326 / 482
GAZETTE.
SEPTEMBER 1989
porters, suppliers of articles and
substances for use at work;
duties of designers and builders of
places of work. Most of the duties
existed already to some degree
under the civil law and tort of
negligence.
Section 6 outlines the general
duty on every employer. It states
" I t shall be the duty of every
employer to ensure,
so far as is
reasonably practicable,
the safety,
health and welfare at work of all its
employees." The rest of S.6 refers
to particular matters for which the
employers must take responsibility.
They must ensure that these
matters are safe and without risk to
health. These matters are subject
to the limitation that the various
steps required to be taken are only
those wh i ch are "reasonably
practicable".
The particular matters referred to
include the employers obligations in
respect of the place of work,
access and egress from it, the
design of plant and machinery and
the provision of a safe system of
work. There is also a duty to pro-
vide training and supervision to
employees where this is necessary
to ensure their safety and health.
Where it is not reasonably
practicable to control or eliminate
hazards the employer is obliged to
provide suitable protective clothing
or equipment as appropriate.
In one sense, Section 6 is just a
statutory statement of the existing
common law duties of the em-
ployer under civil law. Its special
significance, however, is that the
i nspec t ora te under the new
national authority can now base a
prosecution solely on an arguement
that an employer has not taken all
the reasonably practicable steps
required to ensure that this general
obligation is met. In the past, an
inspector could only base his case
on the contravention of specific
rules. Prosecutions often failed
because of the lack of some
specific proof. Therefore, under this
Act, the door for prosecutions is
opened wider. This also applies to
other general duties. Whether an
employee received any injury at
work or not, is, strictly speaking
irrelevant to the prosecution of
offences under these general
duties.
Persons other than Employees
Section 7 imposes a duty on
employers and the self employed to
conduct their business and under-
takings in such a way as to ensure
that persons not in their em-
ployment are not exposed to risks
to their safety and health, Again the
du ty applies so far as is
"reasonably practicable". The
section for the first time imposes a
duty on the self-employed persons
and its scope is as broad as can be
imagined.
Secion 8 places a duty on
persons in control or in charge of a
non-domestic place of wo r k,
(which means any building or place
that is not a private dwelling) which
is made available to other persons
who are not their employees, to
ensure as far as reasonably
practicable, that the places of
work, their entrances and exits and
any articles or substances in them
do not endanger the persons using
them at work. This section should
not
be read to mean that people
who employ domestic workers are
excluded from the provisions of the
Act. It is clear that employers have
obligations to such workers under
S.6 of the Act. The primary purpose
behind this section seems to be to
deal with difficulties encountered in
the Construction Industry.
Employees' Duties
Section 9 places general duties of
care and co-operation on the
employees. Employees are expect-
ed to take
reasonable care
for their
own safety, health and welfare and
that of other persons who may be
affected by their acts or omissons
while at work. They are expected
to
co-operate
with their employer,
and to use any of the
protective
gear
supplied. There is also a new
ob l i ga t i on to
report
to their
employer without unreasonable
delay any defects in plant or
equipment, place of work or
system of work which might
endanger their safety or welfare.
The significance of this new duty
might well lie in civil proceedings
arising out of accidents at work
rather than through possibilities of
enforcement by criminal law. In this
context though it may be worth
noting Section 60 which provides
that breaches of the general duties
(Section 6.11) do not create a right
of action in civil proceedings.
Doyle Court Reporters
Court and Conference Verbatim Reporting
2, Arran Quay, Dublin 7.
Tel: 7 2 2 8 3 3 or 8 6 2 0 9 7
(After Hours)
Excellence in Reporting since 1954
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