Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unit 1: Session 1
Scope of the health and safety problem Moral, economic and legal bases for good standards of health and safety Sub-divisions and sources of law Civil liability
Information from RIDDOR indicates that each year: approximately 250 workers are killed there are approximately 27 500 major injuries there are approximately 130 000 over 3 day injuries (believed to be as much as 50% underreported) A major government survey in 1995 showed that 2.25 million people were suffering ill health caused, or made worse, by work. The most common were: musculoskeletal disorders 1.2 million stress related 0.5 million lower respiratory disease 202 000 hearing problems 170 000
Law
Rules of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced among the members of a given state
Sub-divisions of Law
Civil Law
Regulates relationships between legal persons (individuals and corporations) Proceedings started by one of parties - may settle at any time Court may consider disputes arising out of property rights, employment, family, etc Court may compensate for wrongs
Criminal Law
Regulates conduct considered by state to be prejudicial to community Proceedings instituted by officers of crown Court decides on guilt or innocence Principal object is to punish the guilty
Civil Law
Law concerning private and civil affairs without direct involvement of the state Relevant law may be a mixture of common law and statute law Breaches usually remedied by compensation Costs and damages normally covered by insurance Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 Burden of proof: on a balance of probabilities
Criminal Law
Addresses public and moral wrong doing and made by parliament: written law of the land Crime is a wrong doing which directly and seriously threatens the well being and security of society and which cannot be left to be redressed by compensation of an injured party No absolute definition and may change over time, eg drugs Generally anyone may begin a criminal prosecution but not health and safety offences - change is being considered Prescribes punishment: eg, fines, imprisonment Burden of proof: beyond reasonable doubt
European Dimension
UK bound by by EU legislative procedures on joining (then EEC) in 1972 Veto by member states on proposed legislation changed to qualified majority voting on adoption of Single European Act 1986 Significant progress made since SEA on new health and safety legislation
EU Law
Regulations: similar to statute law and binding on member states without further action (e.g. tachograph requirements)
Directives: prescribe a result to be achieved by a set date leaving member states to transpose into national law (e.g. The Six Pack)
Duty of Care
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] - established duty to take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which on test of reasonable foreseeability would be likely to injure a neighbour
neighbour - persons so closely and directly affected by acts that they ought reasonably to be held in mind as being affected when acts or omissions are called into question
Vicarious liability
Responsibility for actions of others when committed in course of employment, ie employer is responsible for torts of servants (employees) in course of employment authorised or not
Employer is not generally responsible for torts of an independent contractor except where authorised to commit and/or in respect of extra-hazardous operations
Negligence: Defences
Lack of duty Lack of negligence: eg, employee on a frolic of his own Voluntary acceptance of the risk: rarely of relevance to health and safety cases Contributory negligence: rarely a complete defence - compensation may be reduced in proportion to claimants fault
Industrial Tribunals
Bodies established to take decisions in particular areas of law
Main involvement of Industrial Tribunals in health and safety system is to hear appeals against Improvement and Prohibition Notices served by inspectors
Refusal to work: employees protected by Employment Rights Act 1996 where there is serious, imminent and unavoidable danger