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What are the key points of the Health and Safety at Work Act?
While HASAWA is a comprehensive piece of legislation, its key points can be distilled into the following six areas:
1. Provide a safe place of work
This covers the physical workplace to ensure that premises meet safety standards. Considerations include fire safety, cleanliness, waste management and the handling of harmful substances. Workplaces such as construction sites or medical labs will have more factors to consider than an office building.
Employers must be aware of the risks their workplace poses and undertake adequate risk assessments to ensure appropriate safety controls are in place.
2. Provide safe equipment
Any equipment used at work, including computers and electronic devices, needs to be maintained to ensure it is safe to use. This typically involves periodic safety checks by an appointed person and a set process for reporting faults so they can be repaired.
3. Ensure staff are properly trained
Fostering a safe workplace requires surrounding yourself with responsible and competent staff. This includes both onsite training (to ensure all staff have been trained to use equipment properly) and general health and safety training, such as manual handling and fire safety.
Employees also have a responsibility to take on board training and carry out procedures safely, ensuring they keep themselves and others safe while performing their work.
4. Carry out risk assessments
Thorough risk assessments are a crucial part of HASAWA, enabling employers to put in place appropriate preventative actions for each identified risk. The legislation requires employers to protect the health and safety of their employees “as far as is reasonably practical.”
The key here is assessing risk. If something is identified as very low risk and would incur significant cost to mitigate, it might not need to be actioned. However, this should not be used to avoid responsibility; each risk should be carefully considered to ensure the safety of workers and members of the public.
