UK Statutory Instrument SI 1996 United Kingdom

Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996

These Regulations provide for further implementation, within Great Britain, of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of Council Directive 89/391/EEC (“the Framework Directive”, OJ No. L183, 29.6.89, p.1) on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety of employees at work. The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees …

Read it on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Enforced by
HSE
Status
Amended (in force with amendments)
Penalty ceiling
Prosecution 1 of 9 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 8 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Employer5 Employee1

Plus 3 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.

Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
TULRCA 1992 72 duties
Employee — also bound by 189 other Acts

What it requires

Regulations 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.

s.003 Duty of employer to consult (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Consult unrepresented employees on health and safety mattersEmployer
s.004 Persons to be consulted (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Consult employees directly or through elected safety representativesEmployer
s.005 Duty of employer to provide information (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Provide information needed for health‑and‑safety consultationEmployer

Unlimited fine

s.006 Functions of representatives of employee safety (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Represent employees in health‑and‑safety consultationsEmployee
s.007 Training, time off and facilities for representatives of employee safety and time off for candidates (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Provide training, pay and facilities for safety representatives and candidatesEmployer
8 other provisions — procedural and definitional
s.001 Citation, extent and commencement (opens in a new tab)
s.002 Interpretation (opens in a new tab)
s.008 Amendment of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (opens in a new tab)
s.009 Exclusion of civil liability (opens in a new tab)
s.010 Application of health and safety legislation (opens in a new tab)
s.011 Application to the Crown and armed forces (opens in a new tab)
s.012 Disapplication to sea-going ships (opens in a new tab)
s.013 Amendment of the 1977 Regulations (opens in a new tab)
Schedules

Schedules

4 of 11 shown
s.sch001 Subject to paragraph 3 below, where a person is permitted... Regulated
  • Pay employees for time off for health and safety consultation dutiesEmployer
s.sch002 PROVISIONS AS TO EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Tribunal must decide health and safety consultation disputesTribunal / Court
s.sch002 Where an employment tribunal finds a complaint under paragraph 2(a)... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Tribunal must declare and may award compensation for denied time-off complaintsTribunal / Court
s.sch002 Where on a complaint under paragraph 2(b) an employment tribunal... Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Tribunal must order employer to pay unpaid consultation amountsTribunal / Court
7 other schedules
s.sch001 PAY FOR TIME OFF (opens in a new tab)
s.sch001 The average hourly earnings referred to in paragraph 1(b) are...
s.sch001 Any payment to a person by an employer in respect...
s.sch002 An employment tribunal shall have jurisdiction to determine complaints in...
s.sch002 A person (referred to in this Schedule as the “complainant”)...
s.sch002 Subject to paragraph 3A an employment tribunal shall not consider...
s.sch002 (1) In this paragraph— (a) Day A is the day...

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Health and safety for a growing business

What changes as your business grows: written policy at 5 employees, safety representatives at 50, and formal management systems at 250+. Understand …
1 more guide that reference this instrument
Health and safety requirements by business size

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