Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) is the foundation of workplace health and safety law in Great Britain. It is an enabling Act: it sets the broad general duties that everyone at work owes, and it gives Government the power to make the more detailed regulations that sit beneath it. It applies across England, Scotland, and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own near-equivalent legislation (the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978).

This page explains how SteadyOn’s modules map to your key duties under HSWA 1974. It is not legal advice — for specific legal questions, consult a qualified health and safety advisor or lawyer.

Who HSWA 1974 applies to

HSWA 1974 applies to almost every work activity in Great Britain. It places duties on employers, the self-employed, employees, and on those who control premises, design or supply equipment, or manage substances. The central duty holder for most organisations is the employer.

The general duty of employers to employees (section 2)

Every employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare at work of all its employees. The Act spells this out to include:

Providing and maintaining plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health
Ensuring safety and the absence of risks in the use, handling, storage, and transport of articles and substances
Providing the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure health and safety
Maintaining the workplace, and the means of access to and from it, in a safe condition
Providing and maintaining a safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities

Employers with five or more employees must also have a written health and safety policy and bring it to employees’ attention.

How SteadyOn helps: The Hazard Register, Corrective Actions, and Inspections modules help you identify risks, implement controls, and document that your workplace is actively managed. The Documents module is where you store and version-control your written health and safety policy.

Relevant HSWA sections: Section 2 (General duties of employers to their employees)

The duty to non-employees (section 3)

Every employer (and self-employed person) must conduct their undertaking so as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that people not in their employment — contractors, visitors, customers, and members of the public — are not exposed to risks to their health or safety arising from the work.

How SteadyOn helps: Hazards affecting non-employees are recorded in the Hazard Register alongside everything else, and the public incident reporting link lets contractors, visitors, and members of the public report incidents and near-misses without needing a SteadyOn account.

Relevant HSWA sections: Section 3 (General duties to persons other than employees)

The “so far as is reasonably practicable” test

Most of the duties in HSWA 1974 are qualified by the phrase “so far as is reasonably practicable” (often abbreviated SFAIRP). It requires you to weigh the level of risk against the time, trouble, and cost of the measures needed to control it. The greater the risk, the more you are expected to do. You are not required to take measures whose cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk they remove — but the burden of showing that is on you.

How SteadyOn helps: A documented risk assessment is your evidence that you weighed the risk and made a reasoned decision. SteadyOn’s risk matrix, BRAG status, and action priorities help you make and record these judgements consistently. See Risk Assessment.

Duties on employees (sections 7 and 8)

Employees also have duties under the Act. Every employee must:

Take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of others affected by what they do or fail to do at work (section 7)
Cooperate with their employer so the employer can meet its own legal duties

In addition, no person may intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health and safety (section 8).

How SteadyOn helps: Giving every team member the ability to report hazards and incidents supports a culture where workers take an active part in safety. The Log tab records who reported and acted on each item.

Relevant HSWA sections: Sections 7 and 8 (Duties of employees; misuse of safety provisions)

Enforcement: the HSE and local authorities

HSWA 1974 is enforced by inspectors — either from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or, for many lower-risk premises (offices, shops, warehouses, hotels, catering, and similar), from the local authority. The two split enforcement by the type of premises and activity. There is no single combined body, and there is a separate regulator in Northern Ireland (HSENI).

Inspectors have wide powers. Where they find a contravention, they can issue:

An improvement notice — requiring you to remedy a contravention within a stated period
A prohibition notice — requiring an activity that involves a risk of serious personal injury to stop immediately (or after a stated time), regardless of whether a regulation has been breached

Failing to comply with a notice, or breaching the Act’s duties, can lead to prosecution, unlimited fines, and in serious cases imprisonment. The HSE may also recover its costs through Fee for Intervention (FFI) where it identifies a material breach.

How SteadyOn helps: A well-maintained Hazard Register, completed Inspections, closed-out Actions, and a complete Audit Log are exactly the kind of evidence that demonstrates you were actively managing risk if an inspector visits.

Relevant HSWA sections: Sections 18–26 (enforcement, improvement and prohibition notices)

Records and documentation

While HSWA 1974 does not always prescribe specific records, having documented records is essential for:

Demonstrating compliance in an audit or inspection
Understanding patterns and trends in safety performance
Supporting any defence in the event of a claim or prosecution
Showing your written policy and arrangements are real and in use

SteadyOn’s Audit Log provides a record of every change made in the system — who created or modified each record, and when. This supports your ability to demonstrate that your safety management system was being actively used.

SteadyOn is a tool, not a compliance guarantee

SteadyOn helps you build and maintain a health and safety management system. Using SteadyOn does not automatically mean you comply with HSWA 1974. Compliance depends on:

Actually identifying your real hazards (not just filling in records)
Implementing genuine controls (not just writing them down)
Consulting your workers and acting on what they tell you
Following through on corrective actions
Reviewing and improving over time

SteadyOn makes these activities easier to track and manage. The substance of your safety programme is still yours to create.