Taxi Driver Online

In response to CC's observation that self employed cab drivers are included in the 1974 act I have to say that it would appear he is correct. One particular passage from the act states the following, "self-employed person" means an individual who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he himself employs others;

The act has several references to self employed but mainly in the context of controlled and hazardous substances. However I wonder if anyone on here knows of any instance where a cab has ever been inspected by a health and safety inspector?

Does anyone know the maximum fine and sentence in both the lower and higher courts for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974?

Regards

JD

_________________
Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 1974 CHAPTER 37

An Act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with the activities of persons at work, for controlling the keeping and use and preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of dangerous substances, and for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere; to make further provision with respect to the employment medical advisory service; to amend the law relating to building regulations, and the Building (Scotland) Act 1959; and for connected purposes

[31st July 1974]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

2 of 102 DOCUMENTS: UK Legislation (Health and Safety)/UK Parliament
Statutes/Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (1974 c 37)/Part I Health, Safety and Welfare in Connection with Work, and Control of Dangerous Substances and Certain Emissions into the Atmosphere/1

Preliminary

Part I

Health, Safety and Welfare in Connection with Work, and Control of Dangerous Substances and Certain Emissions into the Atmosphere

Preliminary

1 Preliminary

(1) The provisions of this Part shall have effect with a view to--
(a) securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work;
(b) protecting persons other than persons at work against risks to
health or safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work;
(c) controlling the keeping and use of explosive or highly flammable or
otherwise dangerous substances, and generally preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession and use of such substances; . . .

Page 2
(d) . . .
(2) The provisions of this Part relating to the making of health and safety regulations . . . and the preparation and approval of codes of practice shall in particular have effect with a view to enabling the enactments specified in the third column of Schedule 1 and the regulations, orders and other instruments in force under those enactments to be progressively replaced by a system of regulations and approved codes of practice operating in combination with the other provisions of this Part and designed to maintain or improve the standards of health, safety and welfare established by or under those enactments.

(3) For the purposes of this Part risks arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work shall be treated as including risks attributable to the manner of conducting an undertaking, the plant or substances used for the purposes of an undertaking and the condition of premises so used or any part of them.

(4) References in this Part to the general purposes of this Part are references to the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) above.
_________________________

http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/statinstruments.htm

H & S Statutory instruments applying to various acts.

____________________

HEALTH AND SAFETY (OFFENCES) ACT 2008

The reason I mentioned offences in the previous post is because I found out yesterday that a new act came into force in October 2008 called the HEALTH AND SAFETY (OFFENCES) ACT 2008. I wasn't aware of this act and I'm sure many of you are in the same boat but if you are interested in health and safety then you may wish to familiarise yourself with the latest update on offences.

A brief summary of the act is as follows.

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND

3. The purpose of the Act is to raise the maximum penalties available to the courts in respect of certain health and safety offences by altering the penalty framework set out in section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 ("the 1974 Act"). The Act also makes similar changes to the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 ("the 1978 Order"). In what follows, references to provisions of the 1974 Act should (where necessary) be read as including references to the corresponding provisions of the 1978 Order.

4. The changes made by the Act were first proposed following a joint review of the current maximum penalties for health and safety offences, which was carried out between February and September 1999 by the Home Office, the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and the Health and Safety Executive.

5. The objective behind the changes is that sentences for health and safety offences be sufficient to deter those tempted to break the law, and sufficient to deal appropriately with those who do commit offences, in accordance with the Hampton 1 and Macrory 2 Reports.


Regards

JD

_________________
Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

_________________
IDFIMH

From next month it's £20,000 and/or six months in a Mags court.

Unlimited fine and/or two years in a Crown Court.

_________________
IDFIMH

The NVQ that I did included a Health and Safety workbook, but many of the questions were aimed at static (ie office/factory based) employees with a supervisor to whom they could report H&S breaches or problems.

Not much of it was directly applicable to a mobile trade, IMHO.

In one sentence you have just confirmed all my fears re NVQ.

_________________
IDFIMH

OMG what a can of worms Anyway I think this bit should cover what I was looking for. I know one of the taxi operators that do contract work for hospitals had to do a risk assessment for the carriage of oxygen bottles. We carry bloods on a hospital contract and I don't believe there has been any risk assessment done for those. The worse thing I've ever heard of having to carry is a blow up matress. I personally wouldn't do it unless there was a porter to put it in my vehicle and take it out at the other end but I know drivers that have dragged these matresses out of the hospital without any help.

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

The NVQ in Road Passenger Vehicle Driving has no questions aimed at anything other than driving road passenger vehicles.

B. Lucky

_________________
"Here's a simple solution. If you don't want to pay more for a premium service then wait in the queue, problem solved".
Skull on TDO

TF pi$$ed on his chips.

GA, the small workbook we had about H&S was definitely not aimed at RPVD!

It appeared to have been a general exercise designed by, presumably, the Health and Safety Executive as a 'catch-all.' I'll admit it was seperate from the other NVQ paperwork but it still made up the final portfolio.