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ans Serif">The predominant legislation is the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HASE). This sets out the duties on employers as:

• ans Serif">provide and maintain a safe working environment
• ans Serif">provide and maintain facilities for the safety and health of employees at work
• ans Serif">ensure that machinery and equipment in the place of work is designed, made, set up, and maintained to be safe for employees
• ans Serif">ensure that employees are not exposed to hazards in the course of their work; and
• ans Serif">develop procedures for dealing with emergencies that may arise while employees are at work.

ans Serif">Employers must identify hazards in the place of work (previously existing, new and potential) and regularly review these to see whether these hazards are significant and require further action.

ans Serif">When an accident or serious harm occurs, an employee must record it in a register or a prescribed form. The employer must also investigate whether it was caused by a significant hazard and corrective action taken if this is judged desirable. Some accidents are legally required to be notified to the Department of Labour.

ans Serif">Where a hazard is significant, the act sets out the steps that must be taken:

• ans Serif">where practicable, the hazard must be eliminated;
• ans Serif">if elimination is not practicable, the hazard must be isolated;
• ans Serif">if it is impracticable to eliminate or isolate the hazard completely, then the employer must minimise the hazard to employees.

ans Serif">In addition the employer must where appropriate:

• ans Serif">ensure that protective clothing and equipment is provided, accessible and used;
• ans Serif">monitor employees' exposure to the hazard;
• ans Serif">seek the consent of employees to monitor their health; and
• ans Serif">with informed consent, monitor employees' health.

ans Serif">Employers must establish systems for this process of identification and managing hazards. Employees need to be involved in the development of systems and emergency procedures to be used.

ans Serif">Before an employee begins work their employer must inform them of:

• ans Serif">emergency procedures
• ans Serif">hazards the employee may be exposed to while at work
• ans Serif">how to minimise the likelihood of these hazards becoming a source of harm to others; and
• ans Serif">the location of safety equipment.

ans Serif">The employer is also required to inform employees of the results of any health and safety monitoring. In doing so the privacy of individual employees must be protected.

ans Serif">The employer must ensure employees are either sufficiently experienced to do their work safety or supervised by an experienced person. In addition the employee must be adequately trained in the safe use of equipment in the place of work, including protective clothing and equipment.

ans Serif">An employer is also responsible for the health and safety of people who are not employees such as visitors and contractors.