E-Books: Health and Safety Pocket Book

Health and Safety Pocket Book by Jeremy Stranks. This book has full scope of industry and commerce, who may have specific responsibility for health and safety, together with those studying for specific qualifications in the discipline. The main objective is to provide a ready reference text on a wide range of issues, including the principal features of health and safety law, established management systems, and sources of information.

Health and safety is a diverse subject covering many disciplines law, engineering, human behaviour, safety management and
occupational health each of which is an area of study in its own right.
The Health and Safety Pocket Book has been written as a unique aid to health and safety practitioners and consultants, engineers,
HR managers, lawyers, and employee representatives. It
should also be of use to those managers, across the full scope of industry and commerce, who may have specific responsibility for health and safety, together with those studying for specific qualifications in the discipline. The main objective is to provide a ready reference text on a wide range of issues, including the principal features of health and safety law, established management systems, and sources of information.
A number of checklists, which are useful in the risk assessment process, have been incorporated, together with tables, figures
, and forms used on a regular basis. Specific parts include a glossary of commonly used terms, a summary of the legal requirements for documentation and record-keeping, along with information on accredited health and safety training courses, professional organizations in health and safety, and a breakdown of the legal requirements for the various industrial groups.
The A–Z arrangement within chapters and extensive cross-referencing makes the book easy to navigate. Individual references point the reader to the original legislation and more specialized reading.
I hope all who use this book will find it helpful.

1(a)
Legal background
Health and safety law covers many aspects involving people at
work, including the civil and criminal liabilities of employers
towards their employees and other persons.
The following topics are of particular significance in any consideration
of the principal features of health and safety law.

Absolute (strict) liability

Certain duties under health and safety laws are of an absolute or strict nature. These duties are qualified by the terms ‘shall’ or ‘must’, such as the absolute duty on employers under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. Generally, no defence is available although, when charged with an absolute offence, it may be possible to submit a plea in mitigation.

All reasonable precautions and all due diligence (‘due diligence’ defence)

Under certain Regulations, such as the Electricity at Work Regulations
and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations, an employer charged with an offence may be able to submit the defence that ‘he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence’. To rely on this defence, the employer must establish that, on the balance of probabilities, he has taken all precautions that were reasonable and exercised all due diligence to ensure that