Protecting non-employees
The duty of care owed by an organisation to persons other than employees is enshrined in health and safety law but is often misunderstood or overlooked entirely. In this article, Stephen Thomas of the Safety Technical Team looks at the legal health and safety issues around the duty of care to non-employees.
What do we mean by persons other
than employees?
Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc,
Act 1974 states that:
‘It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct
his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as
is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his
employment who may be affected thereby are not
thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.’
What this statement means is that businesses
should impose the same general duty of care
towards non-employees, including everyone from
visitors and contractors to clients, residents,
students, customers and children on work
experience, as they would for employees. It also
includes members of the emergency services.
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