Draft Health and Safety at Work etc. act 1974 (General duties of self-employed persons) (Prescribed Undertakings) Regulations 2015
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Justin Tomlinson)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (General Duties of Self-Employed Persons) (Prescribed Undertakings) Regulations 2015.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. The regulations were laid before both Houses on 22 June 2015. Section 1 of the Deregulation Act 2015 gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations that limit the scope of section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 so that only those self-employed people who conduct an undertaking of a prescribed description will continue to have a duty under the provision.
The regulations will retain duties for all self-employed persons who conduct specified high-risk work activities or might expose others to risks to their health or safety. I am satisfied that the instrument is compatible with the European convention on human rights.
In 2011, the Government commissioned Professor Löfstedt, director of King’s Centre for Risk Management, to conduct an independent review of health and safety regulations. One of his recommendations was to exempt from health and safety law self-employed people whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others. The Government accepted that recommendation and asked the Health and Safety Executive to draw up proposals for changing the law.
Currently, section 3(2) of the 1974 Act imposes a general duty on self-employed people to protect themselves and others from risks to their health and safety, regardless of the type of activity they are undertaking. The proposed change to the law was included in clause 1 of the Deregulation Bill, to ensure that only self-employed who conduct an
“undertaking of a prescribed description”
will continue to have a duty.
The underlying policy is that self-employed people will retain duties under section 3(2) only if their undertaking involves carrying out an activity that is specified in the regulations. It was intended that the regulations would consist of a short, concise list of activities. The proposed policy was subject to two public consultations and debated in Parliament. The Government carefully considered the consultation responses and listened to respondents’ concerns during the debates in both Houses. The clause was amended on Report in the House of Lords to ensure that self-employed people whose work poses a risk to others’ health and safety remain subject to the law. Those amended regulations are now subject to scrutiny by both Houses of Parliament. The Deregulation Bill received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015.
The regulations have been drafted to ensure that self-employed people still have a duty under the law where they carry out high-risk activities that create risks to themselves or others. That is intended to include the most common activities carried out by the self-employed that statistically result in high numbers of fatalities and injuries. Such an approach puts beyond doubt that these self-employed people will not be exempt from health and safety law, irrespective of what they do. Work activities in agriculture, on the railways or involving gas and asbestos are therefore included.
The regulations also include any EU requirements that impose a specific duty on someone who is self-employed to protect themselves from risks to their own health and safety, bringing in work with genetically-modified organisms and self-employed people who work on construction sites. Crucially, there is still a catch-all provision in the regulations to include self-employed people who carry out an undertaking that may expose others to health and safety risks.
Finally, the Government acknowledge that the self-employed will need some help to understand this change, in order to limit the possibility of people incorrectly assessing whether their work activities might expose others to risk. The Health and Safety Executive will therefore produce guidance to support the regulations and signpost existing guidance that explains in practical terms what people need to do to comply with health and safety legislation. I commend the regulations to the Committee.
Justin Tomlinson
I thank the shadow Minister for his characteristically thoughtful and assured speech, in which he raised important points. I am delighted to hear about Barbara Castle’s involvement. She was my mother’s MP, so that bodes well.
The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to highlight the importance of the long-term fall in injuries. The driver for that is not the £4.7 million, but ensuring that the perception of health and safety exists so that the workplace is made safer and businesses engage. As a former self-employed person in a relatively small office, I know that things are a lot harder for a small business than for companies with big human resources departments that are skilled and well-trained in such areas.
On why the list is not more exhaustive, those occupations listed were the ones that were deemed to involve high risk, and that therefore were high profile, but the crucial catch-all proviso remains. It is vital that we encourage wider engagement, and I have already done a huge amount of work with the HSE board. If we look at all the statistics over recent years, there has been good progress in how much businesses are engaging and their seeing that it is beneficial to do so, but the change will clarify where there is no risk and no duty, thus helping to reduce the perception that health and safety law is inappropriately applied, which was turning businesses off from engaging and helping to maintain a safe workplace.
As I said, it is not the £4.7 million that, in the grand scheme of things, will make a huge difference, but 1.7 million self-employed people. The Government consider that the proposal will encourage an increase in self-employment and boost economic growth by removing negative perceptions about health and safety law in circumstances in which there is a low risk of harm, which we would all welcome.
The shadow Minister rightly highlighted the need to ensure that people are aware of the changes and guidelines. Once the changes have been agreed by Parliament, the Health and Safety Executive will implement an extensive communications plan to publicise them. Every effort will be made to ensure that self-employed workers are aware of the changes and that they can easily understand how those changes affect them. That is especially the case for those to whom the law will continue to apply. As I have said, in recent years there has been a complete transformation in the documents and communications provided by the HSE, which has been well received by the business community, but the self-employed will not be exempt from the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, only from section 3(2). Other sections will still apply even if someone is exempt from section 3(2), so this is not a complete wipe-away of any responsibility.
The right hon. Gentleman asked who is responsible if the wrong conclusion is reached. It is the duty of the self-employed person to understand that the law applies to them, and liability will not be based on a subjective understanding.
Stephen Timms
That is the point that troubles me most and I do not really understand that answer. The old position was that one was subject to the law, so the position was clear. Under the regulations, a person will be subject to the law if they pose a risk to someone else. I do not understand how somebody can make a sound assessment of whether, as a self-employed person, they pose a risk to somebody else.
Justin Tomlinson
Businesses have to make such decisions day after day. For example, they have to decide if they are subject to VAT conditions if they are in an industry in which certain products are VAT-able and others are not. A self-employed bookkeeper working at home who does not invite the public into their home would clearly be exempt according to the guidelines. If someone is coming into contact with the public and doing work that might pose a risk, they will be covered. That is why the guidelines will be produced, and self-employed people will make a judgment. It is estimated that approximately 1 million people will still be subject to health and safety law as they fall into those high-risk activities listed on the schedule.
Question put and agreed to.