This is the first Act of the Parliament in the UK intended to protect the welfare of people at work. Towards the end of the 18th century the increasing pace of industrial revolution and its concentration of labour in factories and mills utilising powered technology had brought with it growing publicity about the conditions of those – in particular children) employed in such establishment.
Sir Robert Peel introduced the Bill in 1802, passed the same year with little or no opposition, largely in consequence of the revelations of the abuse of children in textile mills.
The Act was directed to the due cleansing of such premises by two washings with quicklime yearly, to the admission of fresh air by means of a sufficient number of windows, and to the yearly supply to every apprentice of sufficient and suitable clothing and sleeping accommodation (not more than two to a bed).
The pauper apprentices were prohibited from night work, and their labour limited to 12 hours in a day.
Most importantly the Act provided that the apprentices should be instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic and the principles of the Christian religion and that those who were members of the Church of England should be examined annually by a clergyman, and be prepared at the proper age for confirmation.
The Magistrates were to appoint two inspectors from amongst themselves (one being a clergyman) to visit factories and mills annually and such premises in the locality were to be registered with the Clerk to the Justices.
The pieces of legislation were intended to fortify the 1802 Act, which was widely evaded. The 1831 Act imposed a maximum 12 hour day for all young persons in cotton mills. It too was evaded.
Pressure from the “Ten Hours Movement” resulted in the Factory Act 1833.
This Act whilst maintaining a 12 hour day for all young persons, was extended to woollen and linen mills. Most significantly, in order to prevent further evasion, it provided for enforcement by Government appointed inspectors.
Four inspectors were initially appointed. The Act gave them powers of entry, power to make regulations, and the enforcement powers of the Magistrates.
This Act prohibited the women and children from underground work. The radical nature of this measure undoubtedly eased the way for the milder Factories Act of 1844.
This required safeguarding of mill gearing and prohibited the cleaning of machinery in motion.
Between 1844 and 1856 a succession of seven factory statues and subordinate regulations provided for the safety of children young person and women, including provision for the fencing of machinery, hours, mealtimes and holidays.
Also known as the Ten Hours Act. Stipulated that as of 1 July 1847, women and children between the ages of 13 and 18 could work only 63 hours per week.
This act together with the Factories Act 1844 were significant in giving the Home Secretary power to award part of any fine imposed on an employer to a worker injured by the criminal breach. This form of compensation was not used extensively and fell into virtual disuse by the end of the century, being finally abolished in 1959.
Under pressure from factory owners the 1856 Act relaxed some of the requirements of the 1844 Act.
This Act redefined the workday which had been established under the Factory Acts of 1844 and 1847. No longer could employers decide the hours of work. The workday was changed to correspond with the maximum number of hours that women and children could work. The act included the following provisions:
Children and women could only work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the summer and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the winter. All work would end on Saturday at 2 p.m. The work week was extended from 58 hours to 60 hours. Hours of work for ages 9 to 18 was changed to 10 hours night and day.
Specified non-textile factories, including pottery, match-making, foundries, blast furnaces, copper mills and all manufacturing processes employing more than 50 people, and workshops were subjected to some of the statutory requirements.
This provided for the imprisonment as a penal sanction, a means of enforcement continued in the subsequent mines statutes, but not extended for a hundred years to other legislation which relied on fines as the penal sanction.
This Act introduced a system for the licensing and regulation of factories for the production of gunpowder and other explosives.
This was superseded by the Explosives Act 1923.
This Act brought all the previous Acts together in one consolidation. This Act may be said to be the first attempt at comprehensive factory legislation. Now the Factory Code applied to all trades. No child anywhere under the age of 10 was to be employed and compulsory education for children up to 10 years old was established. 10–14 year olds could only be employed for half days. Women were to work no more than 56 hours per week.
First legislative steps directed towards safety in agriculture.
The Employers’ Liability Act extended protection to workers concerning accidents caused by the negligence of managers, superintendents and foremen. Railway companies were also made liable when their employees were injured through the negligence of signalmen, drivers and pointsmen. However, the act did not protect employees against accidents caused by fellow workers.
Made the requirements for fencing machinery more stringent. Under the heading Conditions of Employment were two considerable additions to previous legislation: the first is the prohibition on employers to employ women within four weeks after confinement; the second the raising the minimum age at which a child can be set to work from ten to eleven.
Despite the increasing mechanization of the industry, workers in agriculture enjoyed no statutory protection save in the limited area covered by this Act and the Threshing Machines Act 1878, since the Factories Acts did not apply.
Introduced scale payments by employers to employees in certain industries who suffered injury “arising out of and in the course of employment”.
A fresh attempt at the rationalisation of factory legislation. It was followed by a series of detail regulations, many still in force. (May alter after the 2011 Lofstedt review of legislation). This Act remained the principal statute for the regulation of factories until its repeal by the Factories Act 1937.
This comprehensive Act following earlier comprehensive legislation in 1872 and 1888.
This superseded the Explosives Act 1875.
This was repealed and replaced by the Factories Act 1961.
This was repealed and replaced by the Factories Act 1961.
Repealed and replaced the Factory and Workshops Act 1901 to 1929. This Act provided, for the first time, a comprehensive code for safety, health and welfare applicable to all factories alike irrespective of whether they were textile or non-textile factories and whether mechanical power was used or not.
The Factories Act 1937 was amended by the Factories Acts 1948 and 1959 and these in turn were repealed and replaced by the Factories Act 1961.
Established the framework for the issuing of regulations concerning poisonous substances used in agriculture. Contents: protection of employees against risks of poisoning; duties of employees; inspectors; offences and penalties; provisions of samples. Substances to which this Law applied: dinitrophenols and their salts; dinitro-substituted phenols and their salts; organophosphorus compounds; other substances judged dangerous by the authorities.
This Act imposed the most extensive safety regime in any industry. It extended not only regulation in relation to equipment, places, access, egress, processes, specific hazards and methods of working but also laid statutory duties on mine managers; required pit deputies to make inspections, gave workmen’s inspectors power of inspection, and extended the functions of the Inspectors of Mines.
This Act introduced comprehensive health protection and safeguards for agricultural workers and for children who may come into contact with agricultural machinery, equipment or vehicles. It prohibited the lifting of excessive weights, outlined the general provisions that must be made for sanitary conveniences and washing facilities and stipulated requirements for first aid provision.
The Act also laid down requirements for the notification and investigation of accidents and diseases. It was instrumental in appointing a number of inspectors with the powers to enter agricultural premises and enforce the Act.
Repealed by Agriculture (Safety, Health and Welfare Provisions) Act 1956 (Repeals and Modifications) Regulations 1975 – S.I. 1975 No. 46
This Act brought about the establishment of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate within the Ministry of Power.
Today’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) is responsible for the UK safety regulation of nuclear power stations, nuclear chemical plants, defence nuclear facilities, nuclear safety research, decommissioning and strategy.
Since 2 April 2007 NII has also been responsible for civil nuclear operational security and safeguards matters.
Since 1886 shopworkers’ hours had been regulated and since 1904 local authorities had powers to limit opening hours of shops, but no other statutory protection extended to shop workers and none at all to office workers. The Gowers Committee had in 1949 recommended extensions and in 1960 a private members’ bill had become the Offices Act 1960. In 1963 this was repealed and replaced by the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963. That Act gave statutory protection to the largest remaining group of unprotected workers.
Contained power to make regulations governing dangerous processes and plant.
Enabling power: Factories Act 1937, ss. 17, 46, 60 and Factories Act 1948, s. 8. Made: 15th August 1961. Laid before Parliament: 22nd August 1961. Coming into operation: 1st March 1962. Revoked by the famous SI 2007/320 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (ISBN 9780110757896).
SI 1961/1580 is also referenced by other legislation items such as:
This Act gave statutory protection to the largest remaining group of unprotected workers.
Required that all employers carry insurance to cover potential liability to employees.
Provided that the employer is liable in negligence for injury caused by defective equipment notwithstanding that the fault was that of a third party manufacturer or supplier.
Brought together provisions in a number of unrelated pieces of legislation dealing with particular classes of premises and particular activities and was extended to all factory, office, shop and railway premises by the Fire Precautions (Factories, Offices, Shop and Railway Premises) Order 1989 – S.I. 1989 No. 76
This act amends and complements the Factories Act 1961 in relation to medical arrangements. It makes provision for the establishment of an employment medical advisory service and the appointment of employment medical advisers to replace factory doctors. It prescribes their functions and responsibilities in relation to the medical welfare of factory employees. Schedules indicating the provisions of the Factories Act 1961, amendments and repealed sections concerning employment of medical advisers are included.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 was described as “a bold and far-reaching piece of legislation” by HSE’s first Director General, John Locke. It certainly marked a departure from the framework of prescribed and detailed regulations which was in place at the time.
The Act introduced a new system based on less-prescriptive and more goal-based regulations, supported by guidance and codes of practice. For the first time employers and employees were to be consulted and engaged in the process of designing a modern health and safety system.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 also established the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) for the purpose of proposing new regulations, providing information and advice and conducting research.
HSC’s operating arm, the Health and Safety Executive was formed shortly after in order to enforce health and safety law, a duty shared with Local Authorities.
These regulations established the right of a recognised trade union to appoint safety representatives from among the employees it represented. The exception to this was employees of mines, specifically coal mines as defined by section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954. The regulations conferred number of powers to safety representatives including: “to investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences at the workplace (whether or not they are drawn to his attention by the employees he represents) and to examine the causes of accidents at the workplace”; “to make representations to the employer on general matters affecting the health, safety or welfare of the employees at the workplace”; and to inspect certain documents. Under the terms of the regulations, two or more safety representatives could request their employer to establish a safety committee. The regulations also outlined the terms for pay for time off allowed to safety representatives carrying out official duties.
The Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980 (NADOR) required employers and the self-employed to keep a record of any accidents or certain types of dangerous occurrences and report these to HSE. The Regulations include lists of the types of dangerous occurrences that are reportable, including those that occur in any situation and those that relate specifically to mines, quarries and railways. Today, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation 1995 (RIDDOR) has replaced NADOR. For more information about what is reportable under RIDDOR and what employers, employees, the self employed and gas suppliers and fitters are obliged to do under the Regulations, visit the RIDDOR pages on the HSE Website.
The Regulations stipulated that where employees are exposed to lead in the workplace, employers or those who are self-employed must assess the work in order to establish the nature and degree of the exposure to lead. Employers are also required to provide information, training and instruction to exposed workers. Other requirements under the Regulations included: ensuring control measures are in place for material, plant and processes and that these are properly maintained; providing washing and changing facilities and areas for employees to eat, drink and smoke; avoiding the spread of contamination; cleaning; air monitoring; and conducting medical surveillance and biological tests. For more information about lead, see the Lead pages on the HSE Website
These Regulations which came into force on 1st July 1982 stipulated that “an employer shall provide or ensure that there are provided, such equipment and facilities as are adequate and appropriate in the circumstances for enabling first aid to be rendered to his employees if they are injured or become ill at work.” Employers were also required to inform employees about the arrangements in place for providing first-aid, including the location of facilities, personnel and equipment. Self-employed people were also covered by the Regulations as there was a requirement for them to provide appropriate and adequate equipment for rendering first aid to themselves at work, if necessary.
The Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983 came into force on 1 August 1983 and have been amended by several pieces of legislation in the intervening years. At the time the Regulations became law, no-one could carry out work with asbestos insulation including asbestos insulation board or asbestos coating unless they held a licence granted by HSE or worked for someone who held such a licence. There were three exemptions to the requirements, namely: collecting samples or air monitoring to identify asbestos; work carried out with asbestos insulation, asbestos insulating board or asbestos coating by employers or the self-employed, either by themselves or by using their own employees and in their own premises; and work of short duration using these materials. For more information about present day requirements for working with asbestos, visit the Asbestos pages on the HSE Website.
HSE assumed responsibility for enforcing the Health and Safety (Genetic Manipulation) Regulations 1978 from the Department of Education and Science in 1983. In March 1984 a new Advisory Committee on Genetic Manipulation (ACGM) was set up to support this new role. In its first year, ACGM set up working parties to investigate: the release of genetically manipulated organisms for agricultural and environmental purposes; the uses of viruses in genetic manipulation, including the use of recombinants containing potentially harmful nucleic acid sequences; and monitoring of workers involved in genetic manipulation work. In 2004, ACGM was replaced by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (Contained Use), (SACGM(CU)). SACGM(CU) provides technical and scientific advice to the UK Competent Authority on all aspects of the human and environmental risks of the contained use of genetically modified organisms.
The Regulations, known as COMAH, require that safe operation can be demonstrated for industrial activities in which various substances as defined in Schedule I of the Regulations are involved. They also set out requirements for isolated storage of substances in Schedule 2 of the Regulations. Under the Regulations, manufacturers are required to provide written evidence that major accident hazards have been identified and the necessary steps put in place to prevent major incidents and protect workers on the site. They also are required to prepare an off-site emergency plan to complement the Local Authority emergency plan and to provide information to the Local Authority which can be used to inform people living in the locality who might be affected by a COMAH site.
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985, commonly known as ‘RIDDOR’, require a ‘responsible person’ to notify the enforcing authority where a person dies or sustains any injuries or specific medical conditions or where a dangerous occurrence takes place in connection with a work activity. The Regulations set out the specific injuries which are reportable including fractures, amputation, decompression sickness and others. A list of the dangerous occurrences reportable under RIDDOR is provided in Schedule 1 of the Regulations, while a second schedule sets out reportable diseases under RIDDOR. Separate notification requirements for mines, quarries and railways are also explained
The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 applied to any work with ionising radiation except work carried out under section 1 of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and in certain activities as outlined in Schedule 3 of the Regulations. The Regulations set out legal duties in the following areas: dose limitation including restriction of exposure; designation of controlled areas and of classified persons; appointment of qualified persons; training and instruction requirements; dosimetry and medical surveillance; control of radioactive substances including arrangements for personal protective equipment and washing and changing facilities; assessment of hazards; investigation of cases of overexposure; and fees for medical examinations.
The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (S.I. 1986/1510) conferred authority on HSE to enforce pesticide safety. The Regulations provided a detailed list of those types of pesticides which are subject to control and those which are excluded. They also outlined the approvals required before any pesticides could be sold, stored, used, supplied or advertised. In addition, the Regulations set out the general conditions for pesticides regarding sale, supply, storage, advertisement and use, including aerial application. The Regulations were superseded by the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/188). More information about HSE’s role in enforcing pesticides safety can be found on the HSE Website.
These regulations stipulate that an employer ‘shall not carry out any work which exposes or is liable to expose any of his employees to asbestos unless either a) before commencing that work he has identified, by analysis or otherwise, the type of asbestos involved in the work; or b) he has assumed that the asbestos is crocidolite or amosite and for the purposes of the Regulations has treated it accordingly’. Under the Regulations, employers must notify the enforcing authority of work with asbestos in certain circumstances. They must also provide information, instruction and training for employees who are liable to be exposed to asbestos during the course of their work. Adequate control measures must be in place and must be adequately maintained to prevent or reduce the spread of asbestos. Other requirements of the regulations include: ensuring cleanliness of plant and premises; designation of areas where asbestos is present; air monitoring including associated record-keeping; medical surveillance and keeping health records; provision of washing and changing facilities; and storage and labelling of raw asbestos and asbestos waste.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, generally referred to as the COSHH Regulations, were introduced to protect the health of people arising from work activities. Under the Regulations, employers must carry out a risk assessment to ensure that employees are not exposed to substances which will be hazardous to their health. Where exposure to such substances cannot be prevented, employers must provide suitable protective equipment and control measures and they must ensure that such equipment is adequately maintained, examined and tested and the results of tests recorded and kept. RIDDOR stipulates a requirement for monitoring exposure in the workplace and maintaining suitable records. It also sets out requirements for health surveillance and medical surveillance. Employers are also obliged to ensure that where exposure to hazardous substance is unavoidable, workers are made aware of the associated health risks and the precautions that should be taken including any associated instruction and training requirements.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 had a wide remit, covering: work systems, protective equipment and work activities; adverse or hazardous environments; capability and strength of electrical equipment; earthing and other suitable precautions; electrical protection, insulation and placing of conductors; connections; integrity of conductors; cutting off electrical supply and isolation; working on dead equipment; working on or in the vicinity of live conductors; working space, lighting and access; and competent persons. A section of the Regulations applied only to Mines, covering areas such as: introduction of electrical equipment; restrictions in certain underground zones; provisions associated with the presence of firedamp; approval of certain equipment in safety-lamp mines; cutting off electricity to circuits underground; oil-filled equipment; electric shock notices; information and records; use of battery-powered locomotives and vehicles into safety-lamp mines; and storage, transfer and charging of electrical storage batteries.
The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 stipulate that ‘Every employer shall reduce the risk of damage to the hearing of his employees from exposure to noise to the lowest level reasonably practicable’. To this end, the Regulations require that a noise assessment should be made if employees are likely to be exposed to the first action level or above or to the peak action level of noise. The assessment should be reviewed as appropriate and adequate assessment records kept.
Where employees are exposed to noise, adequate ear protection must be provided and ear protection zones set up where necessary. Any equipment provided must be carefully maintained and used and employees should be given information on the steps they can take to protect their hearing in the workplace. The Regulations also outline the particular modifications of the duties of manufacturers of articles for use at work and articles of fairground equipment in relation to the Regulations.