Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act , 1989

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act and an order under this subsection may provide for the commencement of section 4 (3) upon different days as respects different existing enactments and different provisions of existing enactments.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“article” includes—

(a) any plant, machinery, apparatus and equipment for use or operation (whether exclusively or not) by persons at work, and

(b) any article designed for use as a component in any such plant, machinery, apparatus or equipment;

“associated statutory provisions” means the provisions of the enactments specified in the third column of the Third Schedule together with the instruments made under them for the time being in force;

“the Authority” means the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health established by section 15;

“code of practice” includes a standard, a specification, and any other written or illustrated form of practical guidance, instruction or control, issued or approved of in accordance with section 30;

“contract of employment” means a contract of employment or service or of apprenticeship, whether it is expressed or implied and (if it is express) whether it is oral or in writing;

“employee” means a person who has entered into or works (or in the case of a contract which has been terminated, worked) under a contract of employment with an employer;

“employer” in relation to an employee, means the person by whom the employee is employed under a contract of employment; for the purpose of this definition a person holding office under or in the service of the State or of the Government shall be deemed to be employed by the State or the Government (as the case may be) and an officer or servant of a local authority or of a harbour authority, health board or vocational education committee shall be deemed to be employed by the local authority, harbour authority, health board or vocational education committee (as the case may be);

“enforcing agency” means a body prescribed to be an enforcing agency under section 32;

“establishment day” means the day appointed by the Minister under section 14 to be the establishment day;

“existing enactments” means the enactments specified in Part I of the Second Schedule, and any instruments under them, for the time being in force; and the regulations under the European Communities Act, 1972, for the time being in force specified in Part II of the said Second Schedule;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“improvement notice” means a notice under section 36;

“improvement plan” means a plan under section 35;

“inspector” means an inspector authorised under section 33;

“local authority” includes—

(a) the council of a county,

(b) the corporation of a county borough, or

(c) the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire,

and such local authority shall exercise its functions under this Act within its functional area;

“micro-organism” includes any microscopic biological entity which is capable of replication;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Labour;

“occupational medical adviser” means a person designated under section 34 (4) to be an occupational medical adviser;

“personal injury” includes any disease and any impairment of a person's physical or mental condition;

“place of work” includes any place, land or other location at, in, upon or near which, work is carried on whether occasionally or otherwise and in particular includes—

(a) a premises,

(b) an installation on land and any offshore installation (including any offshore installation to which the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, applies),

(c) a tent, temporary structure or movable structure, and

(d) a vehicle, vessel or aircraft;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Minister except in sections 36 (3), 37 (6) (a) and 42 (4) (a) where it means prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Minister for Justice in consultation with the Minister;

“prohibition notice” means a notice under section 37;

“recognised trade unions and staff associations” means trade unions and staff associations recognised by the Authority for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of employees;

“relevant statutory provisions” means existing enactments and the provisions of this Act and any instrument made under it for the time being in force;

“safety representative” means a safety representative appointed under section 13;

“safety statement” has the meaning assigned to it by section 12;

“self-employed person” means a person who works for profit or gain otherwise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he himself employs other persons;

“substance” includes any natural or artificial substance, preparation or agent in solid or liquid form or as a gas or vapour or as a micro-organism;

“use” in so far as any article is concerned includes the manufacture, supply, operation, setting, repair, cleaning and maintenance of such articles; and in so far as any substance is concerned, includes any manufacture, process, operation, storage, treatment, mixing, packing, conveyance, supply, handling, filling or emptying, loading and unloading of such substance.

(2) (a) In this Act a reference to a section or a Schedule is to a section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended;

(b) in this Act a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended; and

(c) a reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by any subsequent enactment.

(3) References to an inspector in sections 35, 36 and 37 shall, in any case in which the enforcing agency is a local authority, be construed as a reference to that local authority.

3 Service of notices, etc.

3.—(1) Any document (including any summons, notice or order) required or authorised to be served, sent or given under the relevant statutory provisions on or to any person may be served or sent in some one of the following ways—

(a) where it is addressed to him by name, by delivering it to such person, or in the case of a partnership by delivery to any of the partners;

(b) by leaving it at the address at which he ordinarily resides;

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to him at the address at which he ordinarily resides, or in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address;

(d) where the address at which such person ordinarily resides cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry and notice is required to be served on, or given to, him in respect of any place of work, by delivering it to a person over the age of sixteen years of age resident in or employed at a place of work or by affixing it in a conspicuous position on or near the place of work.

(2) Any document (including any summons, notice or order) required or authorised to be served or sent under the relevant statutory provisions may be served on or sent to a body, whether corporate or unincorporated—

(a) by leaving it at, or sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter to, the registered office (if any) of the body;

(b) by leaving it at, or sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter to, any place at which the body conducts business; or

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter to any person who is a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body or is purporting to act in any such capacity at the place where he ordinarily resides or by leaving it at that place.

4 Repeals.

4.—(1) The following provisions of the existing enactments are hereby repealed—

(a) section 113 of the Factories Act, 1955, section 42 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, section 149 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, and section 60 of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, from the coming into operation of section 3 of this Act;

(b) section 125(1) of the Factories Act, 1955, section 46 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, section 65(1) of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, and sections 15(1) and (2) of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, from the coming into operation of section 9 of this Act;

(c) section 9 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, from the coming into operation of section 10 of this Act;

(d) section 39 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, and section 26 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, from the coming into operation of section 12 of this Act;

(e) section 73 of the Factories Act, 1955, sections 35, 36, 37 and 38 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, and sections 23, 24 and 25 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, from the coming into operation of section 13 of this Act;

(f) section 127 of the Factories Act, 1955, section 49 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, section 24 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, section 151 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, and section 2 of the Dangerous Substances (Amendment) Act, 1979, from the coming into operation of section 17 of this Act;

(g) sections 93 to 95 of the Factories Act, 1955, sections 27 to 29 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, sections 130 and 131 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, sections 39 and 40 of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, and section 53 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, from the coming into operation of sections 33 and 34 of this Act;

(h) section 11 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, and section 132 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, from the coming into operation of section 37 of this Act;

(i) section 78 of the Factories Act, 1955, sections 103 and 104 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, sections 29 and 30 of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, and section 31 of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, from the coming into operation of sections 46 and 47 of this Act;

(j) section 110 of the Factories Act, 1955, section 55(1) of the Dangerous Substances Act, 1972, section 39 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, section 55 of the Safety in Industry Act, 1980, and section 37(1) of the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, from the coming into operation of section 51 of this Act;

(k) section 111 of the Factories Act, 1955, and section 40 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, from the coming into operation of section 52 of this Act;

(l) section 112 of the Factories Act, 1955, and section 41 of the Office Premises Act, 1958, from the coming into operation of section 53 of this Act;

(m) section 114 of the Factories Act, 1955, and section 150 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965, from the coming into operation of section 54 of this Act.

(2) From the coming into operation of section 49 the existing enactments mentioned in the second column of the Fifth Schedule (relating to penalties) are hereby repealed or revoked as the case may single be to the extent specified in the third column thereof.

(3) The existing enactments (other than those referred to in subsections (1) and (2) and those set out in Part II of the Second Schedule) are hereby repealed.

5 Expenses.

5.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II General Duties

6 General duties of employers to their employees.

6.—(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of all his employees.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of an employer's duty under subsection (1), the matters to which that duty extends include in particular—

(a) as regards any place of work under the employer's control, the design, the provision and the maintenance of it in a condition that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health;

(b) so far as is reasonably practicable, as regards any place of work under the employer's control, the design, the provision and the maintenance of safe means of access to and egress from it;

(c) the design, the provision and the maintenance of plant and machinery that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health;

(d) the provision of systems of work that are planned, organised, performed and maintained so as to be, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risk to health;

(e) the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and health at work of his employees;

(f) in circumstances in which it is not reasonably practicable for an employer to control or eliminate hazards in a place of work under his control, or in such circumstances as may be prescribed, the provision and maintenance of such suitable protective clothing or equipment, as appropriate, that are necessary to ensure the safety and health at work of his employees;

(g) the preparation and revision as necessary of adequate plans to be followed in emergencies;

(h) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and the prevention of risk to health at work in connection with the use of any article or substance;

(i) the provision and the maintenance of facilities and arrangements for the welfare of his employees at work; and

(j) the obtaining, where necessary, of the services of a competent person (whether under a contract of employment or otherwise) for the purpose of ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and health at work of his employees.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person who is undergoing training for employment or receiving work experience, other than when pursuing a course of study in a university, school or college, shall be deemed to be an employee of the person whose undertaking (whether carried on by him for profit or not) is for the time being the immediate provider to that person of training or work experience, and employee, employer and cognate words and expressions shall be construed accordingly.

7 General duties of employers and self-employed to persons other than their employees.

7.—(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their safety or health.

(2) It shall be the duty of every self-employed person to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he and other persons (not being his employees) who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their safety or health.

(3) In such cases as may be prescribed, it shall be the duty of every employer and self-employed person, in the prescribed circumstances, and in the prescribed manner to give to persons (not being his employees) who may be affected by the way in which he conducts his undertaking the prescribed information about such aspects of the way he conducts his undertaking as might affect their safety or health.

8 General duties of persons concerned with places of work to persons other than their employees.

8.—(1) This section has effect for imposing on persons duties in relation to those who are not their employees but who are either the employees of another person or are self-employed and who for the purposes of carrying out work use a non-domestic place of work made available to them or in which they may for the purposes of carrying out work use any article or substance provided for their use there, and it applies to places of work so made available and other non-domestic places of work used in connection with them.

(2) It shall be the duty of each person who has control, to any extent, of any place of work or any part of any place of work to which this section applies or of the means of access thereto or egress therefrom or of any article or substance in such place of work to take such measures as is reasonable for a person in his position to take to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the place of work, all means of access thereto, or egress therefrom available for use by persons using the place of work, and any article or substance in the place of work or, as the case may be, provided for use therein, is or are safe and without risks to health.

(3) Where a person has, by virtue of any contract or tenancy, an obligation of any extent as to—

(a) the maintenance or repair of any place of work to which this section applies or any means of access thereto or egress therefrom; or

(b) the safety of or the absence of risk to health arising from any article or substance in any such place of work;

that person shall be treated, for the purposes of subsection (2), as being a person who has control of the matters to which his obligation extends.

(4) Any reference in this section to a person having control of any place of work or matter is a reference to a person having control of the place of work or matter in connection with the carrying on by him of a trade, business or other undertaking (whether for profit or not).

9 General duties of employees.

9.—(1) It shall be the duty of every employee while at work—

(a) to take reasonable care for his own safety, health and welfare and that of any other person who may be affected by his acts or omissions while at work;

(b) to co-operate with his employer and any other person to such extent as will enable his employer or the other person to comply with any of the relevant statutory provisions;