The History and Structure of Health and Safety Law

Health and Safety is covered by criminal law, which began to be placed on the statute book in the 19th century, when it initially regulated such things as chronic overcrowding, excessive working temperature and general poor health conditions. Over the years that followed, a series of Acts, Regulations and Orders were passed which were in the main both industry specific and dependant on the nature of work being undertaken. Such laws were both confused and confusing.

The Barrington Report (1983), which addressed the issue of safety in the workplace, concluded that the entire legal framework needed to be overhauled. In the past the approach had been to identify an area of work activity which was patently damaging people - through accidental injury and ill health - and to pass specific regulations requiring employers to take certain precautionary steps. (This, indeed, is how the more general framework of criminal law has grown by introducing controls necessary for the proper regulation of a complex industrial society). However, by the early 1980's, the host of specific regulations had become very complex and cumbersome, with many legal arguments hinging on whether or not the worker injured was in a factory, which left many feeling that only lawyers and judges could begin to understand what was required of an employer.

The Barrington Report recommended that this host of rules be replaced with a new over-arching statute, which obliged all employers (and the self-employed) to protect themselves, their staff and others who could be adversely affected by the work being undertaken. The intention was to supplement this piece of umbrella legislation, which became the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 (SHWW), with three additional levels: Regulations, Approved Codes of Practice and Guidance.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 is the major piece of health and safety legislation in Ireland. It provides the legal framework to promote, stimulate and encourage high standards.

An "enabling" Act, much of the text is devoted to the legal machinery for creating admistrative bodies, combining others and detailing new powers of inspection and enforcement. The National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) carries responsibility for policy-making and enforcement, answerable to the Minister of Employment. Its executive arm is the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), whose functions range from enforcement to research and European liaison on standards.

A gradual replacement of previous piecemeal health and safety requirements by revised and updated measures applicable to the whole of the workforce of the country has been a feature of the past two decades. This overhaul has been done by the repeal of statutes and their replacement with Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice prepared in consultation with industry and workers.

One of the key features, echoed by European Directives, is the principle of consultation at all levels in order to achieve consensus and combat apathy. This consultative process starts with NAOSH, and continues to the workplace, where employers are required to consider the views of workers in the setting of health and safety standards.

Regulations are intended to set specific targets or define particular processes, which are required in law to be followed so as to achieve compliance with the main Act. These Regulations can operate in two distinct ways:

1. they can require employers to manage matters in a particular way; for example the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations, 2001 lay down rules for the management of building works; or

2. they can set specific, practicable standards; for example the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Signs) Regulations 1995 state exactly which type of sign is suitable for fire exit routes

Approved Codes of Practice (ACoP) spell out how employers can comply with the Act and Regulations. It is not compulsory to follow an ACoP, but if you wish to manage a certain matter in a different way the onus is on you to prove that what you are doing is at least as effective in protecting health and safety.

Guidance provides additional useful information to assist in complying with the law. As the guidance is not written in the legalistic way that Regulations and ACoPs must be, the language is more accessible and the advice easier to understand and follow.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Applications) Regulations, 1993

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Applications) Regulations, 1993 implement a European Directive on minimum health and safety requirements where there is a risk of injury to workers. The Regulations are in addition to the requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.

In general, the Regulations cover:

• General Safety and Health Provisions

• Electricity

• First Aid

• Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occuurences

and in particular:

• Workplace (Safety, Health and Welfare)

• Use of Work Equipment

• Provision of Work Equipment

• Manual Handling of Loads

• Work with Display Screen Equipment