Health and Safety at Work, Accidents ,Ireland,Personal Injuries- Myles & Co. Solicitors

Health and Safety
Information
The new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (pdf) replaced the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare Act, 1989 when it came into operation on 1st September 2005. The new Act consolidates and updates the existing law. The changes include:
That employers, as far as reasonably possible, will prevent any improper conduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk. A duty will be placed on employees not be under the influence of drink or drugs in the workplace. In addition employees will be required undergo any reasonable medical or other assessment if requested to do so by the employer. Employers will be required to appoint a competent person as the organisation’s Safety Officer.
The new Act also provides for considerably increased fines and penalties for breaches of the health and safety legislation.
Health and Safety
Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 every employer is required to prepare a safety statement for the workplace.
This statement should:
identify any hazards present in the workplace
assess the risks arising from such hazards
identify the steps to be taken to deal with any risks.
The statement should also contain the details of people in the workforce who are responsible for safety issues. Employees should be given access to this statement and employers should review it on a regular basis. You can more about preparing a safety statement here (pdf)
Protective Equipment
The employer should tell employees about any risks that require the wearing of protective equipment. The employer should provide protective equipment (protective clothing, headgear, footwear, eyewear, gloves, etc.,) together with training on how to use it, where necessary. An employee is under a duty to take reasonable care for his/her own safety and to use any protective equipment supplied.
The protective equipment should be provided free of charge to employees if it is intended for use at the workplace only. Usually, employees should be provided with their own personal equipment.
There is a range of measures that employers must take in regard to Visual Display Units (VDUs). These measures are set down in Section 7 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 1993 These include examining the reflection and glare, the operator's position in front of the VDU, the keyboard and the software used. Operators must be given adequate breaks from the VDU. In addition, employers must arrange for eye tests and, if required, make a contribution towards the purchase of prescription eyeglasses. You can read more about Display Screen Equipment (VDUs) here (pdf)
Reporting Accidents
All accidents in the workplace should be reported to the employer, who should record the details of the incident.
Pregnant Employees
An employer should carry out separate risk assessments in relation to pregnant employees. If there are particular risks to an employee's pregnancy, these should be either removed or the employee moved away from them. If neither of these options is possible, the employee should be given health and safety leave from work, which may continue up the beginning of maternity leave. If a doctor certifies that night work would be unsuitable for a pregnant employee, the employee must be given alternative work or health and safety leave.
Following an employee's return to work after maternity leave, if there is any risk to the employee because she has recently given birth or is breastfeeding, it should be removed. If this is not possible, the employee should be moved to alternative work. If it is not possible for the employee to be assigned alternative work, she should be given health and safety leave. If night work is certified by a doctor as being unsuitable after the birth, alternative work should be provided. If alternative work cannot be provided, the employee should be given health and safety leave.
During health and safety leave, employers must pay employees their normal wages for the first 3 weeks, after which Health and Safety Benefit will be paid. See Health and Safety Benefit for current rates of payment.
Payment of Health and Safety Benefit
Health and Safety Benefit lasts until:
The day on which you become entitled for Maternity Benefit, if you are pregnant; 14 weeks following the date on which you gave birth, if you are an employee who has recently given birth and do night work; 26 weeks from the date on which you gave birth, if you are breastfeeding.
Violence and bullying in the workplace
The possibility of violence towards employees should be addressed in the safety statement. For example, factors like the isolation of employees and the presence of cash on the premises need to be taken into account. Proper safeguards should be put into place to eliminate the risk of violence as far as possible and the employee should be provided with appropriate means of minimising the remaining risk, for example, security glass.
An employer should have established procedures for dealing with complaints of bullying in the workplace and deal with such complaints immediately. Ignoring complaints of bullying could leave an employer open to a possible claim for damages by an employee. It is advisable for an employer to have an established grievance procedure to deal with complaints of bullying.
The Employment Equality Act 1998 places an obligation on your employer to prevent harassment in the workplace. More detailed information about harassment in the workplace and bullying in the workplace is also available on OASIS under the 'Employment Rights' category of the site.
An employee who feels that he or she is the victim of bullying can also refer the matter to a Rights Commissioner.
Health and safety and young people
An employer should carry out a separate risk assessment in relation to an employee under 18 years of age. This risk assessment should be carried out before the young person is employed. If certain risks are present, including risks that cannot be recognised or avoided by the young person due to factors like lack of experience, the young person should not be employed.
Enforcing your rights
If you have suffered an injury at work, you cannot seek compensation from your employer under the health and safety legislation, however, you may have a claim through the civil courts. You can find out how to take a civil case to the Courts in Ireland here.
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB)
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is an independent statutory body set up by the Government of Ireland. Its remit is:
to reduce legal costs and other fees charged by experts involved in personal injuries’ claims; and to reduce the amount of time it takes to finalise a compensation claim.
The PIAB gives an independent assessment of personal injury claims for compensation following an accident. The board will only give an assessment of compensation where the person responsible is not seeking a decision on liability, or, in other words, where legal issues are not disputed. The PIAB assesses compensation quickly but doesn't award costs for or against either party.
Since 1st June 2004 all claims involving workplace accidents (employer liability cases) must be submitted to the PIAB before starting legal proceedings. From 22nd July 2004 all personal injury claims (excluding medical negligence) must also be submittted to the PIAB. The board will assess the injury and recommend a compensation award provided there are no legal disputes. If either side rejects the award the matter can then be referred to the courts.
(http://www.oasis.gov.ie/).

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