All employers owe a duty of care to each of their employees to ensure that they do not suffer any unreasonable harm or loss. In simple terms, if such a duty is found to be breached, a legal liability is imposed upon the duty owner (the employer) to compensate the victim (the employee) for any losses they incur. What is unreasonable will depend on what steps the employer has taken to prevent the harm or loss from arising and the circumstances that led to it. The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering work related health and safety and deals with employers duties stating "It shall be the duty of all employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health safety and welfare of all their employees whilst they are at work".
The duty cannot be assigned to others; however, the employer must appoint someone competent to help them meet their health and safety duties. A competent person is someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety. There are three levels of duty;
Absolute Duty - This is the highest level of duty and must be complied with. This often relates to when the risk of injury is so high that injury is inevitable unless safety precautions are taken. Many health & safety management requirements contained in health & safety law place an absolute duty on the employers. This includes the need for written safety policies and risk assessments.
Practicable Duty - The employer 'so far as is reasonably practicable' must ensure that any control measures are maintained in an efficient state. Technically, any duty that is possible or foreseeable must be done irrespective of difficulty including inconvenience and cost.
Reasonably Practicable - Reasonably practicable is a balance and takes into account the risks and the costs of eliminating them. If the risk of injury is small, compared to the cost, time and effort required to reduce it - no action maybe necessary.
A risk assessment must be completed with the conclusions noted. Continual monitoring is also required to ensure that risks do not increase. The employer will be expected to put in place measures to control risks however they will not be expected to remove them all.
Employees have health and safety duties as well as employer; to take reasonable care for the health & safety of themselves and others affected by their acts or omissions (those affected by what they do or do not do) and to co-operate wit the employer and others to enable them to fulfil their legal duties. Their duties also include not to misuse any equipment that is provided for safety purposes e.g. fire extinguishers and to report hazards and defects observed in the workplace.
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