What Do Employees Need To Know About Work At Height?

The Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act 2005 places duties on employees to:

• Comply with statutory provision such as the work at height Regulations;
• Protect their own safety and health, as well as the safety and health of anyone who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work;
• Ensure that they are not under the influence of any intoxicant to the extent that they could be a danger to themselves or others while at work;
• Co-operate with their employer with regard to safety, health, and welfare at work;
• not engage in any improper conduct that could endanger their safety or health or that of anyone else;
• participate in safety and health training offered by their employer;

What are your duties as an employer?

You must do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

The Regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing work at a height:

• avoid work at height where this is reasonably practicable;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where you cannot avoid working at height; and
• where you cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimize the distance and consequences of a fall.

The Regulations also require employers and the self-employed to ensure that:

• all work at height is properly planned, organized, supervised and carried out;
• the place where work at height is done is safe;
• all work at height takes account of weather conditions;
• those involved in work at height are instructed and trained;
• equipment for work at height is appropriately inspected;
• the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
• injury from falling objects is prevented.
• make proper use of all machinery, tools, substances etc. and of all
• personal protective equipment provided for use at work; and
• report any defects in the place of work, equipment etc. which might endanger safety and health.