Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: duties, penalties and cases

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the main law on health and safety at work in Great Britain. It puts general duties on employers, employees and the self-employed, and it's the parent law for most workplace safety regulations. Its full title is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and you'll see it shortened to HSWA, the HSW Act or HASAWA.

Health and Safety at Work Act at a glance

• Employers must protect staff and anyone else affected by the business, such as customers, contractors and delivery drivers, "so far as is reasonably practicable".
• It covers England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own law in almost the same words: the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.
• If you employ five or more people, your health and safety policy must be written down.
• In pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels, the local council enforces it, not the HSE.
• In England and Wales, a breach of the main duties can mean an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison. Directors can be prosecuted personally.

What is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974?

The HSE's page on the Act calls it "the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It's sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA."

The Act does two things. It sets broad duties that apply to every workplace, whatever the business does. It also gives ministers the power to make more detailed health and safety regulations, and it makes breaking those regulations a crime too. So when someone says "it's the law under the Health and Safety at Work Act", they often mean one of the regulations made under it.

Its stated purposes, in section 1, include "securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work" and "protecting persons other than persons at work against risks to health or safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work". That second purpose is why the Act protects your customers as well as your staff.

Where does it apply?

The Act covers Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Section 84 says that, apart from a few narrow parts, it "does not extend to Northern Ireland."

Northern Ireland has the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978. Its general duties copy the Act's almost word for word. Article 4 is the NI version of section 2. The main practical differences are the article numbers, the penalties and who enforces it (see below).

Scotland uses the same Act as England and Wales. The duties are the same, but the penalties differ because the 2015 change to magistrates' fines only applied in England and Wales.

The general duties: sections 2 to 9

These are the duties most businesses need to know. "Reasonably practicable" runs through most of them, and we explain it in the next section.

Section 2: what employers owe their staff

Section 2(1) is the core duty: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."

Section 2(2) then lists what that includes:

• safe plant and "systems of work": fryers, slicers and dishwashers, and the way jobs are done
• safe "use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances": cleaning chemicals, gas bottles, kegs and deliveries
• "information, instruction, training and supervision"
• a safe workplace, with safe ways in and out
• a safe working environment and adequate welfare: toilets, water, rest

The list isn't complete. The general duty in s2(1) still covers anything else that puts staff at risk.

Section 2 also makes employers consult staff or their representatives about safety.

Section 3: customers and the public

Section 3(1) says an employer must run the business "in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

In hospitality, this is the duty you'll meet most. A wet floor at the bar, an unlocked cellar hatch or a hot plate on a table are all section 3 risks. Our slips and trips risk assessment covers the floor side. The Langton Arms case below was a section 3 prosecution after a customer died.

Section 4: landlords and premises

Section 4 applies to anyone who has "to any extent, control of premises" used as a place of work by people who aren't their employees. If you rent out a kitchen or run a food hall with traders, you're responsible for the parts you control, such as shared corridors, the lift or the extraction system. Who controls what usually comes down to the lease.

Sections 7, 8 and 9: staff duties, misuse and charging

Employees have duties too. Section 7 requires every employee "to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work" and to co-operate with the employer. A chef who takes the guard off a slicer or ignores the cleaning-chemical rules can be prosecuted personally.

Section 8 applies to everyone: "No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare". Wedging a fire door open with an extinguisher counts.

Section 9 says no employer can charge staff "in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement" of safety law. If the law requires the protective gear, such as cut-resistant gloves, chemical goggles or safety footwear where your risk assessment calls for it, you can't make staff pay for it or take it out of wages.

What does "so far as is reasonably practicable" mean?

It means you must do what's sensible to reduce a risk. You can stop only where the cost, time or effort of doing more would be grossly out of proportion to the risk. The phrase comes from case law. The HSE's Reducing risks, protecting people explains the leading case, Edwards v National Coal Board (1949):

"a computation must be made in which the quantum of risk is placed on one scale and the sacrifice, whether in money, time or trouble, involved in the measures necessary to avert the risk is placed in the other; and that, if it be shown that there is a gross disproportion between them, the risk being insignificant in relation to the sacrifice, the person upon whom the duty is laid discharges the burden"

In practice:

• It isn't "whatever you can afford". The test is gross disproportion, not budget. A £30 non-slip mat by the glass-wash is reasonably practicable. Rebuilding the bar to remove a step probably isn't, if signs, lighting and a handrail control the risk.
• The burden is on you. Under section 40, "it shall be for the accused to prove" that it "was not reasonably practicable to do more than was in fact done". In court, the business has to show it did enough. The council doesn't have to prove it didn't.

That's why records matter. A risk assessment, a training log and a cleaning schedule are how you show what you did. Our health and safety workflows group the common ones.

Do you need a written health and safety policy?

Every employer needs a policy. If you employ five or more people, it must be written down. Section 2(3) requires a "written statement of his general policy" and the "organisation and arrangements" for carrying it out, brought "to the notice of all of his employees". The 1975 exception regulations excuse any employer "who ... employs less than five employees" from that written-statement duty.

The HSE's guide to preparing a policy says: "If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down, but it is useful to do so."

A policy has three parts:

1. Statement of intent: what you're committing to, signed by the owner or a director.
2. Organisation: who is responsible for what, by name or role.
3. Arrangements: how you'll do it, covering risk assessments, training, first aid, fire, accident reporting and so on.

The rule counts employees, not hours, so part-timers count.

The Act and the regulations made under it

Most specific safety rules aren't in the Act itself. Section 15 lets the government make health and safety regulations. Section 16 lets the HSE approve codes of practice (ACOPs) that explain how to comply. Section 33(1)(c) makes breaking a regulation an offence under the Act.

The ones that matter most in hospitality:

• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: risk assessment. Regulation 3 says "Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of" the risks to staff and to others.
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: floors, toilets, washing facilities, drinking water and temperature.
• COSHH 2002: cleaning chemicals and other hazardous substances.
• PUWER 1998: work equipment such as slicers, mixers and dishwashers.
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992: kegs, deliveries and heavy pans.
• RIDDOR 2013: reporting certain injuries and dangerous occurrences.

People often credit the Act with rules that come from these regulations. On a MoneySavingExpert forum, one poster wrote: "Under health and safety at work act they must provide toilet facilities." The toilet duty actually sits in the Workplace Regulations. A Mumsnet poster got it right: "I'd be citing the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992". In practice it matters less which one you cite, because both are enforced under the Act. But knowing which regulation applies tells you exactly what's required.

Fire safety is different. It's mainly covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, not by HSWA.

Who enforces it in pubs, restaurants and hotels?

Usually the council's environmental health team. Section 18 splits enforcement between the HSE and local authorities. The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 say that where the main activity is listed in Schedule 1, "the local authority for the area in which those premises are situated shall be the enforcing authority". Schedule 1 lists "Catering services" and "The provision of permanent or temporary residential accommodation".

The HSE's local authority page says the same: "Local authorities are usually responsible for retail, wholesale distribution, hotels and catering, offices and leisure industries". So the officer who inspects your kitchen hygiene may also come back about your cellar stairs.

In Northern Ireland, HSENI's enforcement page lists district councils as responsible for "restaurants, take away food shops, mobile snack bars and catering services" and "hotels, guest houses".

Improvement and prohibition notices

An inspector doesn't need to take you to court to make you act. They can serve two kinds of notice.

Appeals go to an employment tribunal under section 24, which can cancel the notice, confirm it or change it. Ignoring a notice is a separate offence under section 33(1)(g).

Offences, penalties and who is liable

Section 33 makes it an offence to "fail to discharge a duty" under sections 2 to 7, to break section 8 or 9, or to break any health and safety regulations. The Sentencing Council notes that health and safety offences "do not require proof that the offence caused any actual harm. The offence is in creating a risk of harm." Nobody has to be hurt.

Maximum penalties for breaching sections 2 to 6

These are in Schedule 3A of the Act, added by the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008, and in Schedule 3A of the NI Order. In England and Wales the £20,000 summary cap was replaced with an unlimited fine from 12 March 2015. That's why a magistrates' court could fine Redcat £240,000 (below). Some guides still quote the old £20,000 limit for England and Wales.

Directors and managers

Under section 37, if a company's offence was committed "with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer", that person "as well as the body corporate shall be guilty". In NI the same rule comes through article 34A.

Section 36 goes further: where an offence "is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence", whether or not the business itself is prosecuted.

How courts set the fine

In England and Wales, courts follow the Sentencing Council's guideline for organisations, effective from 1 February 2016 and last updated 5 October 2026. The overall range is "£50 fine – £10 million fine". The court sets culpability and harm, then looks at turnover. For a micro business (turnover up to £2 million), the starting point for very high culpability in the worst harm category is £250,000, within a range of £150,000 to £450,000. For a large organisation it's £4,000,000.

Time limits

Section 34 sets special limits only in narrow cases: after a formal report, inquest or inquiry, and for offences by designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers. We found no general time limit in the Act for prosecuting breaches of sections 2 and 3. Those offences can be tried either way.

Can staff sue under the Act?

No, not for breaking the general duties. Section 47 says the Act gives no "right of action in any civil proceedings in respect of any failure to comply with any duty imposed by sections 2 to 7".

Breach of health and safety regulations used to give an automatic right to sue. That changed with section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, fully in force from 1 October 2013. Now breach of regulations "shall not be actionable except to the extent that regulations under this section so provide". Injured staff and customers still sue, but in negligence. The same risk assessments and records that defend a prosecution are your evidence there too.

Real cases

Langton Arms, Leicestershire (2025). Julie Hyatt, 57, fell "into a basement cellar through a door which should have been locked" and died in hospital. Harborough District Council found "no risk assessment in place to cover the access into the basement cellar." On 19 June 2025 at Leicester Magistrates' Court, Redcat Retail Pubs Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1). It was ordered to pay £240,000, a £2,000 victim surcharge and £43,633.06 costs.

Crafty Casks Taproom, Rayleigh (2024). A member of the public suffered severe head injuries falling "from an unguarded Loading Bay platform". At Southend Magistrates' Court on 15 November 2024, Crafty Casks Pubs Limited pleaded guilty to two HSWA charges. The failings included "lack of a guard rail on the platform, poor lighting, slipping hazards from ice, and inadequate risk assessments for platform use and manual handling." A £40,000 fine was cut to £20,000 for the guilty plea and the company's finances, making £35,000 in total with costs and surcharge, according to Rochford District Council.

Spice N Nice bakery, Camberwell (2025). The two owners were prosecuted personally after council officers found an LPG cooking appliance and stored gas bottles inside the bakery, plus dangerous electrics. They had been told to stop using the equipment "18 months earlier". At Croydon Magistrates' Court on 3 March 2025 they pleaded guilty to HSWA breaches and were fined £1,200 each, plus surcharge and costs, according to Southwark Council.

In two of the three, the council said the risk assessment was missing or not good enough.

When did the Act come in?

The Act received Royal Assent on 31 July 1974. It came in stages under the Commencement No. 1 Order 1974. The enforcement powers, including improvement and prohibition notices, started on 1 January 1975. The general duties in sections 2 to 8 started on 1 April 1975.

Common myths

On X, one user wrote that the Act "may now be widely misapplied by jobsworths". Fair enough, sometimes. But the Act itself only asks for what's reasonably practicable. A lot of "health and safety gone mad" rules are a business's own choice.

FAQ

What is the main purpose of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974?

To protect the health, safety and welfare of people at work, and to protect anyone else affected by work activities, such as customers and the public. It sets general duties and lets the government make more detailed safety regulations.

Does the Health and Safety at Work Act apply to small businesses?

Yes, from the first employee. The only concession is that employers with fewer than five employees don't have to write their health and safety policy down. They still need one.

What are the employer's main duties under HSWA?

To ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees (section 2) and that others aren't put at risk (section 3). That includes safe equipment and systems of work, training and supervision, safe premises and welfare facilities.

What are employees' duties under the Act?

To take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others affected by what they do, and to co-operate with their employer on safety (section 7). They mustn't misuse safety equipment (section 8).

Who enforces the Act in hospitality?

In Great Britain, the local council enforces it for catering services and accommodation, so that covers restaurants, pubs, cafés and hotels. In Northern Ireland, district councils do. The HSE covers sectors like construction and factories.

What is the maximum penalty for breaching the Act?

On indictment, an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison. In England and Wales, magistrates can also impose unlimited fines. In Scotland and NI, the summary maximum is £20,000.

Does the Act apply in Northern Ireland?

No. Northern Ireland has the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, which sets out the same general duties.

Can I be sued under the Health and Safety at Work Act?

Not for breach of the general duties in sections 2 to 7, and since October 2013 not automatically for breach of the regulations either. Injured people claim in negligence instead.