Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
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| Long title | An Act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work, for controlling the keeping and use and preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of dangerous substances, and for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere; to make further provision with respect to the employment medical advisory service; to amend the law relating to building regulations, and the Building (Scotland) Act 1959; and for connected purposes. |
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| Citation | 1974 c 37 |
| Introduced by | Secretary of State for Employment Michael Foot 22 March 1974 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, offshore |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 July 1974 |
| Commencement | from 1 October 1974 |
| Repealed | — |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | — |
| Repealed by | — |
| Relates to |
Environmental Protection Act 1990 Railways Act 2005 |
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Status: Current legislation
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| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk | |
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (c 37) (abbreviated to "HSWA 1974", "HASWA" or "HASAWA") is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that as of 2011[update] defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare within the United Kingdom.
The Act defines general duties on employers, employees, contractors, suppliers of goods and substances for use at work, persons in control of work premises, and those who manage and maintain them, and persons in general. The Act enables a broad regime of regulation by government ministers through Statutory Instrument which has, in the years since 1974, generated an extensive system of specific provisions for various industries, disciplines and risks. It established a system of public supervision through the creation of the Health and Safety Commission and Health and Safety Executive, since merged, and bestows extensive enforcement powers, ultimately backed by criminal sanctions extending to unlimited fines and imprisonment for up to two years. Further, the Act provides a critical interface with the law of the European Union on workplace health and safety.
Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity Barbara Castle introduced an Employed Persons (Health and Safety) Bill in 1970 but the debate around the Bill soon generated a belief that it did not address fundamental issues of workplace safety. In the same year, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed into United States federal law. As a result, a committee of inquiry chaired by Lord Robens was established towards the end of Harold Wilson's first government. When the Conservative Party came to power following the United Kingdom general election, 1970, they gave Castle's Bill no parliamentary time, preferring to wait for the Robens Report which was published in 1972. Conservative Secretary of State for Employment William Whitelaw introduced a new Bill on 28 January 1974 but Labour were returned to power in the United Kingdom general election, February 1974 and the Bill again lost. The new Labour administration finally secured the passage of a Bill that year.
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