The European Union (EU) and UK Health and Safety Law



Developments in European health and safety law have slowed down over recent years as the European Commission has adopted a more deregulatory approach, partly due to pressure from successive UK governments. However, the European Union (EU) has continued to be an important source of UK health and safety law, a large part of which is now underpinned by the EU. Almost two-thirds (63%) of new British health and safety regulations introduced between 1997 and 2009 originated in Europe (41 out of 65 laws). In addition, British trade unions and others have used complaints to the European Commission, or threats to seek infraction proceedings, to gain changes in UK legislation.


In 2016, the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016 implemented a 2013 European Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements needed to protect workers from the risks of exposure to physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (see Chapter 8). Proposed changes to the European carcinogens and mutagens directive will mean new and reduced workplace exposure limits for a number of cancer-causing chemicals. In addition, the HSE has published proposals to amend the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 in order to implement the requirements of the European Basic Safety Standards Directive (2013/59/Euratom) into UK law by 6 February 2018. 



The TUC has warned that the “Brexit” vote to leave the EU could therefore have huge consequences for UK health and safety law and could put millions of UK workers at increased risk of accidents or injuries. Its 2016 EU membership and health and safety report set out that EU legislation has helped stop illnesses and injuries at work and saved lives. It says this has contributed to “a reduction in workplace fatalities in the UK. In 1992 there were 368 worker fatalities in Britain; this dropped to 142 last year (2015). Over this period, the rate of deaths fell from 1.5 to 0.46 per 100,000 workers”.



In March 2017, the TUC also warned that the Tory government’s white paper on the Great Repeal Bill, setting out how it intends to convert EU law into UK law and amend the law post-Brexit, falls short of prime minister Theresa May’s promise to fully protect and maintain all workers’ rights that came from the EU.


The 2010-15 Coalition government used a number of reviews of health and safety legislation to “reduce burdens on business” and attack health and safety law and its enforcement. But the reviews were severely limited by what they could propose because of the minimum standards provided by the European Union's legislative framework.


“This means that the government has been unable to remove or reduce much of the protection that they may, ideally, like to,” the TUC said. “The only major regulatory reduction they have managed is the exemption of many self-employed workers from the protection of health and safety regulation, and that was only possible because the Framework Directive does not cover the self-employed.”



Post-Brexit, the Tory government proposed handing the power to change important rights and protections at work to judges. According to TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady: “This means that important rules to protect workers could be overturned, without the UK Parliament having any say.”


The shock result of the June 2017 general election, with no party having won overall power, has left much uncertainty as to what will happen next, both with regards to the future of health and safety law and as to the terms under which the UK is to leave the EU.


The Conservatives’ Great Repeal Bill, which would convert EU law into UK law and which formed part of the party’s 2017 election manifesto, promised that “the rights of workers and protections given to consumers and the environment by EU law will continue to be available in UK law at the point at which we leave the EU.” However, it went on: “Once EU law has been converted into domestic law, parliament will be able to pass legislation to amend, repeal or improve any piece of EU law it chooses, as will the devolved legislatures, where they have the power to do so.”


Although the Conservatives do not have a majority in Parliament to implement their manifesto commitments, their track record is one of attacking workers’ rights and health and safety protection at work. UK health and safety regulations emanating from European directives that may still be at risk include the following:



• The so-called “six-pack” of regulations that came into force in 1993, implementing the European Union's framework and five daughter directives: the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations; the Manual Handling Operations Regulations; and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations;


• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations;



• The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations;



• The Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations;



• The Control of Asbestos Regulations;



• The Control of Noise at Work Regulations;



• The Work at Height Regulations;



• The Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations; and



• The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc) Regulations.