Health and Safety

Legislation
 Introduction
• Health and safety legislation is essential to ensure
employers provide their employees in a safe working
environment. The four types of legislation I will discuss
in this booklet are:

• Health and Safety At Work Act 1974

• Manual Handling Operation Regulations 1992
• Food Safety Act 1990
• Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health Regulation
2002
 Health and Safety At Work Act 1974
This Act is a very important piece of health and safety legislation, this is because it
helps to safeguard and protect people. Under the Health and Safety Act the employers
must ensure that the place they are working at are is a safe working environment this
is because the employee can feel safe while working. The employers have to have clear
polices and procedures outlined and the actions to take if a situation was to arise,
adequate training must be provided for staff to carryout their role. sign’s, symbol’s and
information on health and safety must be available to hand. For example the staff in
the residential home will be given training on health and safety within the
workplace, for instance if there was a wet floor, the employees are required to clean
this up and display a warning sign to warn other staff and service users. The
employees have to take responsibilities and take care of the environment they are
working in, staff can do this by being vigilant and minimising any risks of danger
occurring. The staff must wash their hands before and after administering any
medicine for a service user to minimise any germs being spread.
Manual Handling Operation Regulations
1992
This regulation outlines different techniques on how to lift
heavy things. All staff and employees should be taught and
trained in manual handling. Before lifting heavy items e.g.
boxes, cupboard, heavy computer chairs, tables and lots of
books, the person has to plan a lift before they carry items
and should ask for help when doing lifting alone. The
clothing worn has to be appropriate and you should never
wear tight jeans or skirt when lifting. For example in a
school, caretakers will receive training on how to lift and
carry objects to protect themselves from injuries. Help is
also available for them if it is required.
 Food Safety Act 1990
• The food safety Act outlines the rules and
regulations which apply to everyone who may
handle food as part of their job but also
store, produce, distribute or sale of food. this is
the main piece of the legislation that governs the
safety of food, the Act explains that it is illegal to
sell or keep food that is unfit for people to eat it
or it may cause them a problem for their health.
People who work with food must ensure that
they are responsible to avoid the quality labeling
or misleads.
Control Of Substances Hazardous To Health
Regulation 2002
This Act is important for the employers because they have to ensure
control over exposure to hazardous substances in the work place. Every
workplace where there is chemicals or acids the workplace should have
someone who is responsible for making sure the guidelines is set down
by COSHH Regulation and are carried out in a workplace the chemicals
must be kept in the original container supplied by the manufactory.
Chemicals and acids must be stored in a safe place. The containers must
have an appropriate safety lid or cap. For example in the science
laboratory the school staff have a responsibility to ensure all
chemicals are stored in a safe place away from the children. They
must also ensure that the chemicals are stored in their original
containers or clearly labeled containers to prevent misunderstandings.
When handling various substances appropriate care must be taken to
avoid contact with it.
 Control Of Substances Hazardous To
Health Regulation 2002

For example in the science laboratory the school

staff have a responsibility to ensure all chemicals
are stored in a safe place away from the children.
They must also ensure that the chemicals are
stored in their original containers or clearly
labeled containers to prevent misunderstandings.
When handling various substances appropriate
care must be taken to avoid contact with it.