Updated 5 March 2026 · 7 sections
Plain English guide to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and what it means for UK construction sites. Covers employer duties, employee duties, and enforcement.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) is the primary piece of legislation governing workplace health and safety in Great Britain. It is an 'enabling Act' — meaning it sets out broad duties and principles, with more detailed requirements in regulations made under it (such as CDM 2015, MHSWR 1999, and WAH Regulations 2005). The Act applies to all workplaces and all work activities, but its impact on construction is particularly significant given the industry's inherently hazardous nature.
Section 2 of HSWA places a general duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. In construction, this means: providing safe plant and systems of work, ensuring safe use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances, providing necessary information, instruction, training and supervision, maintaining a safe place of work with safe access and egress, and providing a safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities. For employers with 5 or more employees, these arrangements must be documented in a written health and safety policy.
Employees also have duties under HSWA. Section 7 requires every employee to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions, and to cooperate with their employer on health and safety matters. In practice on construction sites, this means: wearing prescribed PPE, following method statements and risk assessments, reporting hazards and defects, not interfering with safety provisions, attending toolbox talks and site inductions, and using equipment only if trained and authorised.
Section 3 extends the duty beyond employees. Every employer and self-employed person must conduct their undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. On construction sites, this covers: members of the public near the site, visitors, delivery drivers, neighbouring property occupants, and subcontractors' workers. This section is frequently used by the HSE to prosecute principal contractors for failures affecting subcontractors' workers.
The phrase 'so far as is reasonably practicable' (SFARP) is the legal standard throughout HSWA. It means you must weigh the risk against the cost (in time, money, and effort) of eliminating or reducing it. If the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk, you are not required to take that measure. However, the burden of proof is on the duty holder — you must demonstrate that it was not reasonably practicable to do more. In construction, courts have consistently held that cost alone is rarely a defence for not implementing basic safety measures. The more severe the potential harm, the more you are expected to spend on prevention.
The HSE enforces HSWA through a graduated approach. Inspectors can: enter any workplace without notice, examine and investigate, take measurements, photographs, and samples, require information and documents, interview any person, and issue enforcement notices. Improvement notices require remedial action within a specified period. Prohibition notices stop the activity immediately until the risk is controlled. Prosecution can result in unlimited fines for organisations and up to 2 years imprisonment for individuals. Since the Sentencing Council guidelines were introduced in 2016, average fines for health and safety offences have increased significantly.
The most important regulations made under HSWA for construction include: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) — the primary construction-specific regulations; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 — risk assessment requirements; Work at Height Regulations 2005 — the leading cause of construction fatalities; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER); Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER); Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH); Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2022; and the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
Track inspections, generate documentation, and stay compliant with UK regulations.
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