The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSW Act) forms the basis of the health and safety law in UK.
The HSWA 1974 is an important act covering the legal duties of:
The purpose of the act is to provide a legal framework to encourage high standards of health and safety at work.
Its aims are:
To make sure the employee is safe the employer needs to carry out Risk Assessments on all activities.
Risk assessments identify the hazards that may cause a risk to the health and safety of employees or self-employed. Hazards are classified as high, medium or low risks and control measures, or precautions, to reduce the risks must be put in place.
The risk may be to those working on the farm; those visiting, including contractors, other self-employed tradesmen or company salesmen; neighbours and other members of the public.
Risk assessment is the main requirement of health and safety regulations. It is a legal requirement to assess risks.