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Top EU court backs UK safety law

The European Union's top court last week dismissed charges that Britain broke EU laws by limiting how far companies need to go in ensuring the health and safety of their employees. The European Commission had argued in the European Court of Justice that a British regulation saying employers must ensure the health and safety of workers only 'so far as is reasonably practicable' did not fully comply with EU rules. 'The court dismisses the Commission's action against the 'reasonably practicable' qualification contained in the United Kingdom legislation on health and safety of workers,' the Luxembourg-based court said in a statement. The Commission had said Britain was allowing an employer to escape responsibility if it could prove that measures to ensure safety of workers were grossly disproportionate in terms of money, time or trouble when balanced against the relevant risk. In the UK, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) welcomed the ruling and said the country had the best occupational safety record in Europe. 'We continue to believe that the right way forward is a proportionate and risk-based approach protecting employees and others effectively, whilst allowing common sense to be applied when deciding on what protective measures to adopt,' said HSC chair Bill Callaghan in a statement. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the resolution of the case, adding: 'The Health and Safety Executive now needs to get on with ensuring that the UK's safety laws are properly enforced and that employers who risk the safety of their workforce are brought to book. This has always been more important than any worries about the nuances of the wording of our safety laws.' Hazards magazine has tracked a dramatic deterioration in all HSE enforcement activities in the UK, including the numbers of prosecutions, convictions, inspections and notices issued.

• ECJ news release [pdf]. HSE news release. European Commission news release. IOSH news release. Case C127-05 European Commission v United Kingdom. Personnel Today. Reuters. Hazards enforcement webpage.

Briefing document (400 words) issued 22 Jun 2007