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etc. as a result.
Safety Training, Supervision and Protective Equipment: Although not directly identified
as a common law duty by Wilsons & Clyde Coal Co. Ltd v. English (1938), the duty to
provide adequate safety training, supervision and protective equipment is well
established.
There is no duty on an employer to stand and look over the shoulder of each individual
employee, for this would amount to a ridiculous situation; but there is a duty on an
employer to provide protective equipment, e.g. eye protection, where there is an
obvious danger. By the same token, an employee is expected to make use of protective
measures when they are provided.
There is much case law covering this area and each case will be determined on the facts
appertaining at the time. However, there is one important feature that you must
remember: employers who have a duty to provide suitable protective measures must
make them available and must inform their employees of the availability. It is not
enough to go through the motions of purchasing safety equipment and then to keep it in
a store.
Application & Key Differences Between Criminal & Civil Law
Practical Application of Health and Safety Law: You can see the way in which criminal
law and civil law are applied in a health and safety incident in the following example.
An employee of a company is working at an unguarded machine. The employees hand
becomes trapped in the machine and two fingers on his right hand are amputated. The
Health and Safety Executive prosecute the company under Section 2(1) of HSWA for
failing, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the safety of an employee. As a
consequence of this the company is fined 10,000 with 1,200 costs. The fine is a
punishment to the company for its failure to ensure the health and safety of its
employees as required by criminal law.
In addition, the employee in question is now disabled and has suffered loss as a result of
his injuries. He is entitled to be compensated for this loss and brings a civil claim of
negligence and breach of statutory duty against the company. The claim is successful
and the company insurers are required by civil law to award compensation to the
individual for the loss that he has suffered as a result of his injuries.
Consequently the company is punished under criminal law for injuring the employee
and has to compensate him under civil law for the consequences of the injury.
Key differences between Criminal and Civil Law
