UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988

the instrument as a whole of The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
26 September 1988
In force from
1 October 1989
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

The Regulations impose duties on employers to protect employees and other persons who may be exposed to substances hazardous to health and also impose certain duties on employees. The terms used in the Regulations, including the term “substance hazardous to health” are defined in regulation 2. By regulation 3 duties are imposed on employers (who for the purposes of these Regulations include self-employed persons) for the protection of their employees and of other persons who may be affected by their work. Regulation 4 prohibits the importation, supply and use at work of specified substances, and also prohibits the use of specified substances in specified processes (Schedule 2). The application of the provisions which relate to the exposure of employees (set out in regulations 6 to 12) is defined by regulation 5. Regulation 6 requires employers to assess the risks to health created by work which is liable to expose their employees to substances hazardous to health and the steps that need to be taken by them to meet the requirements of the Regulations. Regulation 7 imposes a duty on employers to prevent or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately to control the exposure to substances hazardous to health of their employees. Where the substance is one for which a maximum exposure limit is specified in Schedule 1, that limit, so far as the inhalation of the substance is concerned, must not be exceeded and the exposure must be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable below it. As respects a substance for which the Health and Safety Commission has approved an occupational exposure standard, control to that standard is to be treated as adequate so far as inhalation of the substance is concerned. Regulation 7 also requires prevention or adequate control to be achieved so far as is reasonably practicable by means other than the use of personal protective equipment and that where adequate control is achieved by the use of respiratory protective equipment, that equipment should be of a type or conform to a standard approved by the Health and Safety Executive. Requirements are imposed by regulation 8 upon employers and employees to make proper use of the control measures provided, and by regulation 9 upon employers for the maintenance of those control measures. The monitoring of exposure to substances hazardous to health is required for the substances and processes specified in Schedule 4 and in any other case where such monitoring is requisite for maintaining adequate control or protecting the health of employees (regulation 10). Regulation 11 requires that, where appropriate for the protection of the health of employees, they must be under health surveillance and in the case of employees who are exposed to one of the substances and engaged in a process specified in Schedule 5 that health surveillance must include medical surveillance by an employment medical adviser or appointed doctor. Regulation 12 requires that employees who may be exposed to substances hazardous to health are given suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training. A person who undertakes fumigations with specified fumigants is required by regulation 13 to notify in advance the persons specified in Schedule 7. Exceptions to this notification requirement are listed in Schedule 6. The regulations provide for exemptions in certain circumstances (regulation 14) and are applied by regulation 15 to certain activities in territorial waters adjacent to Great Britain. Regulation 16 provides for a defence in the case of a contravention of the regulations and regulation 17 for certain transitional provisions. Modifications relating to the Ministry of Defence are introduced by regulation 18. The provisions of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 (c. 70) and of the Factories Act 1961 (c. 34) which are specified in Schedule 8 are repealed by regulation 19, which also repeals the Hydrogen Cyanide (Fumigation) Act 1937 (c. 45) and revokes or modifies the regulations and orders specified in Schedule 9. This regulation also provides that notwithstanding those revocations, requirements in them for the keeping of any record or register shall remain in force. The Regulations are consistent with the provisions of the Council Directive No. 80/1107/EEC on the protection of workers from the risk related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work (OJ No. L 327, 3.12.80, p.8). Copies of the publications mentioned in the Regulations are obtainable as follows— the approved list (ISBN 0 11 883888 1 revised by ISBN 0 11 8239012) are obtainable from Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. a list of the occupational exposure standards which the Health and Safety Commission has approved is obtainable from the Health and Safety Executive, Baynards House, 1, Chepstow Place, London W2 4TF.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.70.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.70 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source