| Contractors and the Law |
The legal position of clients, contractors and sub contractors in relation to each other is both complex and constantly evolving. Both criminal and civil liabilities may arise.
Criminal Liability
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 - Section 3
Section 3 of HASWA sets out the duties of employers to persons not in their employment. The duty is to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment are not exposed to risks to their health and safety arising from that undertaking.
Section 3 has been used to secure successful prosecutions against employers for accidents to contractors.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992
This legislation contains a number of regulations which relate to non-employees:- Regulation 3 on Risk Assessment specifically states that the risk assessment process must include consideration of the risks posed to non-employees which includes contractors.
- Regulation 9 sets out the requirements on Co-operation and Co ordination where two or more employers share a workplace, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.
- Regulation 10 deals with persons working in a host employer’s undertaking and would be applicable to any situation in which contractor’s employees or self-employed contractors come onto premises to carry out work.
Civil Liability
Civil liabilities may arise independently of any criminal liability and can relate to contractual obligations, a tort (eg negligence) or Occupier’s liability.
In general a civil action for breach of statutory duty is specifically excluded for most health and safety regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Responsibility for the Work of Contractors
The extent to which an employer (or client company) can be held responsible for the unsafe acts of its contractors and sub contractors has been the theme of a number of actions in both criminal and civil cases.- In R v City Plant Hire (Derby) Ltd, Bardon Contractors and Derby City Council (1989), the Council and the Sub Contractor were fined three times that of the main contractor following an accident in which a passenger died when an excavator bucket struck the bus in which she was travelling.
- In McTeare v Dooley and Others (1994) the High Court ruled that where a company engages a contractor and fails to make reasonable enquiries about the contractor’s competence, then the company may be liable for injuries to a third party caused by the contractors negligence
- In HSE v Barnet LBC the Council was fined following an accident to a contractors employee when it was argued that more could have been done to assess the contractors competence to manage health and safety when considering competing tenders.
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