Health and Safety ‘Six Pack’ Regulations

Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 1974 was the first legislation introduced to protect the health and safety of workers at workplace. Many different regulations were introduced under HSWA 1974 in later years to improve workplace safety for the employees and in 1992 the ‘six pack’ regulations were introduced under HSWA. The regulations affect all companies without exception and they are:-

1. The Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992

This regulation governs the maintenance of the premises.It includes:-

• Well maintained equipment and tools;
• Proper ventilation and moderate temperatures in workplace;
• Proper lighting system including availability emergency lights;
• Clean workplace environment;
• Sufficient working area and space;
• Well constructed and maintained floors and stairs;
• Safe and separately indicated routes for pedestrians and vehicles;
• Properly fitted doors, windows and other gates;
• Provide suitable sanitation and sufficient solid waste collection system;
• Provide water for drinking and washing, and drying facility where required;
• Provide working clothes to the workers;
• Give breaks and lunch to the workers.
1. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulation employers must provide suitable lifting and handling facilities to the workers.It includes:-

• Eliminating manual handling wherever possible, i.e. pulling, lifting, pushing, moving etc;
• Provide suitable alternatives to manual handling where complete elimination is not possible;
• Train employees about proper lifting and handling techniques;
• Use equipment wherever possible.
1. The Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992

This regulation was introduced to ensure the health and safety of those employees who work with display screen equipment (DSE) for example work stations, display units, televisions. DSE regulations involve:-

• Employer should carry out risk assessment to identify risk associated with display screens;
• Provide suitable breaks or other work to break up display screen use;
• Employees must undergo frequent eye sight checkups paid by the employer;
• Employees must be given training to use display screen equipment;
• Employees must be provided with glasses and contact lenses paid by the employer.
1. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations1992

This workplace safety regulation involves safe and suitable use of all work related equipment, tools, instruments and machinery. Provisions under this regulation are:-

• The equipment should be appropriate for the purpose it is going to be used for:
• All equipment needs to be suitably maintained,
• Employees must be offer appropriate training, info and instructions about the right way to use the equipment.
• Restrict the usage of risky equipment to those with the correct training;
• Limit the repair, alteration and upkeep to those with the appropriate training;
• The employer must prevent access to any hazardous parts of the equipment and provide safeguards against any debris, materials, fumes, fluids, dusts , overheating of the tools being used;
• The employer must make sure all controls are not dangerous to use and are easy to identify for example how to start and stop the machine
• All equipment must have the facility to be turned off
• If it necessary to stabalise equipment it must be clamped to the floor
• Lighting must be appropriate to make sure equipment can be used safely
1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992

Where the safety of the workers is not possible through other measures then employers should:-

• Provide suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) to the employees;
• Make sure PPE is freely available to the employees;
• Provide appropriate PPE for the particular activity or risks;
• Where the employee has to wear more than one PPE they must be well-matchedand operational with each other;
• Maintain, repair or replace the equipment as and when required;
• Make available suitable storage space for equipment,
• The employer must offer information and training to the employees for what, where and when to use PPE,
• The employer must ensure that equipment is used;
• Employees should use PPE as per the directions of employer and report any problems, faults or loss as and when they occur
1. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992

Under this regulation employers have a duty to carry out risk assessments and provide proper safety and health management systems for the employees. Responsibilities under this regulation include:-

• To provide suitable arrangements for health and safety of the employees;
• Provide assistance to the employees where required;
• Employers should make sure the procedures are available for handling dangers;
• Make sure the co-ordination and co-operation between employees;
• Employers should assess risks associated with workers of particular age, sex, physical and mental health;
• Employers should also carry out proper arrangements for planning, controlling and maintaining the issues related with health and safety of the employees.

If your employer has failed in their obligations under the above regulations it can be used as evidence to prove they have been negligent.

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