The Health & Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and its operating arm, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), have spent the last twenty years modernising the structure of health and safety law.
Three things prompt action
- Changes in technology, industries or risks.
- Evidence of accidents and ill health, plus public concern.
- Receiving European Directives.
The HSE has three main options when action is necessary to supplement existing arrangements.
1. Guidance
Guidance can be specific to the health and safety problems of an industry or of a particular process used in a number of industries. Its purposes are:
- To help people understand what the law says.
- To help people comply with the law.
- To give technical advice.
Following guidance is not compulsory and employers are free to take other action — but if they do follow guidance, they will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.
2. Codes of Practice (COP)
Codes of Practice offer practical examples of good practice. They give advice on how to comply with the law — for example, by providing a guide to what is "reasonably practicable" or what "suitable and sufficient" means in particular circumstances.
3. Regulations
Regulations are law, approved by Parliament and usually made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Where risks are so great, or control measures so costly, that it would not be appropriate to leave employers discretion, regulations identify those risks and set out specific action that must be taken. Often these requirements are absolute.
Some regulations apply across all industries (e.g. Manual Handling). Others apply to hazards unique to specific industries (e.g. the offshore oil and gas industry).