Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
1992 No. 2051
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
Made 26th August 1992
Laid before Parliament 8th September 1992
Coming into force 1st January 1993
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by sections 15(1), (2), (5) and (9), 47(2) and 52(2) and (3) of, and paragraphs 6(1), 7, 8(1), 14, 15(1) and 16 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19741, and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to her by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the said Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 1st January 1993.
(2) In these Regulations—
“the assessment” means, in the case of an employer, the assessment made by him in accordance with regulation 3(1) and changed by him where necessary in accordance with regulation 3(3); and, in the case of a self-employed person, the assessment made by him in accordance with regulation 3(2) and changed by him where necessary in accordance with regulation 3(3);
“employment business” means a business (whether or not carried on with a view to profit and whether or not carried on in conjunction with any other business) which supplies persons (other than seafarers) who are employed in it to work for and under the control of other persons in any capacity;
“fixed-term contract of employment” means a contract of employment for a specific term which is fixed in advance or which can be ascertained in advance by reference to some relevant circumstance; and
“the preventive and protective measures” means the measures which have been identified by the employer or by the self-employed person in consequence of the assessment as the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.
(3) Any reference in these Regulations to—
(a)
(a) a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation in these Regulations so numbered; or
(b)
(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation in which the reference appears.
Disapplication of these Regulations
2. These Regulations shall not apply to or in relation to the master or crew of a sea-going ship or to the employer of such persons in respect of the normal ship-board activities of a ship’s crew under the direction of the master.
Risk assessment
3.—(1) Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of—
(a)
(a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and
(b)
(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.
(2) Every self-employed person shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of—
(a)
(a) the risks to his own health and safety to which he is exposed whilst he is at work; and
(b)
(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.
(3) Any assessment such as is referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be reviewed by the employer or self-employed person who made it if—
(a)
(a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or
(b)
(b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates;
and where as a result of any such review changes to an assessment are required, the employer or self-employed person concerned shall make them.
(4) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record—
(a)
(a) the significant findings of the assessment; and
(b)
(b) any group of his employees identified by it as being especially at risk.
Health and safety arrangements
4.—(1) Every employer shall make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures.
(2) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record the arrangements referred to in paragraph (1).
Health surveillance
5. Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with such health surveillance as is appropriate having regard to the risks to their health and safety which are identified by the assessment.
Health and safety assistance
6.—(1) Every employer shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.
(2) Where an employer appoints persons in accordance with paragraph (1), he shall make arrangements for ensuring adequate co-operation between them.
(3) The employer shall ensure that the number of persons appointed under paragraph (1), the time available for them to fulfil their functions and the means at their disposal are adequate having regard to the size of his undertaking, the risks to which his employees are exposed and the distribution of those risks throughout the undertaking.
(4) The employer shall ensure that—
(a)
(a) any person appointed by him in accordance with paragraph (1) who is not in his employment—
(i) is informed of the factors known by him to affect, or suspected by him of affecting, the health and safety of any other person who may be affected by the conduct of his undertaking, and
(ii) has access to the information referred to in regulation 8; and
(b)
(b) any person appointed by him in accordance with paragraph (1) is given such information about any person working in his undertaking who is—
(i) employed by him under a fixed-term contract of employment, or
(ii) employed in an employment business,
as is necessary to enable that person properly to carry out the function specified in that paragraph.
(5) A person shall be regarded as competent for the purposes of paragraph (1) where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to assist in undertaking the measures referred to in that paragraph.
(6) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a self-employed employer who is not in partnership with any other person where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities properly to undertake the measures referred to in that paragraph himself.
(7) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individuals who are employers and who are together carrying on business in partnership where at least one of the individuals concerned has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities—
(a)
(a) properly to undertake the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions; and
(b)
(b) properly to assist his fellow partners in undertaking the measures they need to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon them by or under the relevant statutory provisions.
Procedures for serious and imminent danger and for danger areas
7.—(1) Every employer shall—
(a)
(a) establish and where necessary give effect to appropriate procedures to be followed in the event of serious and imminent danger to persons at work in his undertaking;
(b)
(b) nominate a sufficient number of competent persons to implement those procedures insofar as they relate to the evacuation from premises of persons at work in his undertaking; and
(c)
(c) ensure that none of his employees has access to any area occupied by him to which it is necessary to restrict access on grounds of health and safety unless the employee concerned has received adequate health and safety instruction.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1)(a), the procedures referred to in that sub-paragraph shall—
(a)
(a) so far as is practicable, require any persons at work who are exposed to serious and imminent danger to be informed of the nature of the hazard and of the steps taken or to be taken to protect them from it;
(b)
(b) enable the persons concerned (if necessary by taking appropriate steps in the absence of guidance or instruction and in the light of their knowledge and the technical means at their disposal) to stop work and immediately proceed to a place of safety in the event of their being exposed to serious, imminent and unavoidable danger; and
(c)
(c) save in exceptional cases for reasons duly substantiated (which cases and reasons shall be specified in those procedures), require the persons concerned to be prevented from resuming work in any situation where there is still a serious and imminent danger.
(3) A person shall be regarded as competent for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) where he has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities to enable him properly to implement the evacuation procedures referred to in that sub-paragraph.
Information for employees
8. Every employer shall...
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