The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

The Health and Safety in Employment Act seeks to encourage injury prevention within the workplace. It is about making work safe for everyone. The Act promotes good employment relationships as essential to managing hazards in the workplace. The Act does not tell people how to work, but requires them to approach workplace situations with the framework and guidelines of the legislation in mind.

The Department of Labour states that the arrangements required in a workplace must acknowledge that:

The Department of Labour is responsible for administering this legislation. Employers have a duty to:

There are also several industry-specific regulations that set down certain minimum standards in different work situations. The General Workplace Conditions Regulations, for example, provide for adequate lighting, safe levels of noise, humidity and heat, the removal of dust, steam and fumes from a workplace, and access to fire exits.

If you are interested in finding out about any specific workplace standards, contact the Department of Labour Occupational Safety and Health Service nearest to you.

The Department of Labour website has good information about health and safety issues.