The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It is the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees, and employees and certain self-employed people have duties too.
Key points
✓If you have five or more employees, you must write your health and safety policy down.
✓No employer may charge an employee for anything done or provided under a specific health and safety requirement.
✓You have the right not to be subjected to any detriment for raising a health and safety concern in the ways the law protects.
✓Dismissing an employee for leaving a workplace because of serious and imminent danger they could not avert counts as unfair dismissal.
What must an employer do under the Act?
Section 2 says the employer's duty includes in particular:
the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health
arrangements for safety in the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
the provision of the information, instruction, training and supervision needed for health and safety at work
keeping any place of work under the employer's control safe, with safe ways in and out
a working environment that is safe and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for welfare at work
Each of these applies so far as is reasonably practicable. The employer must also prepare a written statement of its general health and safety policy and bring it to the notice of all employees, and consult any safety representatives appointed by a recognised trade union.
Do you need a written health and safety policy?
If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down, but it is useful to do so. You must share the policy, and any changes to it, with your employees.
Does the Act protect people who are not employees?
Yes. Every employer must conduct its undertaking in a way that ensures, so far as is reasonably practicable, that people not in its employment who may be affected are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. HSE describes the general duties as ones employers have towards employees and members of the public.
What are an employee's duties?
While at work, every employee must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of other people who may be affected by what they do or do not do at work. They must also co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary for the employer to meet its legal duties.
No person may intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare under the law.
Can your employer charge you for safety equipment?
No, not for anything the law specifically requires. Section 9 says no employer shall levy or permit to be levied on any employee any charge for anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of the relevant statutory provisions.
Can you be punished for raising a safety concern?
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by their employer for protected health and safety reasons. These include bringing to the employer's attention, by reasonable means, circumstances at work they reasonably believed were harmful or potentially harmful to health or safety.
An employee dismissed for one of those reasons is regarded as unfairly dismissed. That includes leaving, or refusing to return to, a place of work in circumstances of danger they reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and could not reasonably have been expected to avert.
Know Your Rights UK. "Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: Duties Explained." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/industries/health-and-safety-at-work-act