Health and safety

• View a list of articles and books in our collection on health and safety

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

The primary legislation covering occupational health and safety within the UK is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Statutory Instruments

The following six Statutory Instruments, known as the ‘six pack’, implement key European health and safety directives.

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

  Statutory Instrument 1999 No.3242

• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

  Statutory Instrument 1998 No.2306

• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

  Statutory Instrument 1992 No.3004

• Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992

  Statutory Instrument 1992 No.2966

• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

  Statutory Instrument 1992 No.2793

• Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

  Statutory Instrument 1992 No.2792

Additional regulations include:

• Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

  Statutory Instrument 2005 No.1643

• Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996

  Statutory Instrument 1996 No.1513

• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

  Statutory Instrument 1995 No.3163

A complete list of Acts owned or enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Statutory Instruments owned or enforced by the HSE or local authorities is available.

All UK legislation and regulations are archived on Legislation.gov.uk. The ICAEW Library also subscribes to electronic databases with the complete text of UK legislation, including the latest revisions. For information on accessing these resources, please contact the Library.

Health and safety at work
Information from Gov.uk on a range of health, safety and premises topics aimed at employers.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Government body responsible for legislation and codes of practice. The website provides comprehensive guidance by topic and industry, including:

• Enforcing health and safety
• Health and safety made simple: The basics for your business
• Health and safety publications in other languages
• Register of convictions and notices
• RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• Risk management and risk assessment

Health and Safety Executive Scotland
HSE information dedicated to legislation in Scotland. It covers differences in health and safety in Scotland, statistics, research, enforcement and news.

Health, safety and wellbeing (TUC)
Advice from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) covering a wide range of health and safety issues.

British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS)
Services from the research and professional awareness group includes technical publications, training and qualifications.

British Safety Council (BSC)
The BSC researches and lobbies on occupational health and safety issues, providing training, qualifications and audit and advisory tools.

Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC)
Scientific advisory body working on issues related to industrial injuries benefit. Access positions papers, reports, news and list of prescribed diseases.

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
Independent not-for-profit organisation for health and safety workers in Europe. Plenty of information is available online including guidance, reports, papers and training materials.

International Stress Management Association (ISMA)
Based in the UK, the ISMA is a registered charity promoting best practice and professional standards in stress management. Access articles from Stress News, research papers and reports and an excellent collection of links.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
A registered charity providing advice, information, professional qualifications and training on the prevention of accidents in all areas of life.

UK National Work Stress Network
A voluntary organisation offering information, policies, legislation and risk assessment on work-related stress.

• Get key business strategies right
  Business owners must remain focused on the key issues that ultimately determine success or failure. With dozens of different tasks competing for your time, you need to identify activities that will make a real difference to long-term success.
• Health and safety law
  Looking after health, safety and welfare is not just a legal requirement - it makes commercial sense. Failing to manage health and safety properly can be far more costly than getting it right in the first place.
• Health and safety risk assessment
  Faced with the mass of legislation, meeting your health and safety requirements can seem an enormous task. Fortunately, the most critical part of managing health and safety - risk assessment - is relatively straightforward.
• Legal responsibilities of community organisations
  Volunteers at community organisations are often surprised to discover that their legal responsibilities are little different from those of businesses run for profit. For example, a community organisation that fails to comply with health and safety regulations risks harming people in just the same way as a business does.
• Produce sustainable products and services
  Consumers and other businesses are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on environmental and sustainability concerns. Making your products and services more sustainable can protect your livelihood as well as the planet.
• Stress management
  Work-related stress affects both employers and employees. Managing workplace stress can reduce illness and absenteeism, improve workplace relations and productivity, and help you avoid making bad business decisions.
• Working time regulations
  Regulations covering working hours apply to almost every business. Working time regulations aim to improve health and safety by controlling the hours employees work.