Unit 8 P1

Health and safety at work act is the primary legislation covering health and safety in the Great Britain. The health and safety executive is responsible for enforcing all sorts of laws at work. Before 1974 around 8 million employees had no legal safety at work but in 1974 the health and safety act was introduced. This allowed employees to stay safe in their environment and the employer had to make sure that they provided safety equipment and that all materials were treated appropriately and with care. The employer had to make sure the environment was a safe place to work. The employee’s responsibility was to make sure they are taking care of their health and safety and of others around them while they are working and to cooperate with their employers and other workers.

Coshh is when the employers are made aware to control the substances that are hazardous and harmful to health. You can prevent employees being exposed to hazardous substances by finding out what the health hazards are, providing control measures, planning for emergencies, keeping all control measures in good use and making sure the hazardous substances are stored carefully and are not left out.

RIDDOR requires employers and others to report deaths and certain types of injury to them. It puts obligations on employers, the
UKAS is independent of government but is appointed as the accreditation body. UKAS provides an assurance of the competence of conformity assessment bodies. UKAS accreditation means that the product has been successful at meeting the requirements of international accreditation standards. Usually the reason for getting something independently evaluated is to confirm it meets specific requirements in order to reduce risks. Examples are product failure, health risks, company reputation or to meet legal or customer