p1 jay

P1 EXPLAIN THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND REGULATIONS FOR ENSURING THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND

SECURITY OF THOSE EMPLOYED IN BUSINESS.

JEREMIAH KALUKEMBI

HASAWHealth and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAW) is an act created under the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1974. The act was created to enhance the health and safety in the workplace to prevent employees from injuries or harm.

The act is divided into 9 sections which give individual general duties to be carried out by employers and business owner. For example, supplying necessary training for an employee free of charge and completing risk assessments in order to measure risks in the workplace and prevent future injuries.

Act’s Relevance to All Saints Catholic Secondary School

The Headteacher is required to give employees and staff training that may relate there area of work for free and would only be allowed to employ staff that have suitable qualifications to encourage health and safety seeing as they could be trusted.First aid facilities must be provided to staff and students in the case of any emergency or incident, the headteacher would make sure he has a number of staff that are qualified in first aid that can be available at all times during school hours.

The equipment and premises needs to be monitored and improved if necessary to avoid harm to the environment, staff and student. The headteacher would need to encourage the staff and student to take their own and other’s health and safety into consideration.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

This act is based on the HASAW(Health and Safety at Work Act) 1974. The purpose of the establishment of this act in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom is so that it can do into more detail on what employers and business owners are required to do to manage health and safety in the workplace. This law is considered to be really important seeing as it covers all activities run by a business day to day.From this regulatory act the main approach of managing health and safety requirements s to complete a risk assessment.

To cover this act businesses should make sure;There is emergency procedures for use in emergencies.Work on risk assessments results to try clear all possible risksProvide the right safety equipment for employers and employees andMonitor the premise thoroughly.


Risk assessments would need to be carried out to determine any risks or injuries that are likely to occur in a certain area or workplace and work towards prevention of these risks.One approach of this is by enhancing the emergency procedures such as Fire Drills. These would have to be regularly practiced to ensure staff and students know the routine to the drill. By applying fire extinguishers in the hall ways and classrooms the staff and student can have control on minimising the chances of fires which could lead to explosions this is why all electrical wires would need to be covered. No wires should be exposed and shouldn’t be in direct sunlight. The school could also improve on this by having hazard awareness posters and signs around the school especially in Technology and Science Department where chemicals and hardware equipment are accessible by students.

Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations

1992

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 is an act under the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was established in 1992. The act is formed to protect employees and visitors/customers in a businesses premises by covering a wide range of basic heath, safety and welfare concerns.

The act can be simply split into three sections;Health – it is important that a workplace has the right facilities to cater to the health requirement of it’s employees or visitors such as toilets with sinks for hygiene.Safety – is simply the point of which lowering the risk of injury in the workplace relies on. In other words equipment such as Fire Alarms and Fire Extinguishers must be available for use in cases of fires.Welfare – Facilities that are supplied by the premises to encourage of ease of access. For example, for the welfare of wheelchair users businesses would be required to have ramps and elevators accessible.


The Headteacher is responsible of ensuring that this act is in authority in the school premises. He would need to make certain that the facilities in the school support the health, safety and welfare needs of his staff and students such as; guaranteeing that there is enough toilets and washing facilities so that they are easily accessible to the whole school so that they are capable of maintain hygiene levels to prevent illnesses being passed around in school.For the safety of visitors and students, the Headteacher would need to guarantee that entering the school by either car or walking is risk free by ensuring there’s clear pedestrian paths to tend to the needs of walkers and road routes with speed limits for prevention of road accidents and incidents.HSE states that the Headteacher would need would need to do whatever is possible to ensure temperatures in indoor workplaces are at least 16celsius where work is mainly sedentary such as classrooms and 13celsius in rooms where physical activities take place such as P.E. Halls. For this he would need to ensure there is Air Conditioning is in suitable rooms.

All these facilities would need to be clean and supervised if necessary.

RIDDORRIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) is an act that was passed by the Parliament of United Kingdom in 1995. RIDDOR was made in order to support employees, any individual(s) in control of the premises or employers by allowing them to be legally obliged by the act to report any of the following injuries as soon as they may take place;DeathGas incidentsOccupational diseasesDangerous occurrencesMajor injuriesor any injuries resulting to 3 days off work

RIDDOR attempts to ascertain the most common injury in the workplace so that they can provide support for prevention of them to occur once more.


The school should encourage reporting injuries and incident to the enforcing authorities so that to they can identify where and how risks arise so that investigation can run to prevent them. The act states that the department of the school and the headteacher should keep record of; the time, date, and place of the incident the date and method of reporting All the details of those involved in the incident or injured and Provide a description of the illness/disease or how the incident took place.

COSHHControl of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is an act under the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2002 for businesses that use or control hazardous substances. This act holds employers and business owners responsible of controlling exposure to their substances to protect the health of employees and customers. The main aim of the act is to alert businesses what has been considered a hazardous substance and for them to acknowledge all the methods of intake or possible harm it can cause.Something from as little as beauty products to wood can be considered hazardous in a businesses plant, but major concerns are substances such as;ChemicalsDustGases VapoursBiological AgentsFumes etc


Good practice of using hazardous substances should be encouraged to enhance the prevention of injuries or disease. So teachers, especially those who teach sciences and technology, should make sure that students are informed on how to use the hazardous substance supplied to them or when they are using them themselves. They could also try to control the amount used or in the premises so that it prevents the waste that could build up. The Headteacher is also responsible of confirming that all the staff that are acquired of using the chemicals or other hazardous substances are qualified and trained to do so.Substances that may cause cancer through exposure are not allowed to used under this act.

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAW Regulations) is an act under the Parliament if the United Kingdom established in 1989. This act was created to ensure the safety of plants to reduce risk of electrocution, fires or burns from live currents.

HSE states that the main hazards are; faults which could cause fires contact with live parts causing shock and burns fire or explosion where source of ignition is electricity in a potentially

flammable or explosive atmosphere (e.g. spray paint booths)

The main method used to lessen death and injuries is to run risk assessments.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/19-3.htm


Risk Assessments would need to be completed so that the risks are identified. From this the Headteacher can reduce risks by; Ensuring all the rooms in the premises are in safe conditions. Providing enough sockets so that they wouldn’t be overloaded which may

cause fires. Use sockets with switches so they could be easily switched off in case of an

emergency Encourage using sockets nearest to the machine to prevent injuries and

easily disconnected. The right warnings and awareness is displayed to ensure that staff and

students know what they should in case of emergency and prevent hazards such as burns, fires and explosions.

Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992

The Display Screen Equipment Regulation Act 1992 is an act under the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1992. The main aim of the act is to prevent health damage to employers or employees from the use of display screen equipments.

The most commonly reported ill health from use of display screen equipment is;Visual fatigue Back painMental stress andUpper limb disorder.

Although others consist of;Facial Dermatitis andEpilepsy


The act requires that a rightly experienced person(s) or headteacher needs to access the equipment and should make sure;The brightness is suitable enough to not affect the eyesight of staff, students, or visitorsThe display is to be persistent and must not do the following;

•jump,•jitter or •swim.

The screen must be adjustable for the person(s) viewing can adjust it to fit their needs to prevent straining or neck damage.The premises where is the equipment is situated is large enough to prevent damage through the tasks that are carried out.

Manual Handling Operations Regulation

Manual Handling Operations Regulation (MHOR) is an act under the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This act covers a wide range of handling activities such as;loweringlifting, carrying pulling or pushingIt provides advice for managers and employers on how to reduce the risk of injury from these manual handling situations.

This is mostly important in workplaces that required a lot of hard labour or carrying heavy equipment and is made to protect employees.


The headteacher can supply equipment such as lifting aid for departments that this act relates to such as technology or where it is required. The minimum requirement is to ensure that the layout of a room is clear enough to prevent trips or falls when carrying this is a job given to a caretaker but expected to be maintained by staff and students whilst using the facilities. The correct footwear, eye or head safety could be supplied by the headteacher to the caretaker or anyone required to do any heavy lifting.