Enforcement of Health and Safety legislation is paramount since it instills the responsibility of health and welfare of the workforce by managers. The legislation focuses on certain safety principles upon which they were built. For this reason, these rules are significant in the following ways. First, they are significant due to sufficient welfare services for all employees and safe handling of dangerous materials or substances at work (Barrett and Sargeant 2015, p. 79). Also, the legislation plays a role in efficient training for the workforce on safe handling of this equipment. Lastly, the rules play a role in regular checkup and maintenance of the work premises or plant. All these reasons make it even highly recommended for the Health and Safety legislations to be passed.

Case Study

An 18 year of suffered bruises when he found himself entwined at an unsecured conveyor belt. He tried to remove the soil that had filled the roller but did not realize that the power was on, and so he stretched his arm to remove it but was pulled by the roller, and his chest area was trapped under it. A colleague spotted him and turned the machine off stopping further injuries. The case shows a need for rules that emphasize the use of a system that checks machines before use.

Duties of Employers and Employees

Employers are tasked with providing a safe work environment, and the staff is supposed to follow the rules set in accompany. Managers should not fail to inform their staff on any hazardous substance, perform regular health screening and avoid biasedness (Barrett and Sargeant 2015, p. 80). On the other hand, employees should report any incidents and assess the work conditions for healthy purposes.

Example

A manager is responsible for the health and safety of visitors or clients who visit or may be using the premises.

Case Study- Sainsbury’s

An external audit recommended an operative health and safety approach that saw training on safety duties for directors and a three-year target-oriented plan. The results were 17% decrease in sickness absenteeism, enhanced commitment, and 28% drop in incidents.

Health and Safety Act 1974

Every business owner should be cautious of the regulations that come with this Act. The rules compel managers to follow these standards in which failure to lead to liabilities, so somehow, their scope of management is overstepped. For instance, one of the laws is the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Managers are obligated to undertake risk assessment (Tassoni 2004, p. 150). For example, in the case of organization with more than five employees, the management need to provide information on the risk assessment.

Stress- Area of Health and Safety

Proper management of the workplace stress should include its awareness. Legal obligations should follow managers who neglect the stress management standards set by the UK Health and Safety Executives (HSE).

Case Study: Barber v Somerset County Council (2004)

Barber complained of stress and excessive pressure which led to her mental breakdown as a teacher at East Bridgewater Community School. The claims reached the Court of Appeal (CA) after Somerset County Council refuted her previous payment for the damages as too much and had to be reduced (Mercer, Barker and Bird 2010, p. 25). The ruling was employers can assume work compatibility unless brought to the attention of vulnerability. However, the House of Lords suggested a breach of duty by the employer by failing to provide counseling or rehabilitation for Barber. An employer should foresee work-related stress if a victim such as Barber is to win a compensation appeal.

Legislation relating to Criminal Prosecutions and Civil Law

In the UK immigration law, people trying to migrate to the UK illegally, or have sullied their stay circumstances or go in without authorization are subject to forced removal or denied entry. Citing Tassoni (2004, p. 152), civil penalties apply to the transporters of passengers who have breached their student visas conditions. In the case of landlords, they are subject to civil and criminal sanctions for renting to ineligible tenants under the 2016 and 2014 Immigration Act.

Conclusion

The Health and Safety Act, 1994 of the UK legislation, lays the ground for regulations ensure favorable working conditions for employees. The Act also protects them from risks from dangerous substances and gives management obligations to provide these services to its staff. The UK laws also touch on the criminal and civil penalties bared by those who house illegal immigrants as seen in the Immigration Acts mentioned.

 References

Barrett, B. and Sargeant, M., 2015. Working in the UK without a default retirement age: health, safety and the oldest workers. Industrial law journal, 44(1), pp.75-100.

Mercer, J., Barker, B. and Bird, R., 2010. Human resource management in education: contexts, themes and impact. Routledge.

Tassoni, P., 2004. Diploma in pre-school practice. Oxford: Heinemann Educational.

 
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