Health and Safety at Work Act celebrates 40 years

2014 is the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act, the often misinterpreted legislation which protects millions of employees and the public in the workplace.

By giving people a legal right to be kept safe from work related risks, the Act has arguably saved more lives than any other legislation, including the ban on drink driving and the compulsory wearing of seat belts in cars.

Before the Act was implemented in 1974, around 700 employees were dying every year and hundreds of thousands were being injured. In 2013 the number of deaths had dropped to 133. Although this improvement is partly due to the fall in manufacturing and mining in Great Britain in the last forty years, the Act has still made a significant contribution to better risk management.

The Act also led to the setting up of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), whose responsibility it is to enforce the laws.

A recent HSE campaign underlined the risks that tradespeople face from asbestos after a survey found that only 30% of those asked were able to identify the correct measures for safe asbestos working. The Act is a piece of legislation that deserves a 40th anniversary celebration. It has achieved what it set out to do, which is to insist upon high standards of health and safety in places of work.