It has been known for many years that most of the reported illnesses and injuries are claimed to be work related and therefore it became a legal requirement for an organisation, where five or more people are employed, to have a written Health and Safety policy statement in place, which is often governed by various legislations. The primary function of these legislations is to guide the employees on their responsibilities, shared with the employer, and to ensure the safeguarding of the health, safety and well being of workers and protection toward others, such as the public, and the outside environment that may be affected by the daily activities performed in the organisation. This essay will outline the key legislations covering health and safety management within a company comprising of microbiological containment laboratories, where the term 'containment ' refers to the way in which biological agents are handled in a laboratory setting in order to minimise the risk that they pose to humans and the environment. The regulatory body who promotes and enforces occupational health, safety and welfare at the workplace legislations is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Although many work environments have been covered by the regulations made under the powers of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), they must also bear in mind the regulatory influence of the European Communities Act 1972, which has already lead to many amendments in the UK laws. The HASAWA is
| HSE is the national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness. They are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work related death and serious injury across Great Britain’s workplaces. They provide information on all industries and the topics that they may need to cover.
The HSE is the UK government body responsible for enforcing health and safety at work legislation. The HSE also plays a major role in producing advice on health and safety issues, and guidance on relevant legislation. The role of enforcement is split between HSE and local authorities depending on the business sector
The last hazard that could occur within this setting is a security hazard. An example of a security hazard within Riverglade would be due to the house being an old Victorian house that has been converted there fire system may not be working correctly or may not even work at all. For example, the residents and staff are all asleep, a fire breaks out in the kitchen the staff, and residents are not made aware of the fire, as the fire alarms did not go off. This can then cause serious harm to residents and staffs that are asleep in the house, as they will inhale a lot of smoke causing damage to their lungs and in worse cases, this can result in death. This is more likely to happen in an old people’s home because where the staffs in the care
Learning outcome 2: Understand legislation and policies relating to prevention and control of infections For all legislation and policies – key points, mandatory or relevant training, impact on organisation, impact on day to day work, implications of failing to meet legislative or regulatory requirements in terms of legal penalties, organisation reputation and individual safety Current legislation, to include: The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act, 1984 The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations, 1998 Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Act (amended 1994) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 Food Safety Act, 1990 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) 1995 The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 Health Protection Agency Bill 2004 Other new/current legislation that affects infection control Hazardous waste regulations 2005 The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulation (Department of Health, 1995)
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (also referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA) is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain.
‘Health and Safety at Work Act or ‘HASAW’ is an act put in place by the UK parliament and is the main piece of health and safety legislation. This sets out that employers have a duty of care to all employees to protect their health, safety and welfare at work’.
Hi Jeffrey, I think you make some amazingly good points, and I can say I whole-heartedly agree with them for individual citizens. I might have been unclear, but I wanted to try and look at this question from the standpoint of individuals in the business world. Do you feel that safety legislation is out of place in that context? I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on that.
Health and safety legislations and regulations exist to protect the working place and the employees. These give several benefits such as less working days lost because of illness and injuries, motivation in the staff, good reputation for the company, keeping the company updated in legal terms, etc. In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work Act covers all the legislations and laws available in the workplace. The HSE is to prevent injuries, death and ill health through research, promoting trainings, consulting workers, revised regulations and working with other agencies. Examples of some regulations are: COSHH, DSEAR, IRR and PPE.
(http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/classroom-checklist.pdf) HSE is the national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness. They are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain’s workplaces
the home is fit for purpose and all equipment is all full working order and all
In Wales, there is a specific piece of legislation designed to protect the workforce and anyone else who could encounter hazardous situations while at work. This legislation is called the health and safety at work act 1974, often abbreviated to HASWA 1974.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASWA) is the most important Act of parliament relating to health and safety. The law requires both employers and employees to comply with health and safety legalizations. The Act sets out the general duties and responsibilities that employers have to their employees and to members of the public, and those that employees have to themselves and each other. The Health and Safety at Work Act is an ‘umbrella’ Act which includes various Regulations that can be revised to ensure the law is kept up to date. Details of the responsibility of an employer under the HASWA are given in The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
2.3 ASSESS THE USE OF FLEXIBLE WORKING PRACTICE FROM BOTH THE EMPLOYEE AND THE EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE
Health and Safety Regulations aim to improve safety in workplaces, making employers and employees equally responsible for ensuring that they protect themselves and others from accident and injury. The regulations refer to such things as clean kitchens, safety guards on machinery etc., If an employee is injured at work because of breaches of these rules then compensation can be awarded. Most health and safety legislation places place the responsibility of health and safety on the employers. The responsibilities may however be delegated to other competent persons such as fire warders, first aiders and care takers but the employer still
Safety is the state of serenity being devoid of harm or any form of event that may be considered non-desirable. In any type of institution, be it, a business, school, industry, laboratory or even the common workplace, safety plays a major role in ensuring activities run smoothly and no-one gets hurt while doing their job. Safety encompasses protection from a wide host of potential hazards which could be physical, financial, emotional or biological. In the common workplace health is a major concern and infection control is the main aim of a safety handbook. Biosafety in the work setup starts by assuming every individual is a potential source of infection.