Health, safety and environmental legislation and responsibilities
Who is responsible for what
Safety law on a UK site is not aimed at one person. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees and of anyone else affected by the work. Employees have their own duties: to take reasonable care of themselves and others, to co-operate with the employer, and not to interfere with or misuse anything provided for safety. A dumper operator therefore has a personal legal duty, not just a contractual one.
Supporting regulations an examiner will expect you to recognise include the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (suitable and sufficient risk assessments, competent persons), PUWER 1998 (work equipment must be suitable, maintained, inspected and operated only by trained people), COSHH 2002, the PPE at Work Regulations, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, and environmental duties such as the waste duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Traps
- "Reasonably practicable" means weighing risk against the cost and effort of control - not simply what is convenient. It is not the same as "practicable".
- RIDDOR: deaths, specified injuries, dangerous occurrences and over-seven-day injuries are reportable; an ordinary near miss is not, unless it is listed as a dangerous occurrence.
- PPE must be free to the worker; deducting its cost is unlawful.
Rule of thumb
If a task feels unsafe, the operator's duty is to stop, make safe and report - a refusal to operate unsafe plant is protected, not obstructive.