Defence, Security & Space

Set up and run a safe public administration operation

Public administration bodies — government departments, local authorities, defence establishments and agencies carrying out compulsory social security — face office-based and field-based risks depending on function. Whether you administer benefits, manage public infrastructure or run defence logistics, the core workplace duties apply. This guide takes you through health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality (including the Public Sector Equality Duty) and data protection. Crown employers' duties under HASWA 1974 apply with full force.

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Related guides in Employment & HR

Public administration covers a wide range of functions — from office-based policy work and benefits administration to field-based roles in defence, emergency planning and public infrastructure. Whatever the function, the workplace duties in this guide apply to running the operation and employing people. Get this spine in place first, then use the compliance checklist to confirm everything is covered.

Many public administration bodies are Crown employers. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 binds the Crown: the general duties under sections 2–7 apply to Crown employers with full force. However, Crown bodies cannot be prosecuted for breaches — the Health and Safety Executive deals with failures through Crown censure, an administrative procedure that formally records the breach. Individual Crown employees can still be prosecuted under section 7. Health and safety is a reserved matter in Great Britain — the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator. In Northern Ireland, health and safety is a transferred matter, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) under equivalent legislation.

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work. In public administration that means risk-assessing the full range of your activities — office workstations, lone working, visits to premises, driving for work, and any specialist risks your function carries (for example, handling hazardous materials in defence establishments or working at height on public infrastructure). Provide safe systems of work, training and supervision.

B. Manage fire safety

The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire-safety arrangements for every premises under your control. The duty is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales; the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in Scotland; and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland. Crown premises have specific fire-safety arrangements. In England, Crown premises are inspected by the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate rather than the local fire and rescue authority. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements for inspecting Crown premises.

C. Confirm your employers' liability insurance position

Most public administration bodies — including government departments and local authorities — are exempt from the requirement to hold employers' liability compulsory insurance under section 3 of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. If your body is not exempt, you must hold at least £5 million of cover and display or make available the certificate. Check whether your organisation holds an exemption certificate before assuming this duty applies to you.

D. Meet your equality duties — including the Public Sector Equality Duty

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010; in Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Public administration bodies carry an additional obligation that private-sector employers do not: the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. You must have due regard to three aims when exercising your functions: eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and fostering good relations between those groups. In England, specific duties require you to publish equality objectives and information; Scotland and Wales have their own specific duties with additional requirements.

E. Handle personal data lawfully — public authority constraints

If you process personal data — about staff, members of the public or other organisations — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the regulator UK-wide.

Public authorities face tighter constraints than private-sector organisations. You cannot rely on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR) as a lawful basis for processing personal data in the exercise of your public tasks — you must instead use public task (Article 6(1)(e)), legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) or, where appropriate, consent. Where processing is likely to result in a high risk to individuals, you must carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) before the processing begins.

Public administration bodies are also subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (or the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in Scotland). You must publish information proactively through a publication scheme and respond to requests for information within 20 working days.

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    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess the full range of your activities — office work, lone working, site visits, driving for work and any specialist risks — and put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

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    2. Carry out your fire risk assessment

    Assess the fire risk for every premises under your control, including any Crown-specific fire-safety arrangements, under the regime for your nation.

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    3. Confirm your employers' liability insurance position

    Check whether your body is exempt under section 3 of the 1969 Act (most government departments and local authorities are). If not exempt, hold at least £5 million of cover and display or make available the certificate.

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    4. Embed the Public Sector Equality Duty

    Have due regard to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality and fostering good relations in all your functions; publish equality objectives and information as the specific duties require.

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    5. Establish your data-protection regime and publication scheme

    Identify your lawful bases (not legitimate interests for public-task processing), carry out DPIAs for high-risk processing, and maintain your Freedom of Information publication scheme.

What to do next

This spine covers the duties of running a public administration operation and employing people. Confirm you have covered everything with the public administration compliance checklist.

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety, equality and data-protection guidance for public bodies.