Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 -UK - Essay Example

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (UK) Introduction: This assignment will take look at why employers are still being prosecuted for offences that were criminal acts under the early "Factories Acts" (UK) in relation Health and Safety at work Act 1974. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 provided for the creation of a Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the continuation of the Employment Medical Advisory Service. The Commission came into being on 1 October 1974 and appointed the Health and Safety Executive on 1 January 1975.

The aims of the Commission and the Executive, whose existence and functions derive from the 1974 Act, are to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and to safeguard others, principally the public, who may be exposed to risks from work activities.. The Act was intended: - To make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work; - To protect others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work; - To control the keeping and use and prevent the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of dangerous substances.

Measuring and Accounting for Corporate Health and Safety Performance, seeking views on the case for improving approaches to measuring and accounting for corporate health and safety performance. This was circulated to 'key players' in the British 'occupational health and safety system' and was made available on www.rospa.co.uk. It examined performance measurement and reporting against the background of strategic policy development in occupational safety and health (OS&H) as raised in the Government's and the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) plans for 'Revitalising Health and Safety at Work' (HSC/DETR 2000) and wider issues of holistic business risk management raised in guidance on the Turnbull Report (ICAEW 1999).

A lot factors may in be in place preventing The technical, environmental and managerial challenges are considerable. Many sites and facilities were not designed with eventual decommissioning in mind. They were built and used at a time whenregulatory requirements and operational priorities were very different from those of today. Wherever hazardous materials are involved, there can be no compromise in meeting safety, security and environmental standards. The NDA will work within the strict regulatory framework, ensuring that the nuclear legacy is managed in a way that fully protects workers, the public and the environment.

Revitalising' health and safety: The Government's and the HSC's plans for 'Revitalising Health and Safety', (HSC/DETR,1999) and their associated plans for occupational health ('Securing Health Together' - SHT) (HSC 2000a) announced in June, set out an ambitious framework for strengthening the health and safety 'system' (e.g. policy making, laws, management by employers, workforce involvement, workplace inspection, research, information, training, etc). The plans set overarching national targets for improvement.

These include a 10 per cent reduction in the incidence of fatal and major injuries and a 20 per cent reduction in work Conclusion: It is important to remember that the responsibility of individuals in matters of safety while at work, every employers had to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and others who might be affected by his acts or omissions at work because Health and safe workforce an organization is obviously an economic asset. An employee also had to cooperate with his employer, or any other person who had a duty under the Act, to enable that duty to be performed or complied with.

Reference: H. Genn, 'business Responses to the regulation of Health and Safety in England' (1993) 15 Law & policy 219 at 225-7 Hutter BM 2001. Regulation and risk: occupational health and safety on the railways. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Johnstone R 2000. Occupational health and safety prosecutions in Victoria: an historical study. Australian journal of labour law 13: 113-142 N. Gunninggham, Safeguardind the Worker (Law book Company, 1984) Ch. 4; and R.Johnstone, Occupation Health and Safety Law and Policy (LBC Information Service, 1997), Ch 2,