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UK position on health and safety upheld |
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
The UK government has fended off a legal challenge by the European Commission that could have obliged them to spend far more on health and safety.
The issue centred on one of the basic tenets of UK law, that employers
should take steps to safeguard the health and safety of workers 'so far
as is reasonably practical'.
The Commission claimed that the use of the phrase contravened the
European Framework Directive on health and safety. However the European
Court of Justice found in the UK’s favour and dismissed the
allegations.
Steffan Groch, health and safety partner at major law firm DWF, said: "The use of the
phrase 'so far as reasonably practicable' has been a long standing
feature of English law and predates even the Health and Safety at Work
1974. It introduces flexibility into the law, unlike in some other
member states where the rules are written in absolute terms.
"If the UK government had lost the case it would have meant rewriting
health and safety laws and employers would have been required to
resolve all health and safety issues with no expense spared.
"The judgement vindicates the UK’s position on health and safety, as
does our safety record. While care is needed in making comparisons
between member states, the EU’s own figures show that, with an annual
mortality rate of 1.1 per 100,000 workers, the UK has the best safety
record in Europe."
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