IRISH LAW

The Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005



The Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

Introduction

Employee safety laws and regulations are prevalent in almost all the developed states. It ensures the safety and well being of employees and provides the right to speak for any discrepancies. According to the health and safety law act of 1005 Ireland, an employee is a person. One of the main legislations provided by the Irish constitution is the health, safety and well being act of 2005 which includes the provision for the responsibilities and obligations of the workers and employees. The act involves the provision of safety, health and welfare as amended after the 1989 act. The act sets out the obligations and rights of employers and employees and provides for penalties and fines for breaches of health and safety legislations.

Provisions of the Act

The responsibility of Health and Safety authority is to ensure the safety and well being of workplace and employees. The authority provides information to employees, employers about their rights and responsibilities in ensuring a healthy work environment. The health safety and welfare act of work 2005 required a duty on employers to give a safe work environment to employees, thus expanding the act of 1989. One of the sections 8 of the act is broad to cover the issues of the new obligations on employers to address the stress related problems of employees in the workplace. It is obligatory to the employers to implement the safety measures for health and welfare of employees determining the perils in undertaking the risk assessment under section 19 of the act. (Doolan, 2011, 25). The safety, health and welfare act of work 2005 sets out the main provisions fro improving the health and safety of people at work. The 2005 act sets out the following:

The requirement for the control of health and safety at work.

The organization, management and systems of work necessary to achieve the health and safety goals.

The role and responsibly of employers, the self employed and the employees,

The enforcement procedures that the organization need to ensure that the goals are met.

The following are the major requirements of the act (Doolan, 2011, 27):

Employer's Duties

Under the law, employers have a duty to ensure employee health, safety and well being at the work place. To prevent workplace safety issues and injury, the employer needs to:

Prevent any inappropriate behaviour or conduct likely to put the health, safety and welfare of employees at risk.

Provide instruction and training to employees on safety and health.

Provide protective uniform or clothing to employees.

Appoint a competent person, as the organization's safety officer (http://www.justice.ie/, as retrieved on October 4, 2011).

Employees' Duties

To take responsibility in order to protect the safety and health of employees.

Not to involve in the inappropriate behaviour responsible for endangering the workplace environment or employees.

Not to be under the influence of drugs or drinks in workplace.

To take any reasonable medication or other assessment if required to do so by the employer.

To report any reasonable medical assessment if requested to do ...