2.2 HASAWA 1974, RIDDOR 2013 & PUWER 1998

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA)

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It is an 'enabling act', meaning it provides the broad legal framework upon which specific regulations (like the EAWR, PUWER, and RIDDOR) are built. Unlike the EAWR which is specific to electricity, HASAWA covers all hazards in the workplace.

Duties of Employers

Section 2 of the Act outlines the general duties of employers to their employees. It states that it is the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. This includes providing and maintaining safe plant and systems of work, ensuring the safe handling, storage, and transport of articles and substances, providing necessary information, instruction, training, and supervision, and maintaining a safe place of work with safe access and egress.

Duties of Employees

Section 7 of the Act is equally important for an electrician. It places a legal duty on every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work. Furthermore, employees must cooperate with their employer to enable the employer to comply with their statutory duties. If you fail to wear mandatory PPE or ignore safety instructions, you are personally in breach of Section 7.

Section 8 states that no person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety, or welfare. This means bypassing safety guards, removing warning signs, or tampering with lockout devices is a criminal offense.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)

RIDDOR puts duties on employers, the self-employed, and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases, and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses) to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

What Must Be Reported?

The following incidents fall under RIDDOR reporting requirements:

• Deaths: All deaths to workers and non-workers if they arise from a work-related accident.
• Specified Injuries: This includes fractures (other than to fingers, thumbs, and toes), amputations, any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight, crush injuries to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs, serious burns (including electrical burns) covering more than 10% of the body, and any scalping requiring hospital treatment.
• Over-7-day Incapacitation: Accidents must be reported where they result in an employee or self-employed person being away from work, or unable to perform their normal work duties, for more than seven consecutive days as the result of their injury (not counting the day of the accident but including weekends and rest days).
• Occupational Diseases: Diagnosed conditions linked to occupational exposure, such as occupational asthma, severe cramp of the hand or forearm, and occupational dermatitis.
• Dangerous Occurrences: Near-miss events with the potential to cause harm, such as the collapse of scaffolding, failure of lifting equipment, or an electrical short circuit or overload causing a fire or explosion.

Timelines for Reporting

Fatalities and specified major injuries must be reported to the HSE without delay (typically by telephone), followed by an online report within 10 days. For over-7-day injuries, the report must be made within 15 days of the accident.

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

PUWER is designed to ensure that any equipment provided for use at work is safe. 'Work equipment' is defined very broadly; for an electrician, it includes hand tools, power tools, step ladders, multi-meters, threading machines, and scaffolding.

Suitability, Maintenance, and Inspection

PUWER requires that work equipment must be:

• Suitable: The equipment must be constructed or adapted to be suitable for the purpose for which it is provided. You must not use a tool for a job it was not designed for (e.g., using a screwdriver as a chisel).
• Maintained: Equipment must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, and in good repair. Damaged tools must be removed from service.
• Inspected: Equipment must be inspected at appropriate intervals to ensure it is safe to operate. For electrical items like power tools, this includes formal Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) as well as daily pre-use visual checks by the user.

Furthermore, PUWER dictates that equipment should only be used by people who have received adequate information, instruction, and training. If you are operating a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP), you must have specific training (such as an IPAF ticket) to satisfy both PUWER and the Work at Height Regulations.

Summary of Responsibilities