Celebrating 50 Years of Health & Safety at Work

The year is 1974. The UK is beset by on-going miners strikes and rationing of electricity. Political upheaval across the country will lead to not one, but two, General Elections. Manchester United are relegated from the English First Division for the first time in their history, and Brian Clough has a brief, but eventful, 44 days in charge of Leeds United. The final episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus is aired, not long before we saw the first Mr Men episode.

Amongst all of this, it’s not inconceivable that the passing of a new law might go unnoticed. And yet, that piece of legislation has done more for UK workers than any other in the past 50 years. We are, of course, referring to The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), which formally became law on the 31st of July that year.

Health & Safety is often derided as a box-ticking exercise, something that could be gotten around by people using their common sense, and that frequently puts blockers in the way of getting work done. But the Act is no joke – since its inception, the number of annual workplace-based fatalities has dropped from 651 to 135, while the number of non-fatal injuries annually has dropped by 80 percent. 

It’s time we celebrated this integral piece of legislation and what it’s done for us in the past 50 years.

What Does the 1974 Act Do?

The Act was intended as, and still is, the primary piece of legislation governing health and safety activities in UK workplaces. At its core are responsibilities in three key areas:

• employers have towards employees and members of the public;
• employees have to themselves and to each other;
• certain self-employed have towards themselves and others.

The Act was written to be easy to understand, flexible enough to apply to all workplaces, and place the onus for the safety of employees at work on their employers. It provides guidelines and instruction for employers, employees and self-employed people on their responsibilities to themselves and others, puts formal requirements in place for workplace-based Risk Assessments, and has created a far more proactive and preventative approach to Health and Safety across all industries.

It also gives employees greater assistance and support to speak out against poor or unsafe practices without the fear of repercussions, and creates open dialogue between employees and employers so that responsibilities are met. 

Why the HSWA Has Been a Success

It’s not only a reduction in workplace fatalities and non-fatal injuries that the Act has successfully accomplished, it has also helped make UK organisations better and safer places to work in other ways. Prior to the launch of the HSWA, there was far less of a focus on Health & Safety, with poor standards and limited regulations in place, and next to no enforcement of those that actually did exist.

The HSWA created a single point of reference for employers and employees, detailing what was required of individuals and companies, and the penalties for failing to do this. It changed the way that people viewed workplace health and safety, replacing a very ad-hoc approach with a far more proactive one, with employees provided with the training and equipment they needed to do their jobs safely. 

Finally, the way the Act was written made it easy for successive UK Governments to adapt or change the legislation in line with changing needs. Subsequent provisions for working with asbestos and, more recently, Display Screen Equipment, are just two examples of how the HSWA has changed to ensure on-going protection for workers.

Still Work to be Done

All that said, there is still plenty of work to be done to ensure the Act stays relevant in today’s ever-changing working environment. There are several criticisms that have been levelled at the HSWA in recent years, and adding these in, or making changes in line with them, would go some way to ensuring its continuing relevance:

• Mental Health: the Act currently does not address Mental Health specifically. With an increasing focus on this area, as well as a drive to ensure employers address any issues, this is a key area in any update in the near future.
• Enforcement: there are criticisms that, although duties are clearly outlined, enforcement hasn’t been as strong as it has needed to be. Improving the powers under the Act could help to ensure better protection for workers.
• Resources: consideration needs to be made as to the regulatory burden placed on smaller organisations when it comes to compliance. Where there are fewer resources available to do this in organisations, more help could be provided.

These are all areas in which the Act could be improved, but that isn’t to say that it won’t continue to improve and help organisations, managers and workers stay safe at work. So let’s celebrate all the good work that has been done in the past 50 years, and here’s to the next 50 years and continuing to feel safe and be safe at work.