Health and safety regulations in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom there are many regulations relevant to safety and health at work. Many of these give effect to European Union directives.

Breach of the regulations is a crime throughout the UK. In England and Wales contravention is punishable on summary conviction or on indictment with an unlimited fine. Either an individual or a corporation can be punished and sentencing practice is published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

In England and Wales, a person who suffered damage caused by a breach of the regulations, used to have a cause of action in tort against the offender. However, s69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 repealed this right of action. This prevents a defendant for claiming damages against an employer for contravention of an absolute duty. Instead, they must now prove that the employer was negligent as with other torts. A similar right of action exists in Scotland through the law of delict.

A full list of all UK Health & Safety legislation can be found on the HSE website

Registration REACH in the UK is planned for 8 November.

...
Wikipedia