Every year, thousands of people are injured at work, and many more become ill because of the work they do. Most of these accidents and illnesses could have been prevented.

This course gives you a practical understanding of health and safety at work: the law, risk assessment, workplace safety and welfare, and the most common hazards you are likely to meet. It is suitable for employees, supervisors and managers in any type of workplace.

Data from the Health and Safety Authority show that many thousands of people in Ireland deal with work-related illness, whether new or long-standing. Asbestos-related disease remains a leading cause of work-related deaths from ill health, and respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal injuries and workplace stress are also major contributors to poor health. Thousands of workplace accidents are reported to the Authority, and some of them are fatal. The main causes of fatal accidents are falls from height, being hit by moving vehicles or objects, being trapped by something collapsing or overturning, and contact with moving machinery.

Following effective health and safety practice is essential to reduce these numbers. This course gives you a sound understanding of the key issues, so that you can keep your workplace safe and protect yourself and others from harm.

In this module you will learn about:

• Why health and safety matters.
• The main causes of ill health and accidents at work.
• The main health and safety law, and the duties of employers and employees.
• Who enforces health and safety law.
• Reporting accidents and dangerous occurrences.

Good health and safety brings real benefits:

• People go home safe and well at the end of every working day.
• Fewer accidents, less sickness absence and lower staff turnover.
• Lower costs from damage, lost production, insurance claims and fines.
• A better reputation with customers, and better morale among staff.
• Compliance with the law.

Accidents and ill health cause pain and suffering to the people involved and their families, and can cost a business far more than prevention would have.

The most common causes of work-related ill health are:

• Stress, depression and anxiety.
• Musculoskeletal disorders, such as back pain, often caused by manual handling and poor posture.

The most common causes of injuries are slips, trips and falls, manual handling, and being struck by moving objects. Falls from height, and being struck by vehicles or caught in machinery, are among the leading causes of deaths at work.

The leading causes of work-related ill health are stress, depression and anxiety, and musculoskeletal disorders. Other major causes are occupational lung disease, skin diseases such as dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome and noise-induced hearing loss. These conditions can arise in any workplace, so they must be controlled. Thousands of non-fatal injuries are reported by employers every year, and surveys show that the true number of injured workers is higher still.

The most serious accidents come from falls from height, being struck by moving vehicles and objects, and being trapped by something overturning or collapsing. The most common are slips and trips on the same level, handling, lifting and carrying, being struck by a moving object, and acts of violence. Some of these risks are more common in particular workplaces, which is why risk assessment is so important.

Health and safety is influenced by two broad kinds of factor. Environmental factors relate to the working environment itself. They usually affect everyone in that environment and can be difficult to avoid. Dust, extreme temperatures and noise are environmental factors, and so is working around toxic substances or ionising radiation. Human factors relate to how a person behaves or performs tasks at work. Examples are rushing a task, or having had no proper training.

Every task needs proper training, instruction and information so that it can be done safely. Many accidents happen because people do not know how to do their work safely, or because they choose to ignore the training and instructions they were given. All employers must make sure risks are assessed, controlled and monitored so that employees are kept safe from harm.

In Ireland, the main law is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. It applies to every employer, employee and self-employed person, in every workplace.

It is supported by regulations, most importantly the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, which cover topics such as the workplace, manual handling, display screen equipment, work at height, electricity, noise, vibration, first aid and accident reporting.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is the primary health and safety legislation in Ireland. It requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees. "As far as is reasonably practicable" means that where a risk is more than negligible, appropriate measures must be taken to manage it. In practice, employers must put in place the control measures needed to reduce risk unless they can show that the risk is small compared with the time, effort and money needed to control it.

Section 19 of the Act places the duty to assess risk on the employer, and the Act is supported by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, which deal with particular hazards.

Under section 8 of the 2005 Act, employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of their employees. This includes:

• A safe place of work, with safe access and exit.
• Safe equipment, and safe systems of work.
• Safe handling, storage and use of articles and substances.
• Information, instruction, training and supervision.
• Welfare facilities, and protective equipment where risks cannot be avoided.
• Emergency plans, and consultation with employees on safety.

Under section 13 of the 2005 Act, employees also have legal duties. You must:

• Take reasonable care of your own safety and health, and that of anyone affected by what you do.
• Co-operate with your employer on health and safety.
• Use equipment, protective clothing and safety devices correctly, as you have been trained.
• Report hazards, defects and unsafe practices as soon as possible.
• Never interfere with or misuse anything provided for safety.
• Not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs at work, in a way that could endanger anyone.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 lists what employers must provide to keep employees safe and healthy. The first is a safe workplace and safe systems of work for all employees, with the arrangements and procedures for safe working considered for every activity. The second is safe access and egress, so that staff can move around and leave the premises safely at all times.

The third is supervision, to make sure staff understand and follow safe systems of work. The fourth is information, instruction and training, so that employees understand their roles and get the support they need. The fifth is a safe working environment in which hazards and risks are eliminated or minimised. Employees have duties too: to take reasonable care of themselves and others, to report shortcomings in protection arrangements, not to interfere with safety measures, and to cooperate with their employer.

Every employer must identify the hazards in the workplace, assess the risks, and put controls in place. This is the risk assessment, covered in the next module.

Every employer must also prepare a written safety statement. It sets out how safety and health will be managed, the hazards and risks identified, the controls in place, the emergency arrangements, and the people responsible. It must be brought to the attention of all employees.

One of the main requirements of the 2005 Act is that every employer identifies the hazards and assesses the risks in writing. The employer has the duty to do this, and only competent people should carry them out. A competent person is someone with adequate training, skills, experience and knowledge to carry out the process safely. Employers must evaluate the risks to employees and anyone else affected by the work, record the significant findings, and plan, organise, control, monitor and review the preventive and protective measures.

The General Application Regulations deal with topics such as display screen equipment, manual handling, work at height, electricity, noise and first aid, while separate regulations cover chemical agents and asbestos. All the provisions relevant to your workplace must be followed. Employers must also make sure that directors, managers and employees understand the health and safety issues in their workplace, and should seek expert advice.

In Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority, or HSA, enforces health and safety law. HSA inspectors can enter workplaces, investigate accidents, and take samples and photographs. Where they find problems, they can:

• Give verbal or written advice.
• Issue an Improvement Direction or an Improvement Notice, requiring the problem to be put right.
• Issue a Prohibition Notice, stopping a dangerous activity immediately.
• Prosecute. On conviction on indictment, fines can reach 3 million euro, with up to two years in prison.

The Health and Safety Authority is the government body responsible for workplace health and safety in Ireland. It gives advice, which you can ask for at any time, investigates serious accidents, and inspects workplaces such as offices, shops and warehouses. HSA inspectors have strong legal powers. They can demand entry to a workplace without notice, prosecute a company, an employer or an employee, and issue improvement or prohibition notices that must be obeyed.

Usually they give verbal or informal written advice first. If a business fails to comply with the law, they can issue an improvement notice requiring action within a set time. If there is imminent risk, a prohibition notice stops the activity until the risk is controlled. Serious breaches can be prosecuted whether or not an accident has happened, so that proper health and safety supervision is secured.

Every job and occupation has its own health and safety hazards. Construction sites must give priority to working at height, the stability of structures, moving machinery, lifting operations, manual handling, asbestos and demolition. Office environments focus more on display screen equipment, fire safety, slips, trips and falls, and ergonomics. Clinical settings need to deal with hazardous substances, infection control and the ergonomics of moving patients.

This is why a risk assessment of your own workplace is needed, because it picks out the hazards that actually apply to you. You can contact your health and safety regulator or look at its website for information about specific workplaces and detailed guidance on a wide range of health and safety topics.

Under the General Application Regulations, employers must report certain accidents and dangerous occurrences to the HSA:

• Any accident that kills an employee, or leaves them unable to carry out their normal work for more than three consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident.
• Any accident to a person who is not an employee, such as a visitor, that requires medical treatment.
• Certain dangerous occurrences, even if nobody was hurt.

Fatal accidents must be reported immediately. All accidents should be recorded and investigated, so that they do not happen again.

In some situations the law requires workplace accidents and illnesses to be recorded and reported to the Health and Safety Authority. Employers and others in control of premises must report and keep records of accidents and certain dangerous occurrences, which are near-miss incidents. A report is required when someone is injured at work and is absent from work for more than three consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident.

Fatal accidents must be reported to the Authority immediately. Reports are also needed for injuries to members of the public or non-employees where the injury requires medical treatment. If you have an accident at work, tell your supervisor, manager or employer immediately.