UK Act of Parliament 1978 Northern Ireland

Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978

Enforced by
HSENI
Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Imprisonment 9 of 16 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 2 carry different penalties and 5 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person6 Employer3 Self-Employed Person1 Employee1

Plus 5 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
Self-Employed Person — also bound by 80 other Acts
Employee — also bound by 189 other Acts

What it requires

Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

INTRODUCTORY

0 of 2 sections shown
2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 2

HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE IN CONNECTION WITH WORK, AND CONTROL OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES

13 of 49 sections shown
s.004 General duties of employers to their employees (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employeesEmployer
s.005 General duties of employers and self-employed to persons other than their employees (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Protect the health and safety of non-employeesSelf-Employed Person
s.006 General duties of persons concerned with premises to persons other than their employees (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Ensure safety of premises and equipment for non-employeesAny Person
s.007 General duties of manufacturers etc. as regards articles and substances for use at work (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Ensure safety of equipment and substances supplied for workAny Person
s.008 General duties of employees at work (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Take reasonable care for health and safety and cooperate with employerEmployee
s.009 Duty not to interfere with or misuse things provided pursuant to certain provisions (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Do not interfere with or misuse health and safety equipmentAny Person
s.010 Duty not to charge employees for things done or provided pursuant to certain specific requirements (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Do not charge employees for health and safety requirementsEmployer

Unlimited fine

s.011 General duty of the Department concerned (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Government departments must promote health and safety in Northern IrelandCrown / Minister / Government department
s.013 Functions of the Executive (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSENI must provide health and safety information, advice, and trainingStatutory regulator
s.020 Authorities responsible for enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSENI and local authorities must arrange for health and safety enforcementStatutory regulator
s.031 Offences (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Breach of general health and safety duties and regulationsAny Person
s.034 Offences due to fault of other person (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Cause another person to commit an health and safety offenceAny Person
s.art047 Application of Part to police Imprisonment
  • Personal liability for police health and safety breachesAny Person
36 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.information communicated by commissioners for reve Information communicated by Commissioners for Revenue and Customs
s.offences by bodies corporate Offences by bodies corporate
s.power of customs officer to detain articles and su Power of customs officer to detain articles and substances
Part 3

THE EMPLOYMENT MEDICAL ADVISORY SERVICE

2 of 4 sections shown
s.048 The employment medical advisory service (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • HSENI must maintain an employment medical advisory serviceStatutory regulator
s.050 Supplementary (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • DHSS must arrange for transfer of school medical records to health advisersCrown / Minister / Government department
2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 4

MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

0 of 5 sections shown
5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
s.paragraph/p5 Art. 52 rep. by 2004 c. 17
s.paragraph/p6 Art.56(1), with Schedule 6, effects amendments; para.(2), with Schedule 7,...
Schedules

Schedules

1 of 51 shown
s.sch003a OFFENCES: MODE OF TRIAL AND MAXIMUM PENALTY Imprisonment
  • Breach of general health and safety duties to employees and othersEmployer
50 other schedules
s.sch001 The provisions of the Acts mentioned in the following table which are specified in the...
s.sch001 The provisions of any regulations, orders or other instruments of a legislative character made or...
s.sch001 The provisions of— (a) the Explosives Act 1875, and (b) the Explosives Act (Northern Ireland)...
s.sch002 The Executive shall be a body corporate to which, subject...
s.sch002 A person authorised in writing in that behalf by the...
s.sch002 The validity of any proceedings of the Executive shall not...
s.sch002 The fixing of the common seal of the Executive shall...
s.sch002 A document purporting to be duly executed under the common...
s.sch002 Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed...
s.sch002 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the Executive with the approval...
s.sch002 The Executive may authorise any member of the Executive or...
s.sch002 The Executive with the consent of the Department concerned may...
s.sch002 (1) The Executive shall prepare in respect of the period...
s.sch002 (1) The Executive shall— (a) keep proper accounts and proper...
s.sch002 Persons may be appointed as whole-time or part-time members of...
s.sch002 Subject to paragraphs 5 and 6 a person shall hold...
s.sch002 A person may at any time resign office as chairman,...
s.sch002 (1) The Head of the Department may at any time...
s.sch002 Past service as chairman, deputy chairman or member of the...
s.sch002 The Department may pay or make such payments towards the...
s.sch002 The Executive may regulate its own procedure and business including...
s.sch003 (1) Regulating or prohibiting— (a) the manufacture, supply or use of any plant; (b) the...
s.sch003 Imposing requirements with respect to the provision and use in specified circumstances of protective clothing...
s.sch003 Requiring in specified circumstances the taking of specified precautions in connection with the risk of...
s.sch003 (1) Prohibiting or imposing requirements in connection with the emission within any premises of any...
s.sch003 Imposing requirements with respect to the instruction, training and supervision of persons at work.
s.sch003 (1) Requiring, in specified circumstances, specified matters to be notified in a specified manner to...
s.sch003 Imposing requirements with respect to the keeping and preservation of records and other documents, including...
s.sch003 Imposing requirements with respect to the management of animals.
s.sch003 The following purposes as regards premises of any specified description where persons work, namely— (a)...
s.sch003 Conferring, in specified circumstances involving a risk of fire or explosion, power to search a...
s.sch003 Restricting, prohibiting or requiring the doing of any specified thing where any accident or other...
s.sch003 (1) Prohibiting or regulating the transport of articles or substances of any specified description. (2)...
s.sch003 As regards cases of any specified class, being a class such that the variety in...
s.sch003 Conferring on any district council power to make byelaws with respect to any specified matter,...
s.sch003 (1) In this Schedule “specified” means specified in health and safety regulations. (2) Any mention...
s.sch003 (1) Prohibiting the carrying on of any specified activity or the doing of any specified...
s.sch003 Requiring any person, premises or thing to be registered in any specified circumstances or as...
s.sch003 (1) Requiring, in specified circumstances, the appointment (whether in a specified capacity or not) of...
s.sch003 Regulating or prohibiting in specified circumstances the employment of persons.
s.sch003 (1) Requiring the making of arrangements for securing the health of persons at work or...
s.sch003 Imposing requirements with respect to any matter affecting the conditions in which persons work, including...
s.sch003 Securing the provision of specified welfare facilities for persons at work, including in particular such...
s.sch003a The mode of trial and maximum penalty applicable to each offence listed in the first...
s.sch005 Where, at the commencement of this Schedule, a person's employment is unlawful under section 74(2)...
s.schedule/2/part/1/paragraph/wrapper1n2 Para.2 rep by 1998 NI 18

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Starting a business in Northern Ireland

Complete guide to NI-specific requirements when starting a business. Covers devolved differences in employment law, business rates, planning, health and safety, and …

Quick check: Northern Ireland-specific requirements

Quick checklist of key Northern Ireland differences from Great Britain. Check employment law, health and safety, planning, business rates, and equality obligations …

Responding to an HSENI investigation

What to do when the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland contacts you. Covers enforcement notices, RIDDOR NI reporting, compliance gaps, …

Starting a regulated business in Northern Ireland

A guided learning path for businesses in Northern Ireland that operate in regulated sectors. Covers the three key NI-specific regulators — HSENI, …

Northern Ireland workplace safety quick check

Quick checklist for employers in Northern Ireland to verify HSENI compliance. Covers risk assessments, employers' liability insurance, RIDDOR NI reporting, competent person …

Construction safety in Northern Ireland: CDM (NI) 2016

How the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 apply to construction projects in NI. Covers duty holder roles, F10 notification …

Doing business in Northern Ireland: key differences from Great Britain

Comprehensive reference of the key regulatory divergences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Covers employment law, equality legislation, planning, business rates, health …

Farm safety in Northern Ireland: HSENI requirements

HSENI's farm safety requirements for Northern Ireland, which has the highest agricultural fatality rate in the UK. Covers the main risks (falls, …

Northern Ireland business compliance checklist

A quick compliance checklist for businesses operating in Northern Ireland. Covers NI-specific obligations including fair employment monitoring, HSENI registration, fire safety, business …

Report a workplace accident or incident to HSENI (RIDDOR NI)

How to report workplace accidents, injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences to HSENI under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations …

Respond to HSENI enforcement action

What to do when the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) issues an improvement notice, prohibition notice, or prosecutes your …

Understanding HSENI: how workplace safety regulation works in Northern Ireland

How workplace health and safety regulation operates in Northern Ireland, where HSENI enforces separate legislation under the devolution settlement. Explains the relationship …

Workplace health and safety in Northern Ireland: HSENI obligations

How workplace health and safety is regulated in Northern Ireland, where HSENI (not HSE) enforces the law under separate legislation. Covers the …

Connected legislation

Instruments made under this Act. They carry the detail the Act delegates.

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.