In the United Kingdom there are several pieces of regulation relevant to health and safety at work. Prior to Brexit, many of these gave effect to European Union directives.

Regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

Health and safety legislation in the UK is drawn up and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA or HSWA). HASAWA introduced (section 2) a general duty on an employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees, with the intention of giving a legal framework supporting codes of practice not in themselves having legal force but establishing a strong presumption as to what was reasonably practicable (deviations from them could be justified by appropriate risk assessment). The previous reliance on detailed prescriptive rule-setting was seen as having failed to respond rapidly enough to technological change, leaving new technologies potentially unregulated or inappropriately regulated. Breach of the health and safety regulations is a crime throughout the UK. In England and Wales contravention is punishable on summary conviction or on indictment with an unlimited fine. Both individuals and corporations can be punished, and sentencing practice is published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. In England and Wales, a person who suffered damage caused by a breach of the regulations used to have a cause of action in tort against the offender. However, section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 repealed this right of action. This prevents a claimant from claiming damages against an employer for contravention of an absolute duty. Instead, they must now prove that the employer was negligent as with other torts. A similar right of action exists in Scotland through the law of delict.

The "six pack" regulations

Worker consultation

Both of these (as amended) are supported by Approved Codes of Practice and guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Other

A full list of all UK Health and Safety legislation can be found on the HSE website.

Statutory inspection

A number of statutes require a "thorough inspection" to take place at prescribed intervals. The HSE describes a thorough inspection as "a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts, carried out at specified intervals by a competent person who must then complete a written report". The main statutory inspection regulations are:

REACH

The registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals in the UK reflects the EU REACH regulation (EC 1907/2006). Having entered into force in 2007, REACH provisions were phased in over a period of 11 years.