Moves to simplify health and safety take effect

Date:

6 April 2009

Release No:

E029:09

Moves to make health and safety laws easier to understand and comply with take effect from today.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is making four changes to the regulations it is responsible for:

• Introducing a new, easier to read version of the law poster that employers must display
• Reducing the number of forms that employers must complete  
• Simplifying arrangements for the manufacture and storage of explosives
• Aligning chemical hazard information and packaging with new EU regulations

Judith Hackitt, HSE Chair said:

"We are committed to making health and safety work better for everyone. The changes we are introducing today will help ensure that we all benefit from simpler and more effective health and safety regulation - whether that is by making the law easier to understand or getting rid of unnecessary form filling.

"We have saved businesses more than £300 million since we introduced our simplification plan in 2005 and are continually looking for ways to improve."

Today's changes are part of an ongoing drive by HSE to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and make health and safety regulation simpler and more effective.

New law poster

The biggest of the changes is the introduction of new version of its health and safety law poster and leaflet which will provide clearer information for workers about their right to work in places where there health and safety is properly protected.

The posters are a fixture of every workplace in Britain - employers have a legal duty to display the poster in a prominent position or provide each worker with a copy of the leaflet outlining health and safety laws. The new easy-to-read poster and pocket cards focuses on employees and sets out in simple terms what employers and workers must do, including when there is a problem.

HSE is giving businesses five years to switch to the new leaflets and posters - they must be replaced by no later than 5 April 2014. Any employers who choose to keep the old poster after 6 April 2009 must make sure it is legible and keep the addresses of the enforcing authority and the employment medical advisory service up to date.

Premises registration

The abolition of premises registration means that HSE has further reduced the number of health and safety forms that employers in Great Britain have to fill out. 

Previously most employers were required to notify HSE or the relevant local authority of their premises. The changes mean that:

• Factory employers no longer have to complete form F9 to notify HSE.
• Office and shop employers no longer have to complete the OSR1 form and notify their local authority.

HSE and local authorities collect information on businesses to help target their work on the greatest risks. Both are looking to improve the way they use and collect business data, including sharing information.

Manufacture and storage of explosives

Changes to the regulations governing the manufacture and storages of explosives also take effect today after a 12 week consultation.

The amendments to explosives regulations will reduce paperwork for the police and holders of explosives certificates, which will now be valid for up to five years. In addition, the regulations remove 224 sets of redundant local mine regulations as part of HSE's continuing mission to simplify, clarify and modernise the law.

The Chemical Hazard Information and Packaging (CHIP) Supply Regulations

A new version of the Chemicals Hazard Information for Supply (CHIP) Regulations has been produced to align CHIP with the new European Regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures ('CLP' Regulation), which was introduced in January this year.

The main changes are to allow suppliers to comply with the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation as an alternative to CHIP before the CLP Regulation become mandatory on 1st December 2010 for substances and 1st June 2015 for mixtures, and to provide powers for inspectors to enforce the CLP Regulation as well as CHIP.

Notes to editors

1. The new law poster and pocket cards can be ordered from HSE Books. For more information about the law poster visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/lawposter.htm
2. The premises registration changes do not affect other registration or form filling requirements, such as major hazard legislation (enforced by HSE) and food standards (enforced by local authorities). Along with the premises registration, two other obsolete form filling requirements have been removed:
   • railway operators to complete form OSR7 to register certain track-side buildings
   • factory employers to complete and keep a set of five forms known as the "general register"
   For more information about premises registration visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd219-notification.htm.
3. The Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocations) Regulations 2009 take effect from today. These cover amendments to:
   • the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 (MSER),
   • the Control of Explosives Regulations 1991,
   • the Genetically Modified Organism (Contained Use) Regulations 2000
   • the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998
   • the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
4. For more information on the HSE simplification plan visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/simplification/index.htm

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office