The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places responsibilities on both employer and employees. Section 2 of the Act states "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees ... in particular the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe without risks to health; ....." Section 7 of the Act states "It shall be the duty of every employee, while at work (a) to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work ...."

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require all employers to assess the risks to workers and any others who may be affected by their undertaking. All work activities require a systematic examination and to record the significant findings of the risk assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to determine what measures should be taken to comply with any relevant statutory duties. Risk assessments need to be reviewed and activities revised as appropriate. Employers are also required to have effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive and protective measures, appointing a competent person from their workforce to provide them with assistance on health and safety matters.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require all employers to assess the risks to workers and any others who may be affected by their undertaking. All work activities require a systematic examination and to record the significant findings of the risk assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to determine what measures should be taken to comply with any relevant statutory duties. Risk assessments need to be reviewed and activities revised as appropriate. Employers are also required to have effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive and protective measures, appointing a competent person from their workforce to provide them with assistance on health and safety matters.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to ensure that their workplaces comply with the Regulations. These Regulations deal with maintenance; ventilation temperature and lighting; cleanliness and waste material; room dimensions, floors and traffic routes; windows, doors and walls; sanitary conveniences; rest and meal facilities; etc.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require employers to ensure that the equipment is used only for the operations and under operating conditions for which it is suitable. The Regulations apply to all work equipment from machinery to loose tools. "Use" includes a whole range of activities including servicing, cleaning, maintenance, repairing, transporting as well as manufacturing.

The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at Work Regulations 1992 The Regulations require employers to provide PPE when, as a last resort, attendant risks cannot be controlled by other means; to select PPE that is suitable; and to provide training with the equipment to ensure that the equipment is correctly used and maintained.

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 lays down minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment. The Schedule to the Regulations specifies the technical requirements that have to be achieved. The Regulations apply not only to conventional display screens but also to all forms of display equipment including non-electrical means (e.g. microfiche readers, process control panels). The employer must determine whether employees fall within the definition of a "user", then ensure that the user, equipment and the environment it is used in are suitable for the purpose and type of work.

The Manual Handling Regulations 1992 seek to prevent injury from manual handling of loads and revoke and replace all previous legislation concerned with the lifting and carrying of heavy weights. "Manual handling operations" means any transporting or supporting of a load by hand or bodily force, i.e. putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving. The employer has a general duty to ensure so far as is reasonable practicable, the health and safety at work of all employees. Where a hazardous manual handling operation cannot be avoided, a thorough assessment must be undertaken, and measures must be introduced to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) require the documentation of use and the associated control measures for all substances used within the plant. Usage may require a risk assessment to determine that usage is safe. Documentation should also include emergency procedures to be used in case of an accident.

The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require that lifting equipment provided for use at work is strong and stable enough for the particular use and marked to indicate safe working loads; positioned and installed to minimise any risks; used safely, i.e. the work is planned, organised and performed by competent people and is subject to ongoing thorough examination and where appropriate, inspection by competent people.