요약
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It places general duties on employers, employees, and self-employed persons to ensure health, safety, and welfare at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcement.
핵심 포인트
- General duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees (s.2)
- Duty to non-employees affected by the undertaking (s.3)
- Duty on employees to take reasonable care and cooperate with the employer (s.7)
- Power to make regulations (health and safety regulations) under s.15
- HSE inspectors have powers of entry, inspection, and enforcement
- Improvement notices and prohibition notices can be served by inspectors
- Criminal offences for breach, with unlimited fines and up to 2 years' imprisonment
- General duty on employers to ensure health, safety, and welfare of employees so far as reasonably practicable (s.2)
- Duty on employees to take reasonable care and cooperate (s.7)
- Duty not to charge employees for safety measures (s.9)
- Power to make regulations (s.15) — basis for hundreds of statutory instruments
- Criminal offences for breach — unlimited fines, imprisonment up to 2 years (ss.33–42)
- Establishment of Health and Safety Executive (s.10)
편과 조
개정 이력
2008 — Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008
Increased maximum penalties for health and safety offences, including raising maximum fines and introducing imprisonment for more offences.
2008 — Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008
Increased maximum penalties for health and safety offences, including raising magistrates' court fines and making more offences imprisonable.
2015 — Sentencing Council Guidelines
New sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences dramatically increased fine levels based on organisational turnover and culpability.