1. NEBOSH National General Certificate
Unit 1: Session 1
Scope of the health and safety problem
Moral, economic and legal bases for good standards of health and safety
Sub-divisions and sources of law
Civil liability

2. The occupational health and safety problem
Total cost to UK society estimated to be between 14.5 and 18.1 billion/year (2.1% -2.6% GDP)
Loss to employers estimated to be billion pounds/year (4% - 8% of gross company trading profits)

3. Injury and Ill-Health
Information from RIDDOR indicates that each year:
approximately 250 workers are killed
there are approximately major injuries
there are approximately over 3 day injuries (believed to be as much as 50% underreported)
A major government survey in 1995 showed that 2.25 million people were suffering ill health caused, or made worse, by work. The most common were:
musculoskeletal disorders 1.2 million
stress related million
lower respiratory disease
hearing problems

4. Arguments for good management of health and safety
Moral: ethical and responsible behaviour
Financial: the costs of injuries and ill-health
Legal: criminal and civil liability

5. Costs of injuries and ill-health
Direct costs: directly related to accident (e.g. personal injury claims, fines, plant damage)
Indirect: disruption to business, damage to reputation, investigation resources
Note: some of these costs may be insured

9. Law
Rules of human conduct, imposed upon and enforced among the members of a given state

10. Sub-divisions of Law Civil Law Criminal Law
Regulates relationships between legal persons (individuals and corporations)
Proceedings started by one of parties - may settle at any time
Court may consider disputes arising out of property rights, employment, family, etc
Court may compensate for wrongs
Criminal Law
Regulates conduct considered by state to be prejudicial to community
Proceedings instituted by officers of crown
Court decides on guilt or innocence
Principal object is to punish the guilty

11. Civil Law
Law concerning private and civil affairs without direct involvement of the state
Relevant law may be a mixture of common law and statute law
Breaches usually remedied by compensation
Costs and damages normally covered by insurance Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
Burden of proof: on a balance of probabilities

12. Criminal Law
Addresses public and moral wrong doing and made by parliament: written law of the land
Crime is a wrong doing which directly and seriously threatens the well being and security of society and which cannot be left to be redressed by compensation of an injured party
No absolute definition and may change over time, eg drugs
Generally anyone may begin a criminal prosecution but not health and safety offences - change is being considered
Prescribes punishment: eg, fines, imprisonment
Burden of proof: beyond reasonable doubt

13. Sources of Law: Common Law
Evolution of legal principles over time by decisions of courts and judges - system of rules or precedents which bind future similar cases
Some common law offences are crimes, (e.g. murder, criminal libel)

14. Sources of Law: Statute Law
Addresses public and moral wrong doing and made by parliament: written law of the land
Crime is a wrong doing which directly and seriously threatens the well being and security of society and which cannot be left to be redressed by compensation of an injured party
No absolute definition and may change over time, eg drugs
Supreme over all other sources of law
Prescribes punishment: eg, fines, imprisonment

15. European Dimension
UK bound by by EU legislative procedures on joining (then EEC) in 1972
Veto by member states on proposed legislation changed to qualified majority voting on adoption of Single European Act 1986
Significant progress made since SEA on new health and safety legislation

16. Single European Act 1986
Article 100A: safety standards of plant and equipment (barriers to trade) - Directives implemented by Dept of Trade and Industry
Article 118A: minimum standards of health and safety in employment - Directives implemented by HSC/HSE

17. EU Law
Regulations: similar to statute law and binding on member states without further action (e.g. tachograph requirements)
Directives: prescribe a result to be achieved by a set date leaving member states to transpose into national law (e.g. ‘The Six Pack’)

18. The European Courts
European Court of Human Rights - interprets European Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms
European Court of Justice - gives rulings on interpretation of EU law at request of a member state or an individual

19. Common Law: Negligence
Negligence as a tort: a breach of a legal duty to take care that results in undesired damage by the defendant to the claimant (plaintiff )
Three essential elements of proof on claimant:
1. Existence of a duty on defendant
2. A breach of the duty
3. Damage/injury

20. Duty of Care
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] - established duty to take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which on test of reasonable foreseeability would be likely to injure a neighbour
neighbour - persons so closely and directly affected by acts that they ought reasonably to be held in mind as being affected when acts or omissions are called into question

21. Duty of Care: Extent
Wilson v Clyde Coal Co & English [1938] Non delegable duty to take care for safety of employees in particular provision of:
safe place of work
safe plant and equipment
safe systems of work
safe and competent fellow employees

22. Vicarious liability
Responsibility for actions of others when committed in course of employment, ie employer is responsible for torts of servants (employees) in course of employment authorised or not
Employer is not generally responsible for torts of an independent contractor except where authorised to commit and/or in respect of ‘extra-hazardous’ operations

23. Breach of Statutory Duty
A common law action based on statute to protect employees - usually linked with a claim in negligence (the double barrelled approach)
Claimant will succeed in an action for negligence if a breach of statute law is shown to have caused the injury
Act or Regulations may prohibit right of action in civil proceedings, eg HSWA 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regs this may change

24. Negligence: Defences Lack of duty
Lack of negligence: eg, employee ‘on a frolic of his own’
Voluntary acceptance of the risk: rarely of relevance to health and safety cases
Contributory negligence: rarely a complete defence - compensation may be reduced in proportion to claimant’s fault

25. Civil Law Cases
Action must commence within three years of injury or when injured party becomes aware that injury has been caused by employer
Burden of proof: on a balance of probabilities
Hearings take place in County Court or High Court without a jury
The Woolf reforms (1999): designed to ensure claims are dealt with speedily and justly

26. The Civil Courts The County Court: hears most civil actions
The High Court: hears complex cases and those where damages expected to be in excess of £50000
Industrial Tribunals

27. Industrial Tribunals
Bodies established to take decisions in particular areas of law
Main involvement of Industrial Tribunals in health and safety system is to hear appeals against Improvement and Prohibition Notices served by inspectors
Refusal to work: employees protected by Employment Rights Act 1996 where there is serious, imminent and unavoidable danger