EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND HEALTH & SAFETY 

As employment specialists, we can’t advise you about specific Health and Safety regulations or injuries at work. (The Law Society’s Find a Solicitor tool can help you to find a solicitor who specialises in these areas) 

 

But your duties and how you manage them can lead to employment disputes. There are also times when your employment contracts and staff handbook can help you to meet your duties. 

 

Here are some of the ways an employment law solicitor can help. 

 

 

You have a legal duty to provide a safe work environment with adequate facilities and to ensure workers health, safety and welfare at work so far as reasonably practicable. This includes mental health, safety, and risks as well as physical. 

 

Employees working from home are also protected, and you have the same obligations to complete risk assessments, minimise risks and ensure a safe workplace. This can cause some difficulty, as the space belongs to your employee, and you will want to respect their privacy. Your policies and contracts can help you to manage these duties, for example by setting out what support you offer, whose responsibility it is to implement changes, and clarify what access you need to risk-assess home working spaces. 

 

If your health and safety failings are significant enough to amount to a breach of contract (including implied terms such as the obligation of trust), staff could resign in response and bring a claim for constructive dismissal. 

 

Employees who reasonably believe they are at risk of serious or imminent danger at work can leave the workplace and refuse to return while the danger persists. If you feel the refusal was not justified, you may be tempted to take disciplinary action. However, you must be sure about whether the refusal was justified or not, so you can defend the decision if an employee brings a claim. We can guide you through the process of making a dismissal to reduce the risk of claims. 

The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998 protects disclosures about health and safety failings and cover-ups. You cannot penalise a member of staff for making a disclosure in the public interest. Even appearing to treat the worker less favourably could leave you open to claims. 

 

Employees who make disclosure are not immune to action for the usual reasons, such as poor performance or misconduct, but you must take extra care to demonstrate a legal basis for any sanctions. This can be a difficult area, and mistakes can be very costly, so we recommend seeking legal advice to ensure you are acting within the law. 

 

It is helpful to have a good whistleblowing policy setting out how staff should report concerns and how you will respond. This will give staff the confidence to report their concerns to you rather than an external body, giving you chance to resolve issues before they escalate and cause harm or put you at risk of higher sanctions. 

 

Health and safety regulations generally apply more widely than employment rights, protecting employees, workers, contractors, volunteers and other members of the workforce from day one. To be sure you are meeting your obligations to everybody in the workplace you need to understand the difference between employees, workers and self-employed people. 

 

 

If you need help or advice with any of these issues, get in touch using the form below.