Laying down the law at work

HEALTH MATTERS: A new guide clearly explains enforcement powers of Health and Safety Authority.

Prosecution of directors, managers and employees - and liability for reckless behaviour - are among the issues addressed in a recent comprehensive publication on work law in the Republic.

Raymond Byrne's Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Law in Ireland: A Guide is the third edition of a guide first published in 1990 and updated in 1995. Written from a lawyer's perspective on the basis of materials available to the author in July 2001, the book examines the general principles and specific aspects of safety, health and welfare at work law.

More than 600 people have died in Irish workplaces since the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 was introduced. According to Byrne, there are as many as 9,000 to 9,500 work-related compensation claims in the Irish courts every year and more than 500,000 working days lost annually due to accidents.

Directors, managers and other corporate officers can be prosecuted where an offence under the 1989 Act committed by an organisation "is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary, or other similar officer".

Referring to one such successful prosecution in the Republic, Byrne says that prosecutions of managers or directors, while rare, "are clearly quite significant in that the imposition of a criminal conviction can have important implications far beyond any fine that might be imposed".

On prosecution of employees, Byrne says, based on British experience, employees could be prosecuted - citing the case of an English chemistry teacher who was prosecuted when a student he was supervising badly injured his hand in a laboratory experiment.

Byrne addresses liability for reckless behaviour in a chapter on road transport. He says that if an employee is "on the job" when involved in a traffic accident, the employer is liable for the actions of the employee "even if the employee is negligent".

He cites an incident where a petrol tanker driver smoked while petrol was being transferred from the tanker to a storage tank. He threw away the match, which landed near the tank causing an explosion and damage to people and property. His employer was held liable "because although the employee was grossly negligent, he was doing what he was employed to do, namely deliver petrol".

In the same chapter, he deals with issues such as journey planning and what legal responsibilities arise for an employer where an employee is required to drive in inclement weather conditions. In essence, suggests Byrne, an employer is not legally obliged to order an employee not to travel during bad weather but could be held liable if a worker was ordered to travel in poor conditions.

The book succinctly explains the enforcement powers of the Health and Safety Authority, with its rights of entry and inspection, improvement directions, improvement notices, prohibition notices, prohibition orders and criminal prosecutions.

It explains employers' obligation to engage "competent" personnel to have responsibility for health and safety. Obligations on employers to report different categories of incidents are presented, including fatal accidents, three-day accidents (where employees cannot work for three or more days) and specified dangerous occurrences.

The book records employers' legal responsibility to keep lists of employees who may have been exposed to biological agents, chemicals or dangerous substances and the time limits for keeping these - up to 40 years depending on the duration of the risk to health. It explains employers' duty to provide health surveillance in certain circumstances.

Employers need to know their duties to employees but they also must pay attention to contractors. A chapter on contractors details the complexity emerging in the modern workplace comprising employees, "semi-permanent" contractors and temporary or part-time workers, and the duties of the employer to these different categories of workers.

Employers' duties under the 2000 Regulations for pregnant employees and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding are competently and clearly explained.

A table of legislation easily directs the reader to find sections dealing with any specific Irish Act, Regulation or Order such as the Occupiers' Liability Act, Organisation of Working Time Act or Carcinogens Regulations. Some British legislation is listed and European Union Directives, such as those concerning noise, temporary and fixed-term employees and young persons.

A detailed list of Irish cases is also provided, with cross-references to the text, together with some British cases and case law from the European Court of Justice.

Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Law in Ireland: A Guide is Published by Nifast, price €49.