HSAW Act 1974 – Happy Birthday

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Andy

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is 40 years old this summer!

The Act was implemented in the summer of 1974 and has been credited with being “one of the most important pieces of legislation in the health and safety mission to keep workers safe and protected”.

Writing in The Telegraph, Philip Johnston stated that he believes the Act has saved as many as 5000 lives since it was implemented. Prior to the Act, an estimated 700 employees were dying every year, and the number of injuries is in the hundreds of thousands.

The Act itself has been invaluable, no doubt about that, however it is one of the more commonly complained about pieces of legislation. Incidents where England flags have been removed due to “Health and Safety” have left members of the public fuming, however, are such measures truly a matter of Health and Safety?