Legislation
Employee’s responsibilities include:
- Following the health and safety policy
- Reading the hazard warning labels on containers and following the advice given
- Reporting any potential hazards such as glass breakage or spillage of chemicals to the relevant person in the workplace.
The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations Act 1992 – requires all employers and their employees at work to maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 – states what regulations to follow. It is essential that a place of work must have a first aid box containing: plasters, bandages, wound dressings, safety pins, eye pads, and cleaning wipes.
A first aid record book should be kept and if first aid is carried out, information that needs to be recorded is the patients name, date, time, what happened, any injury details, treatment given, and any advice given.
The Electricity at Work Regulations Act 1992 – states all electrical equipment should be checked by a qualified electrician annually to make sure it is safe.
This act is concerned with safety while using electricity. Any electrical equipment used must be checked regularly to ensure that it is safe. These checks should be listed in a record book and would be important evidence in any legal action that may arise. Broken or damaged equipment or equipment with exposed wires should not be used. Cracked sockets should also not be used, and sockets should never be overloaded.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 – states the steps that should be followed if an accident occurs at work of if someone was to occur an injury.
Minor accidents should be entered into a record book, stating what occurred and what action was taken.
It is important that all concerned should sign. If because of an accident at work anyone is off work for more than 3 days, or someone is seriously injured, or has a type of occupational disease certified by the doctor, or even dies, a report should be sent to the local authority Environmental Health Department as soon as possible.
The Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 – states all employers and self-employed persons must hold liability insurance.
Employers must take out insurance policies in case of claims by employees for injury, disease or illness related to the workplace.
A certificate must be displayed at work to show that the employer has the insurance.
Environmental Protection Act – waste regulations – states all waste chemicals must be disposed of safely and anybody using hazardous substances must ensure that disposal of them (by a licensed company) does not cause harm to the environment or landfill site.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1994 – instructs of ways substances deemed as hazardous to health should be stored. It is a requirement that all employees should be made aware of risks and given appropriate training. Detailed instructions must be kept regarding any products considered hazardous.
Examples of some COSHH symbols to inform the user of the potential hazards:
Diagram I – COSHH symbols
Consumer Protection Act 1987 – this act aims to safeguard any consumer against products, which do not reach a reasonable level of safety.
Any person injured by a product can act against the producer, importer, or an own brander.
The Local Government Act 1982 – Bylaws are laws made by your local council. Workplace by laws are primarily concerned with hygiene and different councils around the country have different ones.
The Act states a person may not carry out their practice unless registered by the local authority and premises must be registered to carry out treatments. This only applies to businesses which practice beauty treatments such as ear piercing, electrical epilation, acupuncture etc.
The Fire Precautions Act 1997 – the laws require all premises to undertake a fire risk assessment and that all staff must be trained in fire and emergency evacuation procedure and the premises must have adequate fire escapes.
If five or more people work together as employees, the fire risk assessment must be in writing, and must also take into account all other persons on the premises, i.e. clients and visitors to the salon.
In the period of one year there must be at least one fire drill that involves everyone. All staff must be fully informed and trained in fire and emergency evacuation procedure.
- All firefighting equipment should be regularly checked to ensure its in good working order and that there is adequate amount available
- Fire exit doors should be clearly marked and should remain unlocked and must not be obstructed.
- Smoke alarms must be installed and regularly tested.
- All staff must be trained in fire drill procedures and this information should be displayed at the workplace.
Fire Extinguishers
Fire Extinguishers are red with a different of colour just below the neck for different types of fire:
RED – Contains WATER – and is used to put out fires of Natural material – such paper, wood, cloth etc
BLUE – Contains DRY POWDER – and is used to put out Electrical fires – and can also be used to put fires containing oils, alcohols, solvents, paint, flammable liquids, and gases
CREAM – Contains FOAM – and is used to put out fires containing flammable liquids (not to be used on Electrical fires!)
BLACK – Contains Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – and is used to put out Electrical fires (electric supply to be turned off first!) also any fires containing grease, fats, oils paint, flammable liquids (note not to be used on chip-pan or frying pan fires)