Two types. Statute law and common law.
Statutes are the written law of the land introduced through parliamentary processes generally known as “acts or primary legislation”. They are:
Acts of Parliament: General duties to be followed and make provisions for Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) made underneath the Act providing specific detail for employers to follow. e.g. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Regulations: Statutory instruments or delegated legislation made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE and other parties consult before implementation to ensure Regulations are clear, achievable and maintain the spirit of the Act. Regulations often provide more specific detail on hazards and/or activities. e.g. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs): Produced by the HSE with consent from the Secretary of State giving a recognised interpretation and methods of how to comply with the relevant legislation. Not legally binding but are a guideline as to whether you are doing enough so they have a quasi-legal standing. You may comply by doing something else instead. ACOPs are more regularly updated and should be the first point of reference.
Guidance: The HSE, for example, provide best practice guidance on various topics and is more practical than ACOPs. They have no legal standing but can be used in court as a fair argument as to what could have been done to prevent injuries or ill-health.
Absolute and Qualified Duties: Three levels of duty in legislation which must be complied with by the duty holder:
Absolute. “Shall” in legislation means it must be complied with.
Practicable. “Shall” is again used but quantified with “where practicable” which means where feasibly possible irrespective of time, inconvenience or effort.
Reasonably Practicable. “Shall” is again used but quantified with “where reasonably practicable” which means that time, inconvenience and money shall be proportionate to the level of risk (e.g. it is expected you would invest more to control a higher risk).
Established through civil case through findings and rulings where a Judge sets a judicial precedent which similar cases are measured creating a consistent outcome and body of case law. Derived from:
Judicial precedent.
Using case law over time.
Applies to Civil and Criminal Law.
Statute and common law are the two sources of law. Civil and criminal are the two types of law. Both sources of law apply to both types of law.
Two types. Civil and Criminal. Both sources of law apply to both types of law.
Offence against the state: to breach statute law. Criminal law is the process for which punishments of wrongful acts are addressed (typically fines and imprisonment).
Prosecution to establish guilt: prosecution must establish guilt through Magistrates’ Court, known as summary offences, with possible unlimited fines and/or up to 6 months imprisonment. 6 months is time limit to bring case. Incredible cases are heard in Crown Court with possible unlimited fines and/or up to 2 years imprisonment. Magistrates decide the case. No time limit.
Burden and onus of proof: prosecution must convince judge and jury, through degree of evidence (c. 90%) produced to establish guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. High degree often leads to acquittal as even the slightest doubt as to the guilt of the accused is created in the mind of the Court, they are given the benefit of the doubt and their innocence proclaimed.
The burden and onus of proof, which is beyond a reasonable doubt, is outlined in S40 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Mostly to do with common law and relates to civil actions being brought against someone when the other party feels that a wrongdoing has been committed against them and is usually seeking compensation. Civil law aims to restore justice by typically looking at past cases in common law to use as precedent which were decided by judges. Compensation awarded aims to restore the claimant to a position before the wrongdoing. Breach of civil law does not necessary mean that a crime has been committed.
Burden of proof: Based on the balance of probabilities at only 51%. Probability decreases if an employer can show that they had taken reasonable actions. A lower probability decreases the damages awarded. Compensation is usually general (non-monetary loss for pain and suffering) and special (financial loss, medical costs, lost earnings etc.).
Statute barred: Claims may be statute barred (bar as in to prevent from bringing the claim under the relevant statute) under the Limitations Act 1980. Under the Limitations Act 1980 S11, regarding personal injuries due to a tort for negligence or breach of duty, the time limit to submit the claim is 3 years from the date of knowledge or date of injury.
Within this Act, there are different limitation periods for different types of cause of action. For example, the limitation period is six years for a normal contract claim but 12 years if the contract was created by deed. If the claim is brought to the court outside of this time it will be barred, and the claimant may be prevented from continuing with the claim against the employer. So it is necessary to determine whether or not the limitation period has already expired.
If a claim proceeds out of time, the defend- ant will be able to plead the defence of limitation and the claimant will have the burden of proving that the cause of action arose within the relevant statutory period.
Tribunal and County Court are civil courts. Magistrates Court and Crown Court are criminal courts.
Cases may move from a Tribunal to Magistrates Court and from Magistrates Court to Crown Court.
All cases court move to the High Court. Above that is the Court of Appeal then the Supreme Court.
Laws are checked and enforced by numerous parties:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which advises the Secretary of State in the creation and amendment of regulations and also provides information and guidance for all industries. They also enforce directly regulated industries.
Local Authorities (LAs) which enforce industries not directly regulated by the HSE, typically with Local Authority Inspectors who enforce retail, offices, catering, hotels and guest houses, restaurants, leisure facilities, churches and places of worship, and car parks.
Fire Authorities - inspectors have the same rights and authority as the HSE and can issue improvement and prohibition notices for breaches related to fire safety.
Under the Health and Safety (fees) Regulations 2012 HSE can recover costs for some of their activities if they have to intervene with companies in breach of health and safety law under a fee for intervention (FFI).
A FFI may apply when there is a materal breach when a duty has been failed or a contract broken where the HSE feels the situation is serious enough for them to act through a notification of contravention, improvement or prohibition notice or prosecution.
Fee are £160 per hour (as of 2021) and cover site visits, time spent on correspondence or investigation and for the costs of others who get involved. These are not usually recoverable through insurance. Fees can be challenged.
FFI makes HSE an enforcement body which in turn ensures compliance and reduces enforcement action.
Under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 Inspectors can stop works, issue notices and begin prosecution in the event of a serious breach and can get involved with accident investigations.
Inspectors can carry out a visit for routine inspections, follow up on a complaint, undertake an accident investigation, check on