7.4. Law - Health and safety

Enlightened self-interest

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. While the sheer mass of health and safety legislation can be daunting, most of it is straightforward and help and advice is widely available.

This briefing covers:

• Your responsibilities.
• Organising for health and safety.
• The key areas you need to consider.
• Help and advice.

Together with Health and safety risk assessment, LA4, it provides a broad overview of how to approach health and safety issues.

Simple and effective

Faced with the mass of legislation, meeting your health and safety requirements can seem a daunting task. Fortunately, the most critical part of managing health and safety - risk assessment - is relatively straightforward.

This briefing covers:

• How to carry out a risk assessment.
• What the most common hazards are.
• How to control the risks.
• Handling the paperwork.

For an overview of your responsibilities under health and safety legislation, see Health and safety, LA3.