued to implement the merger of the two bodies.

Some examples of other relevant legislation includes:

The Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833), as subsequently amended, are also an important piece of health and safety legislation – see our factsheet on hours of work for more information.

In addition to extensive legislation, there is ongoing research and consultation concerning workplace health and safety.

Employers’ duties to provide a safe and healthy working environment arise from the core principles of negligence, contract, and the numerous specific statutory duties referred to above.

Employers should, at least:

Producing a policy

All employers with more than five employees must have a statement of their health and safety policy. This statement must:

Policies should be produced after consultation with employees and after conducting surveys on staff attitudes to health and safety. They should be also applied uniformly and there should be a system for regularly monitoring and reviewing the policy to ensure that it complies with current legislation. The adoption of a tailor-made policy is best practice and entirely 'off the shelf' policies are discouraged. The obligation to provide a health and safety policy originally arises under section 2(3) of the HSWA. In cases of flagrant disregard, enforcement officers may issue improvement notices which if contravened lead to the ultimate potential sanctions of criminal penalties, including large fines and imprisonment.

Employers’ duties at a place of work

Some key examples of the employer’s duties with respect to a place of work include:

Inspectors from the local authority Environmental Health Department, or HSE are responsible for enforcing health and safety law, and organisations can be prosecuted for breaches. All workplaces must be registered with either of these two bodies. Employees can report any breaches of the legislation or seek advice from them.

Risk assessment

A risk assessment is a vigilant examination of what, in a place of work, could cause harm to people so that the employer can assess if they have taken sufficient precautions to prevent damage and injury. Every employer must make a regular assessment of their premises to assess a number of risks. Self-employed workers have a duty to assess risks to themselves and others. 
There are many detailed regulations that require risks in different industries to be assessed. 

Risk assessments typically take the following 5-step approach:

Risk assessments must include, for example:

Areas where risk assessments can be carried out are:

Following a risk assessment, employers must make arrangements to implement any necessary measures and arrange for the provision of appropriate information and training.

Accidents and disease at work

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 (known as RIDDOR) require employers to report any of the following to the HSE or the local council at once:

Other matters should be reported immediately, by telephone preferably, followed by a written report within seven days. These are:

Employers are legally obliged to provide resources for first-aid and inform all employees of the arrangements for getting first aid. Treatment of injured workers must be addressed without delay by an appointed first-aider and / or appointed person. An employer must record all workplace injuries, diseases, dangerous occurrences, or certain near accidents in an accident book. Employees must also report any accidents or illnesses caused by work and record the details in the accident book.

Absence management, stress and well-being

Absence management, both of short-term and long-term sickness, continues to be an issue. In particular, stress in the workplace has become a major cause of concern in recent years and has been the subject of several high-profile court cases and settlements. It is also quoted as one of the main reasons for absence. The employer’s duty of care and an increasing emphasis of EU legislation to make employers look after the physical as well as the psychological health of employees is bringing a move towards the concept of ‘wellness’ being promoted in some organisations. This aim aims to promote a preventative approach to dealing with illness issues.

Source:The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health www.iosh.co.uk

Health and Safety Pracationers for SBM Safety Solutions practioners are chartered members of IOSH

Environmental Law

Introduction

You have a legal responsibility for the impact your business has on the environment. For example, it's up to you to ensure that your waste is treated and disposed of properly. Going beyond environmental compliance can also bring business benefits, for example selling your waste to an organisation that could reuse or recycle it could make you money and save on disposal costs.

Many businesses have realised that acting in a socially and environmentally responsible way is more than just an ethical duty. It affects your bottom line and the long-term success of your business.

Compliance with environmental legislation is a basic minimum requirement for any responsible organisation. Legislation continues to develop at a frenetic pace. Many of the UK statutory requirements are based on the requirements of EU law. A recent trend is the tendency towards the use of trading and economic incentives, away from the "command and control" style of regulation.

Fairly recently a diverse range of legislation has been implemented in the UK including the Landfill Tax Regulations, Special Waste Regulations, Producer Responsibility Obligations Regulations, the Control of Pollution Regulations, Packaging Regulations, Air Quality Regulations, Groundwater Regulations and Surface Water Regulations. The list is extensive, and clearly goes beyond the scope of this introduction.

A major development with implications for businesses of all sizes was the introduction of the Climate Change Levy in April 2001. The levy is intended to help the UK meet its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 12.5% by 2012, based on 1990 levels. A new system of Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) also forms a major piece of legislation within the UK. This is based on a 1996 EU Directive, and brings a range of industrial installations under a new control regime.

Environmental Issues

Different types of business have their own particular environmental concerns. For example:

Whatever business you're in, it's a good idea to take advice on the major issues. Find guidance on environmental legislation and good practice for your business on the NetRegs website - www.netregs.gov.uk

Conduct an environmental review of your business to see what you need to do to comply with the law and how you could minimise waste. 

You may need to engage an environmental consultant such as SBM Safety Solutions Ltd. to help you deal with your environmental responsibilities and advise on other issues, such as insurance and business development plans. In certain business sectors, such as quarrying, engineering and chemicals, consultants are used more often. 

Comply with key environmental legislation

There's a range of environmental rules your business may have to comply with. You must store wastesafely and securely, make sure it is treated appropriately, ensure it is collected by an authorised organisation (such as your local authority or a licensed private waste contractor) and complete a waste transfer note or consignment note when waste is handed over.

Ensure you do not cause a statutory nuisancewhich could affect someone's health or annoy your neighbours. For instance, you could cause a nuisance by producing noise, smoke, fumes, gases, dust, odour, light pollution or accumulating rubbish.

Get permission from your water company before you allow trade effluentsuch as waste chemicals, detergents, cooling or cleaning water to enter the sewerage system.

If your business turns over more than £2 million and handles more than 50 tonnes of packagingper year, you must register with your environmental regulator (the Environment Agency in England and Wales ), or join an approved compliance scheme. You must then provide evidence that you're recovering and recycling a set amount of packaging waste.

Make sure that you comply with restrictions on the storage and use of hazardous substances. Ensure that any hazardous wasteyour business produces is correctly classified and described, and is either disposed of or recovered at an appropriately authorised facility.

There are also specific environmental rules covering a wide range of businesses - from construction and electronics to textiles and chemicals manufacture. 

Who ensures that environmental legislation is being complied with?

There are three main environmental regulators in the UK:

The environmental regulators have produced the NetRegs website, which provides free environmental guidance.

Your local authority is also responsible for regulating some environmental issues such as:

Your local authority can also help you achieve compliance with various aspects of environmental legislation.

You may require a permit or licence if your business poses certain types of environmental risk. For example if your business:

The business benefits of good environmental and sustainable practices

Complying with legislation and going further to adopt environmental and sustainable practices can benefit your business. For example:

Your business could also enjoy other benefits. Many government organisations and large companies will only work with suppliers who take their environmental responsibilities seriously. You may also find it easier to attract investment from banks and other sources of finance.

Sustainable developmentcan create opportunities for your business. As well as making financial savings, you can enhance your reputation and brand value by fostering customer loyalty and motivating staff. You can also use sustainable development as an opportunity to encourage innovation, increase investment and open new markets.

Hazardous substances covered by environmental legislation

Special environmental rules cover potentially dangerous substances. Every business needs to think about the risks to people or the environment posed by chemicals or substances classified as hazardous to health under the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP).

Hazardous substances are tightly regulated. They include:

You must consider the environmental risks for every hazardous substance you store, use, produce or dispose of at work. You must ensure you control any potential risks and comply with legislation when storing goods and materials.

If you manufacture chemicals, you may have to comply with the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Regulations. Businesses manufacturing or importing any chemicals over one tonne per year will need to be registered.

If you manufacture electrical and electronic equipment you must comply with the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2008 (RoHS). Under RoHS, manufacturers are prevented from placing products on the market that exceed limits on the use of certain hazardous substances including lead, mercury and cadmium.

Checklist: protecting the environment

Here are some of the key steps you need to take to meet your legal obligations and limit the impact your business has on the environment.

More more information on any of these services, please contact us.

Sources:
Business Link: www.businesslink.gov.uk
NetRegs: www.netregs.gov.uk
Carbon Trust: www.carbontrust.co.uk