Health & Safety

Employers have a general duty under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to provide information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure the health and safety of their employees. Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 employers are required to ‘ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken’. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 also place duties on employers to provide training. By not providing any training at all you the employer could be breaking the Law.

 

Fork Lift Training Advice For Employers:

Introduction

Lift trucks are widely used for moving materials and goods, but they are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents. The deaths and injuries caused can ruin lives and businesses. Even when an incident does not cause injury, it can still mean costly damage to lift trucks, buildings, fittings and goods.

This information is aimed at employers and those responsible for the safe operation of lift trucks, as well as those in control of worksites, the self-employed, managers and supervisors. Employees and their safety representatives may also find it useful.

As an employer you are required to provide basic training and testing for all lift-truck operators you employ (both new and existing). Properly trained operators can reduce the risk of lift-truck accidents in your workplace.

An ‘operator’ is anyone who operates a lift truck, even as a secondary or occasional part of their job, not only those whose job title is lift-truck operator.

The law

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) place certain requirements on employers. You must make sure that all people who use, supervise or manage the use of work equipment have received adequate training, which includes:

: The correct use of the equipment          : Any risks from its use:         : The precautions to take