EARNIST COOK ULTRASOUND RESEARCH AND

EDUCATION INSTITUTE
NAME NABAGESERA ASHA
YEAR OF STUDY; YEAR 3 TRIMESTER 2

COURSE,; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

LECTURER; DOCTOR SSEMATIMBA HENRY
TOPIC ; LEGAL ASPECTS OF OCCUPATION HEALTH.
 The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law on December 29, 1970

Its purposes were to assure safe and healthful working conditions for the nation's working men and
women
 to preserve human resources.
The Act delegated certain major responsibilities and authorities to the Department of Labor: to modify,
and improve mandatory occupational safety and health;
to prescribe regulations for maintaining accurate records.
 to develop and maintain statistics on occupational safety and health.
 to establish and supervise programs for the education and training of employee and employer personnel.
Introduction
There are three major sources of English law:

1 statute—or Acts of Parliament comprising primary legislation;

• 2 common law—the principles of law accumulated from the decisions of judges in
• cases presented to them in the courts over the years;
• 3 European directives and regulations.

• Criminal law primarily deters and punishes offenders through prosecutions by

• the State and its public officials.
• Cases are referred to in terms of ‘Crown v. defendant’
• or ‘R (Regina) v. defendant’ and are heard in criminal courts, that is, a Magistrates Court,
• or for more serious offences, in a Crown Court. Successful conviction requires proof
• ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ and results in a penalty for the offender, for example fines
• or prison sentences.
CONTINUATION
• ` For breaches of health and safety legislation, it is the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) and the local authorities who bring about criminal prosecutions

• Civil law primarily compensates for injury or loss proved to be resulting from a
failure to carry out a duty of care owed to the wronged party.

• Health and safety cases in civil courts arise mainly from either breach of
statutory duty or negligence, where the claimant must prove that he was owed
a duty of care by the defendant and that his injuries or losses were a
foreseeable consequence of failure by the defendant to take reasonable care.
Terms

A Statute, or Act of Parliament, is a specific piece of primary legislation introduced

into the body of law by Parliament, often under the guidance of the Government.

• Regulations are laws made by Parliament and usually made under the Health and
Safety at Work Act following proposals from the Health and Safety Commission .

• Approved Codes of Practice (ACoP) provide guidance on how to apply the law and
have a special legal status.

• As a hospital administrator should know and also encourage health workers to

follow them.
Duties of a hospital administrator towards
legal aspects of occupational health and safety
• Employers’ statutory duties

• As hospital administrators you must make sure that medics have a safe system of work.
• As a hospital administrator you must make sure that there is a safe place of work;
• You must also make sure that staff are given information, instruction and training on
matters of health and safety.
• As a hospital administrator make sure that staff are adequately supervised may be by
there in charges.
• Make sure that there is a safe system for the handling, storage and transport of
substances and materials.
• Also make sure that there is a safe working environment for all medics and support staff.
• Employees’ statutory duties
• Employees have duties under Sections 7 and 8 to take reasonable care to ensure the
• health and safety of themselves and others, to cooperate on any matter on health and
• safety and to do nothing that could endanger their health and safety or those of others.

• Part of this duty includes the duty to inform the employer truthfully when requested
• for information on matters concerning medical history. Failing to disclose,
• when requested, material information about previous or current medical conditions
• may result in a finding of fair dismissal should the employer take the decision to dismiss
• the employee for this reason
The institutions

• The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was set up under the HASWA 1974,
and is
• responsible for policy. It consists of a chairman, three employer representatives,
• three employee representatives and up to three representatives from other
bodies,
• for example local authorities and consumer organisations. The Health and
Safety
• Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing the Act for all public services, and
for the agriculture, construction and manufacturing industries
• Common law duties of employers
• At common law, employers have an obligation to take reasonable care
of all their
• employees, and to guard against reasonably foreseeable risks of
injury. These duties
• are judged in the light of the ‘state of the art’ of knowledge of the
employers—either
• that which they knew or ought to know
• Employees’ duties
• At common law, employees have implied duties, including the duty to
work with
• reasonable care and competence and to serve their employer loyally
and faithfully.
Occupational health and safety laws
• Act 2000,provides compensation to workers for injuries suffered and
diseases incurred in the course of their employment.
• Act 2000, part ii, section ii states that , where a worker has given notice of
an accident, the employer is reliable to pay for the cost of the medical care.
• 2006 constitution, article 25(2),no person shall be required to perform
forced labor.
• 2006 constitution , article 39; every person has aright to a clean and healthy
environment.
• 2006 constitution, article 40(6) workers are entitled to period of holidays
with pay.
• 2006 constitution , article 40 ( 2);every person in Uganda has aright to
practice his or her profession and to carry out any lawful
occupation ,trade or business.
• 2006 constitution, article 40(3) every worker has a right to form or
join a trade union of his or her interest for promotion of his economic
interests.
• 2006constitutional article 40(4)
• The employer of every woman worker shall accord her protection
during pregnancy and after birth in accordance with the law.
The regulations
The ‘six pack
• A set of regulations drawn up under the HASWA came into force in 1993,
although
• some have been updated since then. They comprise:
• • Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
• • Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992;
• • Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998;
• • Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992;
• • Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992;
• • Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992.
Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999

• The core duty under these regulations as a hospital administrator you

must make a ‘suitable and sufficient’ assessment of the health and safety
risks both for employees and all others in the workplace.

• Emergency procedures must be set up, and information and training

must be provided to all employees, as well as appropriate health
surveillance, if the risk assessment identifies a need.
• The regulations also stipulate the need for a further risk assessment for
women of child-bearing age, in addition to the general risk assessment.
Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992

• These deal primarily with aspects of the working environment and

cover ventilation; temperature; lighting; cleanliness and waste; room
dimensions and space; workstations
• and seating; floors; surfaces; lavatories; and facilities for washing, rest
and eating. An
• ACoP gives further guidance on the above.
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)
1998

• These require that equipment provided at work for use by employees

is suitable for its intended use, safe, maintained safely, regularly
inspected and provided with all safety measures, for example guards
and warning signs.
• A risk assessment on all such equipment must be made and risks
controlled as far as reasonably practicable.
• As the hospital administrator you must provide information,
instruction and training to all employees who will use or maintain the
equipment.
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992

As a hospital administrator you must make sure that Suitable personal

protective equipment (PPE) (appropriate for the task, the work
environment and for the employee) must be provided to employees
exposed to a health and safety risk.
• employer must provide instruction and training. The equipment must
comply with EC
• standards, and be regularly checked and maintained.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations
1992

• Manual handling is defined in the Regulations as ‘any transporting or supporting of

• a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving
• thereof ) by hand or by bodily force’. The essence of these regulations is that
manual
• handling operations posing a health and safety risk must be eliminated, and if this
is
• not possible then the employer must make a suitable and sufficient risk
assessment and
• implement measures to reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable.
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

• These cover computers, laptops, CCTVs, or any other equipment used for the display
• of text or graphics and apply to anyone using such equipment habitually as a significant
• part of their normal work, whether employee, self employed or working from
• home. Further guidance is given on the interpretation of ‘habitually’ and ‘significant part
• of normal work’ but generally those who work for an hour or more continuously, on a
• more or less daily basis are likely to be covered. A suitable and sufficient health and
• safety risk assessment must be carried out by the employer, and regular breaks must be
• incorporated into the display screen equipment (DSE) working pattern. Information
• and training must be provided for employees and the workstations must comply with
• the detailed requirements of the regulations, which stipulate details about lighting,
• noise, temperature, glare; user-software interface, legroom, and suitable chairs etc. The
• employer must provide free eye and eyesight tests by competent persons on request
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations
2002
• These require the employer to assess the risks to health arising from
work with
• hazardous substances, and to prevent the exposure if reasonably
practicable. If not,
• exposure must be adequately controlled by:
• • applying the eight principles of good practice set out in Schedule 2A
• Employment protection legislation
• (i) Right not to be discriminated against or dismissed
• Employees have statutory protection from being unfairly dismissed and unlawfully
• discriminated against because they have raised matters of health and safety
concerns
• with their employer10.
• 10 Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides protection from any
detriment
• applied to an employee who raises health and safety complaints, and Section 100
renders it an
• inadmissible reason for dismissal to dismiss on such grounds
• (iv) Medical evidence and medical reports
• In assessing the fitness or unfitness for work, and the prognosis as to the
return date to
• work of an employee off sick, the tribunals have made it clear that
employers should
• not rely upon medical certificates alone.

• A full medical report should be sought by the employer or the occupational

health physician or nurse (if there is one). Employers are
• required to inform the doctor of the purpose of the medical report sought.
• It is not
• regarded as fair to request a medical report without first making its purpose
clear.
• In most cases, employers will state that the report is required in order to
plan for the
• work in the department and administer the sick pay scheme(s).

• Doctors should always ensure that they are clear as to why the employer is
seeking such a report, and write to
• ask if it is not clear before carrying out the examination
• (v) Conflicting medical advice
• In some cases, employers receive conflicting medical opinions—the employee’s
• own specialist or GP stating that the individual is unfit to return to work and the occupational
• health practitioner confirming that the individual is fit to return to work.
• In such a dilemma, the tribunals have made it clear that employers are entitled to
• rely upon the view of their occupational health practitioner unless:
• 1 the occupational health practitioner has not personally examined the individual, but
• has merely written a report on the basis of the medical notes;
• 2 the occupational health practitioner’s report is vague and indeterminate!;
• 3 the continued employment of the individual would pose a serious threat of health or
• safety to the individual or others;
• 4 the individual has
• vi) Disclosure of medical notes
• In a case of dismissal for refusing to return to work, the medical notes made by the
• occupational health practitioner may be ordered by the court to be disclosed to the
• individual. This may include the notes made by the occupational health practitioner to
• the consultant and to the management of the company.
• In Ford Motor Co Ltd v. Nawaz13, Mr Nawaz had been off sick for some 18
• months with a bad back. He was eventually sent to an independent consultant who
• stated that there was no evidence of any neurological symptoms. Dr Dhanapala, one of
• Ford’s occupational health practitioners, wrote a report to management based on this
• consultant’s report. When Mr Nawaz refused to return, continuing to send in medical
• statements, he was dismissed for unauthorised absence
• (xii) Early retirement on medical grounds
• In some cases in which the employee is permanently incapacitated from any further
• full-time permanent employment with the employer, the individual may be dismissed
• and given an early retirement pension. The common law courts have also indicated that
• the employer must act in good faith in deciding such cases—Mihlenstedt v. Barclays
• Bank International 20.
• It will be important for medical practitioners to read the exact wording of any
• pension scheme in this regard, particularly if a medical examination is to be performed
• in order to assess eligibility. It would be wise for medical practitioners to require a
• copy of the sick pay scheme, PHI scheme and pension fund rules as they apply to early
• medical pensions
• Pocked consultant occupation health compress
• Thank you for listening.