Effective management of health and safety requires the commitment and involvement of the entire workforce. In recognition of this, health and safety law requires employers to involve their employees in health and safety issues, through information provision and consultation.
Employers have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to provide their employees with the information, instruction and training that are necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, their health and safety at work. More specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 oblige employers to provide their employees with certain health and safety information, including the risks to health and safety that have been identified in the workplace and the preventive and protective measures that are being taken to avoid those risks. Many health and safety regulations dealing with specific issues, such as work equipment, noise at work and manual handling, also require employers to provide employees with information.
In addition, the law imposes a general obligation on employers to consult their workforce on health and safety issues. The way in which consultation occurs depends on whether the employer recognises a trade union for the purposes of collective bargaining. If the employer does bargain with a union, it must consult with union-appointed safety representatives, who can ask for a safety committee to be formed (see 'Safety representatives and committees' below). If employees are not covered by a union representative, either because no union is recognised or because the union's safety representatives do not represent the entire workforce, the employer must consult with them either directly or through elected health and safety representatives (consultation with unrepresented employees ).
If a company bargains with a union, the union is entitled to appoint safety representatives from amongst the company's employees, under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977.
Safety representatives have extensive functions. These include:
investigating potential hazards and dangerous occurrences at the workplace;
examining the causes of accidents;
investigating employees' complaints about health and safety; and
making representations to the employer about these issues.
Safety representatives also have the right to carry out safety inspections and to represent employees in consultations at the workplace with health and safety inspectors. The employer must provide safety representatives with whatever facilities and assistance they reasonably require to enable them to carry out their functions.
An employer is obliged under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and under the Safety Representatives Regulations to consult with its safety representatives about certain issues. These include:
how the employer and the workforce can work together to promote a safe and healthy workplace;
how any changes, including the introduction of new technology, may affect employees' health and safety;
the employer's arrangements for appointing competent persons to assist it with meeting its health and safety duties; and
any health and safety information and training the employer is legally required to provide to its workforce.
Under the Safety Representatives Regulations, the employer must provide the representatives with the information they need to fulfil their functions, such as information about changes that may affect health and safety, and technical information about hazards and safety precautions. Representatives also have the right to inspect and copy any health and safety records the employer is legally required to keep, other than individuals' health records.
If at least two safety representatives request it, the employer must establish a safety committee to review its health and safety measures. The Health and Safety Commission has issued a Code of Practice on safety representatives and guidance on the operation of safety committees ( Employee involvement links ). Although it is not unlawful in itself for an employer to disregard the Code, its contents may be taken into account by a court or tribunal when deciding whether the employer has met its obligations under health and safety law.
As discussed above (safety representatives and committees ), where an employer negotiates with a union, the union has the right to appoint safety representatives. However, employees will not have access to a safety representative if:
their employer does not recognise a union, or
a union is recognised but it does not represent the entire workforce, or
the union has not appointed safety representatives.
In these circumstances, the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 apply. These Regulations require the employer to consult with any employees who are not covered by union-appointed safety representatives on matters relating to health and safety at work and, in particular, on:
how any changes, including the introduction of new technology, may affect employees' health and safety;
the employer's arrangements for appointing competent persons to assist it with meeting its health and safety duties; and
any health and safety information and training the employer is legally required to provide to its workforce.
An employer can choose to carry out this consultation directly with its employees, or through those of its employees who have been elected as representatives of employee safety, or a combination of both. The Health and Safety Executive has issued a guide to the Consultation Regulations ( Employee involvement links ), which suggests that an employer that wishes to consult with its employees direct could do so through a variety of methods, including:
briefing meetings;
quality circles;
staff councils;
noticeboards;
newsletters;
e-mail; or
surveys.
The employer must provide the employees, or their elected representatives, with the information that is necessary to enable them to participate fully and effectively in the consultation, such as information on workplace risks and hazards and measures the employer is taking to eliminate or reduce them.
Unlike elections of employee representatives in the context of large-scale redundancies and business transfers, there are no detailed legal requirements for the election of representatives of employee safety. The Health and Safety Executive's guide to the Consultation Regulations does, however, give some guidance on holding a fair election. It suggests, for example, that when deciding how many representatives there are to be, an employer should take into account:
the number of employees involved;
the different occupational or geographical groups into which they are divided;
the nature of their work; and
the health and safety risks to which they may be exposed.
In addition to their role in consultation, elected representatives of employee safety have other functions. They can make representations to the employer on potential hazards and dangerous occurrences and on general health and safety matters, and they can represent employees in consultations at the workplace with health and safety inspectors. The employer must provide them with the information that is necessary for them to carry out these functions, and any information contained in records of injuries, disease and dangerous occurrences that the employer is legally required to keep. The employer must also provide the representatives with a reasonable amount of training in their functions and whatever other facilities and assistance they may reasonably require. This could include, for example, a list of the employees they represent and where they work, and communication, distribution and photocopying facilities.