Prior to the 1970s, health and safety law in Great Britain was made up of various pieces of legislation covering a wide range of industries and issues. Unfortunately, this health and safety legislation was not developed in a cohesive manner and so was often confusing and fell short of providing the protection that workers required. To rectify the situation, Parliament enacted the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
This introduction provides an overview of the legal framework for workplace health and safety across the UK, including the important differences between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Health and safety law is not identical throughout the UK. In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the national regulator for workplace health and safety.
Enforcement is shared between the HSE and local authorities, depending on the main activity carried out at the premises.
Northern Ireland has a separate legislative framework, overseen primarily by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and district councils.
Both criminal and civil law can apply to workplace health and safety, but they serve different purposes:
In Great Britain, criminal health and safety law is made up of Acts of Parliament and statutory instruments, commonly called regulations. It imposes duties on employers, employees, certain self-employed people and other dutyholders to protect workers and others affected by work activities.
Health and safety law is mostly enforced by HSE or a local authority, depending on the type of workplace. Inspectors may provide advice, issue improvement or prohibition notices, or take steps towards prosecution. In Scotland, HSE refers approved cases to the Procurator Fiscal, who decides whether to prosecute. In Northern Ireland, HSENI and district councils carry out equivalent enforcement functions under separate legislation.
A breach of health and safety law can be a criminal offence even if nobody has been injured; the existence of a risk of harm may be enough. A breach does not, however, mean that every case automatically goes to court. If a prosecution is brought and the offence is proved, an organisation or individual may be fined. Individuals can also be imprisoned for some offences.
The prosecution must prove a criminal offence beyond reasonable doubt. In other words, the court must be sure of guilt.
That criminal standard does not change in health and safety cases. Some legal duties are absolute or specific, while others require risks to be controlled “so far as is reasonably practicable”. For duties to which section 40 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies, the accused must establish, on the balance of probabilities, that it was not reasonably practicable to do more once the prosecution has proved the matters that give rise to the duty. Reasonable practicability involves weighing the level of risk against the time, trouble and cost of further precautions.
The precise elements that must be proved, and who bears the burden on a particular issue, depend on the offence and the wording of the relevant legislation.
Civil law generally concerns disputes between people or organisations, including claims for compensation. The usual standard of proof is the balance of probabilities: the claimant must show that their case is more likely than not to be true. This is a lower standard than the criminal standard.
In England and Wales, the person bringing a claim is usually called the claimant and the person or organisation responding to it is the defendant. In Scotland, the equivalent terms are pursuer and defender.
Workplace health and safety claims are commonly connected to an injury or illness and are usually based on negligence. For breaches occurring on or after 1 October 2013, section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 generally prevents a standalone civil claim in Great Britain based only on breach of health and safety regulations, unless legislation expressly provides otherwise. Many claims are settled without a trial, but not all are.
If a civil claim succeeds, a court may award damages to compensate for injury, pain, suffering and financial loss. Damages are not fines, and the strength or margin of the evidence does not determine the amount awarded once liability has been established. Damages can be reduced if the claimant’s own negligence contributed to the harm.
An employer may be vicariously liable for a wrongful act committed by an employee where the act is sufficiently connected with the employee’s work. This is not automatic and depends on the facts of the case. A claim may involve the employer, the employee or other parties.
The main piece of workplace health and safety legislation in Great Britain is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It creates a broad, goal-setting framework and places general duties on employers, employees and others.
It also supports a risk-based system of more specific regulations. The Act is intended to protect employees and other people from risks arising from work activities.
In Northern Ireland, the equivalent framework is established by the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
Alongside the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, various other pieces of legislation impose specific legal requirements relating to particular risks, workplaces or industries. The following list is not comprehensive. It focuses mainly on legislation applying in Great Britain; fire safety items are labelled by jurisdiction, and Northern Ireland has separate corresponding legislation.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (England and Wales)
- Fire Safety Act 2021 (England and Wales)
- Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (England)
- Building Safety Act 2022, section 156 (amendments to the Fire Safety Order in England and Wales)
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981
- Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate fire safety legislation. The rules that apply depend on the location and type of premises.
Understanding which Act or regulation applies is only the starting point. Health and safety law must be translated into practical arrangements that influence how work is planned, carried out, monitored and reviewed.
The precise requirements depend on the jurisdiction, workplace, activities and risks involved. In general, employers should:
- Identify the legislation and legal duties that apply to their work
- Assess risks to employees and others who may be affected
- Avoid risks where reasonably practicable and introduce suitable controls for those that remain
- Allocate clear responsibilities and obtain competent health and safety assistance
- Provide appropriate equipment, procedures, information, instruction, training and supervision
- Consult workers on matters affecting their health and safety
- Monitor whether controls are working and review arrangements when circumstances change
These elements need to operate as one system. A policy, risk assessment or training record does not make work safe if the controls it describes are absent, poorly understood or not followed in practice. Appointing an adviser or using an external provider can support this work, but it does not transfer the employer’s legal responsibility for managing risk.
Human Focus offers a range of online health and safety courses covering workplace hazards, legal responsibilities and safer working practices. These courses can help managers, supervisors and employees develop the knowledge needed for their roles. Training should be supported by site-specific information, effective controls, competent assistance and appropriate supervision.
