HSE announces it will lay down the law, but only on two days each year
The HSE is in the vanguard of government attempts to increase employer awareness of, and compliance with, new legislation.
Starting this year, domestically initiated health and safety legislation will come into force on just two "common commencement days" (CCDs) each year - 6 April and 1 October. The HSE will also issue a statement at the beginning of each year setting out what it expects the changes to be, although it warns that commencement dates could be deferred following consideration by the HSC and ministers.
The changes will not apply to the transposition of EC directives, which set their own implementation dates, although the HSE advises that it will try and align the implementing regulations with a CCD. Nor will the CCDs apply to domestic legislation that affects a single sector only and where alignment with either CCD would not benefit the sector.
The HSE published its statement for 2005 in February1, and it is summarised in the table below. The table also demonstrates the limitations of the CCDs: of the 17 legislative targets, only eight fall on either of the CCDs; of the other nine, eight implement directives and one is sector-specific. (The table excludes Regulations on nuclear decommissioning and the environment.) Further, even where a set of regulations comes into force on a CCD, it is always possible that some provisions will take effect at a later date.
The concept of CCDs was recommended by the Better Regulation Task Force in 2002 and was incorporated into the government's "action plan for small business". The 2004 Budget committed the government to explore CCDs for domestic legislation and, in the same year, a Department of Trade and Industry pilot and consultation found overwhelming business support for the introduction of two CCDs each year. On 2 December 2004, the government's pre-Budget report announced that all domestic legislation that has an impact on business would have CCDs, starting in 2005 with health and safety, work and pensions, company and consumer issues.
The HSE's director general, Timothy Walker, says that CCDs are "what businesses say they want and the HSE is pleased to be able to join the initiative at an early stage. By bringing commencement dates together, employers will be able to prepare better for changes. This should particularly benefit small firms, who do not have the resources to monitor changes to legislation."
1 "Statement of forthcoming health and safety regulations for 2005", www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/regulations/.
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Title |
Summary |
HSB reference |
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A. Changes commencing on 6 April 2005 |
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Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2005 |
Updates the charges that the HSE makes for its work in the "permissioning" regimes, such as onshore major hazards. |
n/a |
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Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 |
Consolidates and updates 49 pieces of legislation. |
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Work at Heights Regulations 2005 |
Implements the work at height Directive. |
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Anthrax Prevention Order 1971 etc (Revocation) Regulations 2005 |
Repeals an Order that is out of date due to inclusion of Anthrax in more recent legislation. |
n/a |
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Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004 [COSHH] |
Replaces Maximum Exposure Limits and Occupational Exposure Standards with Workplace Exposure Limits. |
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B. Changes due to commence on 1 October 2005 |
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Coal Mines (Inhalable Dust) Regulations 2005 |
Introduces new controls on the level of inhalable and respirable dusts. |
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Tank Vehicle (Loading & Unloading of Petroleum Spirit) Regulations 2005 |
Replaces legislation on the safe transport of petrol, but introduces no new duties. |
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Management of Health and Safety at Work and Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 |
Excludes right of third parties to seek damages from employees in breech of the management Regulations and removes civil liability exclusion from the consultation Regulations. |
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C. Sectoral Regulations |
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Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 |
Updates and simplifies the regime. Likely commencement: September. |
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D. Changes caused by EU that are not aligned |
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Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2005 |
Reshapes the regulatory framework for rail safety. Implements Directive 2004/49/EC. Commencement: 1 October, although some provisions are likely to commence in April. |
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Control of Major Accident Hazards (Amendment) Regulations 2005 [COMAH] |
Adds additional named substances to the COMAH Regulations and revises threshold quantities. Implements Directive 2003/105/EC. Commencement: 1 July. |
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Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 |
Controls exposure of workers to hand-arm and whole-body vibration. Implements Directive 2002/44/EC. Commencement: 6 July. |
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Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 |
Covers public access to environmental information. Implements Directive 2003/4/EC. Commencement: 29 October. |
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Classification Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations 2005 |
Introduces and amends classifications and testing methods for dangerous chemicals. Implements 29th adaptation of Directive 67/548/EEC. Commencement: 31 October. |
n/a |
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Biocidal Products (Amendment) Regulations 2005 |
Concerns the third EC review of active substances. Implements part of Directive 98/8/EC. Commencement: 31 December. |
n/a |
