The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (SRSCR, SI 1977 No.500) give recognised trade unions the legal right to appoint workplace safety representatives. The regulations set out the rights and functions of safety reps, employers’ obligations with regard to consultation and the provision of facilities, assistance and information.

The TUC estimates that there are over 150,000 safety reps appointed and supported by trade unions. Every year the TUC trains over 10,000, with many more trained by individual unions. The TUC argues that safety reps need more legal powers to continue their work, especially given the decline in enforcement and the rolling back of proactive inspections (see Chapter 2: Enforcement).