Caught in the Act
Page 58
Page 59
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
With the jungle of legislation surrounding the Factories and Offices and Shops Acts it's easy to get entangled. Brian ChalmersHunt summarises the main provisions and implications for the industry
TWO KINDS of law — the Factories Act, 1961, and the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, 1963 — give separate but sometimes overlapping rights to people injured at work, and through either or both they may be able to sue their employers for damages.
And if a statutory provision is broken, the employer can also face prosecution by an inspector of factories or offices.
The basic guidelines developed and applied by the judges over a number of years is broadly that employers must take reasonable care not to expose employees to unnecessary risk.
If an employee does suffer injury the judge will ask himself, in as objective a way as possible, did the employer take reasonable precautions to avoid the possibility of such an accident?
The answer will, of course, depend on the various evidence given, but it still could be the case that one's best is not good enough, good intentions are not sufficient, and the employer found guilty of negligence through failing to conform to accepted and stipulated safety standards.
Although the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, 1963, is similar to the provisions in the Factories Act, it does elaborate on certain aspects, As regards offices, it deals with all buildings or parts of buildings used solely or mainly for office purposes. Often, parts of the premises used and occupied in connection with these purposes — stairs, passages, canteens, toilets and storerooms — are also covered.
The Act requires the premises and furnishings to be kept clean, and swept or washed at least once a week.
Each employee should also have at least 11.2cum (400cuft) of breathing space and 3.7sqm (40sqft) of floorspace.
A reasonable temperature must &ways be maintained — generally not less than 16°C after the first hour, and a thermometer should be displayed. There must be reasonable ventilation and a supply of fresh or artificially purified air as well as adequate lighting. Toilet and washing facilities are also regulated in the Act.
Any office machinery must be fitted with adequate guards which must be kept in position while the mahcinery is in motion.
Dangerous machinery (including those using high voltages) must not be cleaned by employees under 18 and no one must operate such machinery unless trained or under supervision.
First-aid provision, fire precautions, and safety duties on employees are similar to those in the Factories Act, and where buildings are owned by one or mare persons but used by different employees, the owner or owners become responsible for the cleaning, lighting and safety of parts in common use.
There are also sections dealing with the storage of all types of fuel, and the remaining parts of the Offices Act deal with administration, employees' rights, how the Act is enforced, penalties and legal proceedings.
The 1961 Factories Act is especially important for the transport industry because it lays down specific minimum standards and in many cases these are still much more strict than any yet imposed by the Health and Safety at Work Act.
As a rule the factory occupier, considered to be the person or company in immediate control of the premises, is responsible for ensuring the tenets of the Act are observed. This is usually the occupier who is also the owner of the premises, but the distinction is important if the premises are leased or in multi-occupation, If the employer contravenes the Factory Act he may be faced with both civil and criminal proceedings brought about by inspectors employed by or on behalf of the Health and Safety Commission.
The Act does not expressly give rights to sue for damages in the case of injured employees, but judges have said that such rights are implicit. In this respect, the Factories Act is different from the Health and Safety at Work Act, the breach of which leads only to criminal liability.
The main provisions of the Factories Act start by laying down general conditions of work as to cleanliness, overcrowding, lighting, ventilation, temperature and so on. Most of the rules are general, but there are several important details.
Working areas, benches and floors in every factory must be kept clean and free from odours from drains and toilets.
Fresh air circulating to ventilate the workplace and carry away fumes and dust is required as is also suitable lighting. The regulations require that undue glare and shadow be avoided and that windows be kept clean — though they may still be whitewashed or shaded. More details will be found in the Fac
tories (Standards of Lighting) Regulations, 1941.
Effective drainage must be provided for processes which make the floor wet, such as steam cleaning.
The Sanitary Accommodation Regulations 1938 lay down the minimum standards appropriate to the number of employees — generally a water closet to every 25 employees, but fewer if more than 100 are employed, with rules as to cleanliness and privacy.
The Factories Act also lays down basic rules for the adequate guarding of dangerous machinery. The requirements may appear reasonably clear and straightforward, but their precise meaning has, in fact, been the subject of many court cases. Some uncertainties and omissions are resolved by the general coverage of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The Act also lays down major safety rules for various types of lifting equipment — hoses and lifts, ropes and other lifting tackle, and cranes, including overhead travelling cranes — but not forklift trucks.
Broadly, the Act demands good construction, sound material, adequate strength, and proper maintenance of the equipment. These obligations are unusual in the Factories Act in that they apply without the need to establish proof of fault against the employer.
More specific rules refer to testing, annealing, inspection of lifting tackle at least once every six months and of cranes every 14 months, marking safe working loads, safe gateways on lifts, efficient safety devices, and so on.
The Act also gives important guidance on overall standards of safety at, and on the way to and from, the place of work even though they have to some extent been overtaken by the Health and Safety at Work Act. All floors, steps, passages and gangways must be soundly constructed, properly maintained, and kept free of obstructions and slippery substances.
Adequate handrails and guardrails must be provided where applicable, and the Act stipluates that openings in floors (such as inspection pits) must be fenced whenever practicable and that ladders must be soundly constructed and properly maintained, This is particularly aimed at bodybuilders working on high-sided vehicles and trailers.
The safe construction and maintenance of flooring is also required and the factory occupier must see that there is a safe means of access to every place where work is carried on, and that the place of work itself is made and kept safe. Additionally if there is a danger of anyone falling more than 1.98m (6.5ft) from his place of work the employer must safeguard that person in whatever way is appropriate.
One important point is that "place of work" does not cover the factory as a whole. Thus employees working elsewhere but injured when in or on their way to the factory canteen or toilet have no claim. Conversely, an employee working on a ladder or on the back of a lorry is at his place of Work and must be protected accordingly, however briefly he may be there.
Where work is to be carried out in confined spaces, such as tank or box trailers or pits in which there may be dangerous fumes, the precautions laid down in the Factories Act must be followed.
These refer to the provision and size of manholes if necessary, and to the use by suitably trained employees of approved and tested breathing apparatus. Employees must, if practicable, wear ropes held by others outside the danger area, unless a responsible person can certify that the fumes have cleared and that ventilation is adequate. A sufficient number of employees must be trained in artificial respiration.
More specific rules are laid down in the Chemical Works Regulations.
The Factories Act also contains similar precautions to meet the risk of explosive or imflammable dust or gas or other substances. The precautions turn chiefly on measures to prevent dust and on the exclusion of ignition sources such as welding or cutting operations, until all practicable steps have been taken.
A detailed scheme of fire precautions is given in the Factories Act. The general rule is that the factory occupier must apply to the local fire authority for a certificate which is only given after examination of the premises.
There must ?ISO be suitable means of escape from the fac
tory, and the authority — as de fined by the Fire Precautions Act 1971 — may ask for alterations to the premises to ensure this.
The employer must keep the escape routes free and notify the authority of any substantial alterations in the structure of the factory.
A fire warning audible throughout the factory must be provided and suitable fire-drill given, but this does not apply to factories employing fewer than 20 persons or fewer than ten persons above ground level.
In all factories the doors must be easily opened from the inside and, unless they are of the slid ing type, must open outward, too. Lifts and hoists must be en closed with fire-resistant materials, and doors and windows intended especially as fire escapes are to be clearly marked and a clear passageway provided through all workrooms. Firefighting equip ment must be readily available. There must be a supply of wholesome drinking water, marked as such, and conve niently accessible to all employees. This should come either from a public main or else should be renewed daily. Adequate and suitable washing facilities must be provided and maintained with clear running hot and cold water or warm water, and soap and towels.
Failure to comply with this part of the Act has led to employees successfully sueing employers because they contracted dermatitis.
The Factories Act stipulates that one first-aid box must be provided and maintained for every 150 employees or every fraction of that number.
The box must be plainly marked, easily accessible, and in the care of a responsible and readily available person, who, if there are over 50 employees, must be trained in first-aid.
The Act requires the employer to take all practicable measures to prevent employees inhaling potentially injurious dust or fumes, for example, brake dust or diesel exhaust.
Suitable goggles or • screens must be provided where there is a special risk of injury to the eyes. A large number of potentially dangerous situations which require the use of eye protectors (for example, highpressure water-jet cleaning) are now specified in the Protection of Eyes Regulations, 1974, amended in 1975.
The Act also requires that the local inspector be notified of all fatal accidents or those which cause an employee to be absent from work for three days or more.
Also included in the Act are sections on the employment of women and young persons, minimum ages, and hours of work.
The provisions of liability under the Factories Act are now largely superseded by the Health and Safety at Work Act, but it must be emphasised that the primary liability from breach of
the Act is imposed on the occupier or, exceptionally, the owner. But if a statutory duty is imposed on a particular individual
and he does not fulfil that duty, he personally commits an offence and the occupier or owner escapes liability unless the owner or occupier himself failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the breach.