The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

UK Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 3004 — creates 1 criminal offence.

Made

1 December 1992

In force from

1 January 1993

Extent

Not stated

Subject

Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries

Made under

Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations impose requirements with respect to the health, safety and welfare of persons in a “workplace”, defined in regulation 2(1). Except to the extent specified below, the Regulations give effect as respects Great Britain to Council Directive 89/654/EEC (OJ L. 393, 30.12.89, p.1) concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace (“the Directive”). The Regulations do not apply to a workplace which is or is in or on a ship (regulation 3(1)(a)). Nor do they impose requirements with respect to— stability and solidity (Annex I, point 2; and Annex II, point 2 of the Directive); electrical installations (Annex I, point 3; and Annex II, point 3 of the Directive); emergency routes and exits (Annex I, point 4; and Annex II, point 4 of the Directive); fire detection and fire fighting (Annex I, point 5; and Annex II, point 5 of the Directive); thermal insulation (Annex I, point 9.1, second paragraph, of the Directive); and first aid rooms or equipment (Annex I, point 19; and Annex II, point 14 of the Directive). The Regulations are disapplied in relation to construction sites and sites where mineral exploration or extraction is undertaken. The application of specified regulations is modified in their application to temporary work sites, specified means of transport and specified parts of agricultural undertakings (regulation 3). Requirements are imposed upon employers, persons who have, to any extent, control of a workplace, and persons who are deemed to be the occupiers of factories for the purposes of section 175(5) of the Factories Act 1961 (c. 54) (regulation 4). The Regulations impose requirements with respect to— maintenance (regulation 5); ventilation of enclosed workplaces (regulation 6); temperature indoors and the provision of thermometers (regulation 7); lighting (including emergency lighting) (regulation 8); cleanliness of the workplace, furniture, furnishings and fittings; the ability to clean the surface of floors, walls and ceilings; and the accumulation of waste materials (regulation 9); room dimensions and unoccupied space (regulation 10 and Schedule 1, Part I); the suitability of workstations (including workstations outdoors) and the provision of suitable seats (regulation 11); the condition of floors (regulation 12); the condition and arrangement of routes for pedestrians or vehicles (regulations 12 and 17); protection from falling objects and from persons falling from a height or falling into a dangerous substance (regulation 13); the material or protection of windows and other transparent or translucent walls, doors or gates and to them being apparent (regulation 14); the way in which windows, skylights or ventilators are opened and the position they are left in when open (regulation 15); the ability to clean windows and skylights (regulation 16); the construction of doors and gates (including the fitting of necessary safety devices) (regulation 18); escalators and moving walkways (regulation 19); the provision of suitable sanitary conveniences (regulation 20 and Schedule 1,Part II); the provision of suitable washing facilities (regulation 21); the provision of a supply of drinking water and of cups or other drinking vessels (regulation 22); the provision of suitable accommodation for clothing and of facilities for changing clothing (regulations 23 and 24); and the provision of suitable facilities for rest and to eat meals (regulation 25). The Secretary of State for Defence may grant exemption from the requirements of the Regulations in the interests of national security (regulation 26). Provisions replaced by the Regulations are repealed or revoked. There is a saving for provisions of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 (c. 41) in specified circumstances (regulation 27 and Schedule 2).

Offences created by this instrument

• Contravention of The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 the instrument as a whole · Status not determined · Strict liability

What Parliament said about it

Contributions, debates and written statements mentioning this instrument by name. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

• Employment Rights Bill Lords · Lords Chamber · 23 July 2025 · Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)

  My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, for tabling Amendment 184B. We recognise that workplace temperatures are changing, especially as the climate changes. We are committed to ensuring that workplaces are safe in the modern world, and we committed in Next Steps to Make Work Pay to look at how to modernise health and safety guidance for extreme temperatures. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It is dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping people lead safer and healthier lives. To deliver on our…

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Lords · Lords Chamber · 30 January 2026 · Lord Hendy (Lab)

  My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, and I am particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Harper, for advancing Amendments 70 and 78, which I drafted. Unfortunately, I was unable to be here last week when I thought they would be debated. I disagree with nothing that the noble Lords, Lord Harper and Lord Sandhurst, said. The purpose of Amendments 70 and 78 was to broaden the definition of “disease” to include “injuries”. It is completely illogical that people who are facing death within six months because of some untoward event, such as contracting an…

• NHS Buildings: Extreme Heat Commons · Commons Chamber · 14 July 2026 · Mrs Hodgson

  All employers have a legal duty to ensure a reasonable temperature for indoor workplaces. The Health and Safety Executive is planning to consult on proposed changes to the approved code of practice for the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, including those relating to workplace temperatures. As I am sure everyone is aware, 1992 is a long while ago, and the heatwaves that we are seeing now are becoming more and more prevalent, so this work is very much needed. We are investing record capital to ensure that the estate is fit for the future and that NHS staff have the…

• Health Bill (Sixteenth sitting) Commons · Public Bill Committees · 16 July 2026 · Karin Smyth

  I am grateful to the hon. Member for bringing this discussion before the Committee. She is right that, following the For Women Scotland case at the Supreme Court in April 2025 and the recent laying of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated code of practice on 21 May, ensuring the provision of single-sex facilities for patients and staff is a prominent issue. The Government welcomed the clarity provided by the Supreme Court judgment. The EHRC code of practice sets out how service providers may lawfully apply sex-based distinctions following the Supreme Court judgment. That…

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

Check the source

• This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
• Other instruments from 1992