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Legal duty

It is established in a combination of common law and legislation that it is the employer's legal duty to provide:

• a safe place of work - one which is in good repair and regularly inspected. You may be eligible for compensation if your injury results from your workplace being unsafe.
• a safe means of access to their place of work - which means all approach paths, access roads and connecting roads on the workplace site must be safe - an unsafe surface, say where ice had not been removed, would be a breach of duty. You may be eligible for compensation if your injury results from unsafe paths or roadways.
• a safe system of work - the methods by which work is undertaken should be safe and not conflict with an employee's right to a safe, healthy environment. You may be eligible for compensation if your employer's systems or work practices are unsafe.
• adequate equipment and materials - safety equipment must be provided and materials should be handled within a workplace so as to ensure safe working conditions and with a view to preventing injury. You may be eligible for compensation if your employer fails to provide safety equipment or the safety equipment is inadequate.
• competent fellow employees - if employee incompetence or inexperience results in an injury, the employer may have breached his duty. You may be eligible for compensation if your accident results from the negligence of a fellow employee operating in the course of his employment duty. (See vicarious liability).
• protection for employees against unnecessary risk of injury - an employer must take all reasonable steps to eliminate risks from the workplace. You may be eligible for compensation if your employer fails to take sufficient measures to ensure your safety.

Much of these provisions are codified in law, particularly The Health and Safety Act 1974.

Health and safety policy statement

Under the 1974 Act employers with five or more workers are obliged to provide a written policy with regard to health and safety at work of their employees and the arrangements for carrying out that policy. The policy must include:

• a general statement of policy concerning health and safety
• organisational arrangements for implementing the policy (who does what)
• identification of specific hazards and a statement of methods of safer working practices and risk reduction measures which have been implemented to diminish them (risk assessment)

The information contained within the Health and Safety Policy Statement must be actively brought to the notice of employees.

Notification of accidents

An employee must report, orally or in writing, any injury incurred in the course of his work which renders him incapable to work for four consecutive days or more. The accident will then be recorded in the accident book (maintaining an accident book is a legal requirement if an employer has 10 employees or more).

To permit proper independent investigation, accidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (or in some cases the local authority) if:

• the accident results in an absence from work of an employee of more than three days;
• an accident results in death or major injury;
• a 'notifiable dangerous occurrence' takes place;
• an employee dies within one year of being injured in an accident resulting from a notifiable dangerous occurrence;
• any suffering by an employee of a specific work-related disease
• incidents relating to a gas release

Accidents can be reported directly or by use of the Incident Contact Centre website (http://www.riddor.gov.uk)

If you are severely injured or suffer serious illness while at work you should check with the Health and Safety Executive that the circumstances of your injury or illness has been reported as the inspection carried out by the HSE can assist your claim for damages.

The Health and Safety Executive

HSE (http://www.hse.gov.uk) is the main enforcing authority for legislation, regulation and the adoption of safe working practices in the workplace. HSE inspectors have substantial powers to enable them to successfully conduct an investigation including the right to enter premises, to use equipment and take samples and to interview employers and employees and their representatives without interference. Laws and regulations are very strictly enforced with a presumption in favour of the injured party.

An HSE inspector's report may result in the HSE issuing certain orders:

Improvement notice

Issued where the employer:

• is contravening statutory provisions; or
• has contravened statutory provisions and it is likely that statutory provisions might be contravened at some point in the future

An employer is normally required to rectify the breach within a specific time (not less than 21 days).

Prohibition notice

The notice must:

• state the inspector's opinion regarding the risk of serious personal injury
• specify what is responsible for the risk
• state the inspector's opinion of whether an actual or potential breach of a statutory provision is taking place (or is likely to take place in the future)
• directs that the unsafe practice or activity must not continue

Prosecution

A prosecution may be brought against an employer if:

• the employer has failed to discharge a general duty under the health and safety provisions
• breached health and safety regulations
• made a false statement or entry in a document which is required to be kept by law (eg accident book)
• failed to comply with an improvement or prohibition notice
• obstructed a HSE inspector in the course of his duty

Outline of rights and responsibilities

You have the right:

• To work in places where all the risks to your health and safety are properly controlled.
• To stop working and leave the area if you think you are in danger.
• To inform your employer about health and safety issues or concerns.
• To contact HSE or your local authority if you still have health and safety concerns and not get into trouble
• To join a trade union and be a safety representative.
• To paid time off work for training if you are a safety representative.
• To a rest break of at least 20 minutes if you work more than six hours at a stretch and to an annual period of paid leave.

You must:

• Take care of your own health and safety and that of people who may be affected by what you do (or do not do). Failure to do so ray result in your claim being reduced or wiped out. See Contributory negligence (below)
• Co-operate with others on health and safety, and not interfere with, or misuse, anything provided for your health, safety or welfare. If an employee deliberately or recklessly interferes with health and safety measures provided by the employer he may be guilty of a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, for which there is no maximum amount.

Your employer must tell you:

• About risks to your health and safety from current or proposed working practices.
• About things or changes that may harm or affect your health and safety.
• How to do your job safely.
• What is done to protect your health and safety.
• How to get first-aid treatment.
• What to do in an emergency.

Your employer must provide, free of charge:

• Training to do your job safely.
• Protection for you at work when necessary (such as clothing, shoes or boots, eye and ear protection, gloves, masks etc). An employee cannot be forced to pay for his own safety equipment and any attempt to charge the employee for safety equipment should be notified to your local Health and Safety Executive office.
• Health checks if there is a danger of ill health because of your work.
• Regular health checks if you work nights and a check before you start.

Your employer must provide you with the following information:

• Health and safety law: What you should know. This should give the contact details of people who can help.
• Their health and safety policy statement.
• An up-to-date Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) certificate visible in your place of work.

What to do if you are concerned about your health and safety:

• Phone the Health and Safety Executive’s Infoline 08701 545500 for advice or to complain, or the TUC’s Know Your Rights line 0870 600 4882.
• If you would like to speak to someone in a language more suitable to you please call 08701 545500 and tell the operator which language.
• If you have lost your job because of a health and safety matter you may be able to complain to an Employment Tribunal. Ask your trade union or local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice.

An employer also has a liability for the negligence of any of his employees which might occur in the course of their duties. Vicarious liability means that were an employee to fit a machine guard incorrectly which results in an industrial accident, then the employer would be liable. For vicarious liability to apply it is important that the negligent employee is acting in the course of his employment. Horseplay between employees which results in injury would only rarely justify a claim of vicarious responsibility against the employer as it would be unlikely to be viewed as authorised behaviour undertaken in the course of their employment.

Contributory Negligence

As with any claim for damages based on negligence, the amount of damages awarded will take into account whether the claimant contributed to the injury (or the extent of the injury) by his own actions or negligence. If an employee failed to take reasonable steps to ensure his own safety then the claim will usually be reduced by a percentage that the court deems amounted to his contributory negligence.

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