Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

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Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASWA) is the most important Act

of parliament relating to health and safety. The law requires both

employers and employees to comply with health and safety

legalizations. The Act sets out the general duties and

responsibilities that employers have to their employees and to members

of the public, and those that employees have to themselves and each

other. The Health and Safety at Work Act is an ‘umbrella’ Act which

includes various Regulations that can be revised to ensure the law is

kept up to date. Details of the responsibility of an employer under

the HASWA are given in The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)

Regulations 1992. Any person who is negligent under the Act can face

criminal prosecution for breaching a health and safety requirement,

therefore all organizations must display details of the Act in a

prominent place; this includes your school or college. Health and

Safety Executive (HSE) has its own inspectorate and advisory service

and also is the agency, which enforces the HASWA Act.

Since the introduction of the HASWA, several other regulations have

been introduced, even thought they do not have to be known by heart,

you should know they exist. These are the main ones:-

· The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

Regulations 1992 (RIDDOR)

· The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 1999 (COSHH)

· The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

· The Noise at Work Regulations 1989

· The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

· Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992

· Provision and...

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...ured while working at the

Norwich Harford Bridge store in February last year, Norwich

Magistrates' Court heard.

On Monday, Tesco was fined £25,000 and told to pay the same in costs

after admitting health and safety failings.

It expressed regret for the accident and said failings were local.

'Carelessness'

South Norfolk District Council which brought the prosecution said the

costs figure was high because Tesco had initially denied any offence

and the prosecution had spent large sums preparing for a trial.

Council officials said a guard - which should have prevented staff

from putting their hands into a dough-dividing machine - had been

removed.

The court was told there was a "culture of carelessness at the store".

A spokeswoman for Tesco said the company would issue a statement later

on Monday.

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