Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

Health and safety legislation for businesses

Health and safety is about preventing people from being harmed by work or becoming ill through work. Health and safety law applies to all businesses however small. It covers employees, full - or part-time, temporary or permanent and the self-employed well as members of the public and contractors. The Council's Environmental Health Officers have a duty to inspect businesses to ensure they are meeting their minimum legal requirement.

The Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 (HASWA) is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the UK. The act states that employers have a duty to take steps to make sure that they are aware of hazards within the workplace and to eliminate or control the risks associated with them.

For a brief guide to health and safety law see the Health and Safety Executive leaflet “Health and safety regulation – a short guide” which can be downloaded from the right of the page.

To comply with health and safety law, all employers must:

• Register with the enforcing authority that they employ persons at their place or places of work. This will either be the Council or the Health and Safety Executive depending on the type of business. To find out which authority is responsible for your business see Which workplaces does the Council have enforcement responsiblity for?
• Either display an approved health and safety law poster or provide each employee with an equivalent leaflet. Copies of a Health and Safety Executive guide “Health and safety law – what you should know” can be downloaded from the right of this page.
• Display an Employer’s Liability Insurance Certificate.
• Provide a suitable first aid kit in accordance with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981and keep an accident book if more than ten people are employed.   
• Provide suitable working conditions to comply with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. This covers the actual workplace, welfare facilities, heating/lighting/ventilation and housekeeping.
• Carry out a general risk assessment to identify any hazards to workers or the public and then take steps to eliminate or reduce those risks likely to cause injury, accident or ill health. For more advice on how to do this see the Health and Safety Executive leaflet “Five steps to risk assessment” which can be downloaded from the right of the page.
• Risk assessments are also required in respect of other matters if relevant to the activities of the business:     
  • Slips, trips or falls
  • Hazardous chemicals or substances (e.g. cleaning materials) 
  • Lifting and carrying (referred to as manual handling) 
  • Noise exposure (where loud noise may be a problem) 
  • Suitability of personal protective equipment (e.g. masks, gloves etc) 
  • Suitability of equipment used at work
  • Dermatitis
  • Working at heights.
  There is also a duty to document the results of the risk assessment if five or more people are employed in the business, whether on one site or not.
• Arrange for the regular routine inspection of any gas appliances (recommended yearly) and any electrical appliances (recommended yearly for portable appliances and five yearly for fixed wiring) by competent and suitably qualified persons. More frequent inspections may be required if the equipment or appliance is used in such a way that it might become damaged (e.g. equipment on loan from a tool hire business).  Proof of those inspections must be kept on site.
• Arrange for the regular inspection of specialist equipment, such as passenger or goods lifts. Some such equipment many have set requirements and require the report in an approved form.      
• All employers with five or more employees, at one or more places of work, must produce a health and safety policy, to inform their staff of the organisation and arrangements to comply with health and safety requirements. 
• Employers must also consider:   
  • Employees at greater risk than normal e.g. young persons, pregnant workers, workers likely to be affected by extreme temperatures or stress  
  • Violence to staff   
  • Stress.
• Occupiers of all premises should arrange to carry out regular audits of their premises to identify any hazards which may lead to accidents etc. and which need to be remedied.   

This checklist is only a summary of the main aspects of the law. 

For more advice

The Council's Food and Safety Team can provide more advice to employers, employees and the general public on requirements of health and safety law. The Team can be contacted using the contact details on the right.

This page of the Health and Safety Executive website has a range of free advisory publications, or if you are a member of a trade union they may also be able to offer health and safety advice.