Information and consultation on health and safety

There are a number of obligations on employers to provide information on health and safety issues and to consult with their employees. These are mainly contained in, Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989, Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977, and the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996. 

Key points

• Employers are required to provide information (and instruction, training and supervision) in order to ensure the health and safety of their employees whilst at work.
• The information must be provided either directly to the employees, to trade-union-appointed safety representatives or to representatives elected by a group of employees for the purposes of consulting on health and safety-related matters.
• Employers are obliged to consult with their employees on any health-and-safety-related matters.
• Consultation on all health and safety matters must take place 'in good time'. This is down to the employer's judgment.