HSE - Health & Safety Law Posters and Leaflets

[TrueBlueTerrier]

24 August 2012
LTB 638/12 - HSE - Health & Safety Law Posters and Leaflets ("Health and Safety Law -What you need to know")

No. 638/12
Ref EX5
Date: 24 August 2012





To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,



HSE - Health & Safety Law Posters and Leaflets ("Health and Safety Law -What you need to know")



Following a number of enquiries, this is to clarify the legal position for the information of Safety Reps, Branches and Members.

Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations (HSIER) to display the approved HSE health and safety law poster in a prominent position in each workplace or to provide each worker with a copy of the approved leaflet "Health and Safety Law: What you need to know" outlining British health and safety law.

The 2009 poster replaces the version which was published in April 1999. The 2009 leaflet is also available in a convenient pocket card format and replaces the leaflet published in April 1999.

HSE research showed that the 1999 versions of the law poster and law leaflet were visually unappealing and rarely read. They were redesigned to be more readable and engaging. The poster and leaflet are now available in a range of formats as part of HSE's commitment to make health and safety information more accessible.

The 2009 poster and leaflet also reflect changes in the law to reduce the administrative cost to employers of having to provide additional written information on the poster or with the leaflet, and having to keep this information up to date.


The 2009 poster and leaflet set out in simple terms, using numbered lists of basic points, what employers and workers must do, as well as showing what to do if there is a problem.

Their appearance was completely redesigned to make them more readable and colourful.

From 1 October 2011 HSE removed the telephone number to its Infoline service as the Infoline closed on 30 September 2011 and the Incident Contact Centre will only be available for reporting major injuries and fatalities. Reporting of other statutory notifications will continue to be available through online forms [2]. A new poster does not have to be purchased or printed as a result of these changes.

Unlike the 1999 poster and leaflet, the 2009 poster and leaflet do not require the employer to provide further information in writing, either on the poster or with the leaflet, giving workers the name and address of the enforcing authority and Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS). Instead, workers are advised to go to HSE's website to find relevant addresses.

The 2009 poster does still have optional boxes where details of any worker health and safety representatives and other health and safety contacts can be added. It is not a legal requirement to include this information but it may be helpful to workers.

To help avoid an unnecessary burden on businesses, the HSE Board set a five-year transition period for replacing the 1999 poster and leaflet. Therefore the 1999 poster and leaflet continue to be displayed/distributed but must be replaced with the 2009 poster or leaflet no later than 5 April 2014. However, where employers do keep the old poster, there will be a continuing duty, in the period up to April 2014, to keep the additional written information up to date. The additional information that employers have to provide in writing, either by inserting this in the appropriate boxes on the 1999 poster
or by giving it to workers with the 1999 leaflet, is:

(a) The name and address of the enforcing authority; and

(b) The address of the office of HSE's Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) for the premises concerned.

These addresses can be obtained by accessing:

(i) The HSE website to see the type of workplaces the HSE is responsible for and those where Local Authorities have responsibility. [3]. Should HSE be the enforcing authority, addresses for HSE Local Offices[4]
are available on the HSE website.

(ii) Directgov website [5] for a list of local authorities;


Health and Safety Law Posters and Leaflets can be purchased from HSE Books. The full range of law poster products, with the exception of the standard and semi-rigid posters, are available to freely download from HSE's website or can be purchased from HSE Books. An audio version of the content of the leaflet is available from the HSE Website, talking leaflets page under the heading 'general information'.

There are both Northern Ireland and Welsh Versions available from HSE. The range can be ordered on-line at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/lawposter.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Posters are available from a number of sources and suppliers. Copies of the 2009 poster purchased direct from HSE Books will be obviously be genuine. To check that each poster copy is genuine, the 2009 poster incorporates a unique, serially numbered hologram in the bottom right corner. The security hologram is to help prevent mis-selling. If an employer is in doubt about a poster purchased through another source,
they should contact HSE at busmansec@hse.gsi.gov.uk.





Attachments:- Available at official CWU - too large to host here

· Health and Safety Law Post - Old and Current Versions.
· HSE Leaflet - Health and Safety - What You Need To Know
· "Easy Read" HSE Leaflet - Health & Safety What You Need To Know