UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992

the instrument as a whole of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992.

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
17 November 1992
In force from
1 January 1993
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.

These Regulations impose health and safety requirements with respect to the provision and use of work equipment, which is defined in regulation 2. Existing provisions which are replaced by these Regulations are repealed or revoked (Schedule 2). The Regulations give effect as respects Great Britain to Council Directive 89/655/EEC (OJ No. L393, 30.12.89, p.13) on the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (“the Directive”) with the exception of the following matters:– the Regulations do not extend to sea transport (regulation 3); a general requirement to ensure that work equipment may be used without impairment to safety or health (Article 3.1 of the Directive); a general requirement to minimise risks where they cannot be eliminated (Article 3.2 of the Directive); a requirement for containment or extraction devices in certain cases (point 2.5, second indent of the Annex to the Directive); a requirement for safe means of access to and safe places of work (point 2.16 of the Annex to the Directive); protection from electrical risks (point 2.19 of the Annex to the Directive). The Regulations impose requirements upon employers in respect of work equipment provided for or used by their employees at work. The requirements are also applied to self-employed persons and persons in control of specified premises in the circumstances set out in regulation 4. The Regulations make provision with respect to:– the suitability of work equipment (regulation 5); the maintenance of work equipment and keeping up to date of any maintenance log (regulation 6); steps to be taken where the use of work equipment is likely to involve a specific risk to health or safety (regulation 7); information, instruction and training for persons who use work equipment and certain other employees (regulations 8 and 9); conformity with European Community requirements (regulation 10 and Schedule 1); the protection of persons from dangerous parts of machinery and rotating stock-bars (regulation 11); the prevention or control of exposure of any person to any risk caused by certain specified hazards (regulation 12); protection from high or very low temperature (regulation 13); controls (including emergency and other stop controls) and control systems (regulations 14 to 18); the isolation of work equipment from sources of energy (regulation 19); the stability of work equipment (regulation 20); lighting at any place where work equipment is used (regulation 21); taking measures to ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adapted that maintenance operations can be carried out in specified ways (regulation 22); appropriate markings, warnings, or warning devices (regulations 23 and 24). The Secretary of State for Defence may grant exemptions from the Regulations in the interests of national security (regulation 25). The Regulations extend to and in relation to certain premises and activities outside Great Britain (regulation 26).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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