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Health and Safety

Enforcement of health and safety legislation

Health and safetyThe enforcement of health and safety is split between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities.

The Health and Safety Executive covers factories, building sites, mines and quarries, farms, fairgrounds, railways, chemical plant and offshore and nuclear installations.

Local authorities cover shops, warehouses, offices, hotels and catering, sports, leisure, consumer services, eg. launderettes, hairdressers, undertakers, shoe repair, tyre and exhaust fitters, residential care homes and churches.  In local authorities it is usually environmental health officers (EHOs) who visit businesses in connection with health and safety.

Health and safety activities

Primarily, environmental health officers seek to prevent accidents and ill-health in the workplace.  This is done by:

  • inspecting workplaces to make sure that risks from work are properly managed
  • helping people meet their legal responsibilities
  • making recommendations of good practice
  • investigating accidents or occupational ill-health
  • investigating complaints about working conditions or work practices
  • acting as a source of advice on any aspect of health and safety
  • promoting awareness/knowledge of safety issues through campaigns, newsletters, seminars or training courses.

Visits

This depends on why the visit is being made and the type of workplace being visited.  General inspections are influenced by the extent of risk (to both employees and the public) so that, as a rule, places with more serious risks, or where the risks have been poorly controlled in the past, will be visited more regularly.  All accident notifications are assessed by environmental health officers and may result in an investigative visit, depending on a number of factors including the severity of the injury, potential for recurrence, extent of possible breaches of legislation, type of accident and past record of the business.

Inspections are usually unannounced but, where necessary, can be made by appointment.  environmental health officers will probably want to talk to managers, supervisors, employees, health and safety representatives and other interested persons.  In addition to looking around your premises, officers will examine safety-related paperwork such as:

  • health and safety policy statement (if applicable)
  • risk assessments (if applicable)
  • plant maintenance and inspection records
  • training records
  • accident records

Environmental health officers are under a legal obligation to tell employees about issues affecting their health, safety or welfare at their workplace.  This may be done verbally at the time of the officer's visit and possibly by sending a copy of any correspondence to employees.

At the end of the visit you will be advised by the officer what further action, if any, is going to be taken.  If you are going to be contacted in writing, you will be told when you can expect to hear by.  In any correspondence you will be provided with useful and relevant advice on what you need to do.