There are many health and safety legislations that are applicable to our industry:
Health and Safety at Work ACT 1974 (HASAWA)
· Employers are responsible for providing, as is reasonably practical, safe systems of work, without risk to health
The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPE)
· Employers are responsible for providing suitable PPE
· In the average barbershop, PPE will include:
gloves, gowns, towels & aprons
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulation 1992 (COSHH)
· Employers must control exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace
· Everyone should be aware of how to store, handle, use and dispose of these products
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
· These regulations require that certain measures must be taken when manual handling and lifting to avoid skeletal and muscular injuries
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)
· RIDDOR places a legal duty to report:
- Work related deaths
- Major injuries or over 3 day injuries
- Work related diseases (eg, dermatitis)
- Dangerous occurrences (near miss accidents)
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
· All electrical equipment must be regularly (preferably annually) checked for electrical safety
· The check must be carried out by a “competent person”, preferably a qualified electrician and is called PAT testing
The Fire Precautions Act 1971
· A ‘responsible person’ should carry out a fire risk assessment and ensure that precautions are implemented based on the results
· As a result of the assessment, there must be a policy in place which aims to minimise the risk of fire, reduce the spread of any fire, provide means of escape and take preventative action
Data Protection Act 1998
· You must keep information secure
· You must ensure information is accurate and relevant to your needs
· You must comply with individual’s requests for information that you are holding
