UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

the instrument as a whole of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
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. Selling the goods under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

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
3 December 1999
In force from
29 December 1999
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations re-enact the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, with the following modifications— A new regulation 4 requires an employer to implement preventive and protective measures on the basis of general principles of prevention set out in Article 6(2)(a)-(i) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC (OJ No L 183, 29.6.89, p.1) and specified in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. A new regulation 7(8) requires that a competent person in the employer’s employment shall be appointed for the purpose of paragraph (1) of regulation 7 in preference to a competent person who is not in such employment. Minor consequential amendments are made to regulation 7(5) of these Regulations. A new regulation 9 requires every employer to arrange any necessary contacts with external services, especially as regards first-aid, emergency medical care and rescue work. A new regulation 21 provides that an employer is not to be afforded a defence for contravention of the relevant statutory provisions as defined in section 53 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by reason of any act or default caused by his employee or by a person appointed by the employer under regulation 7 of these Regulations. The Regulations revoke regulation 6 of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 which confers power on the Health and Safety Executive to grant exemptions from those Regulations (regulation 24). The Regulations also amend the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (First-Aid) Regulations 1989 to limit the scope of the exemptions that may be granted by the Health and Safety Executive to those specified in regulation 5(1)(b)(c) and (2)(a) of those Regulations, and to impose a condition that where an exemption is granted the person provided under regulation 5(1)(a) shall have undergone adequate training (regulation 25). These Regulations amend the Mines Miscellaneous Health and Safety Provisions Regulations 1995 so as to give full effect to Articles 8(1) and 8(2) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC. A new paragraph (5) in regulation 4 requires that a fire protection plan be included in all cases in the health and safety document prepared under the Regulations. In respect of all parts of a mine other than buildings on the surface, the provision requires every mine owner to designate in the document the persons who are to implement the plan and to include in the document the arrangements for the necessary contacts with external services especially as regards rescue work and fire-fighting (regulation 26). These Regulations amend the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 so as to give full effect to Article 8(1) and 8(2) of the Directive. Regulation 20 is amended so that arrangements for dealing with forseeable emergencies on construction sites include the designation of persons to implement the arrangements and the inclusion of necessary contacts with external services, especially as regards rescue work and fire-fighting (regulation 27). The Regulations provide that, subject to the exceptions specified in regulation 9 of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, they have effect as health and safety regulations within the meaning of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (regulation 28). The Regulations revoke the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, the Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations 1994, the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997 and Part III of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997. The Regulations also make consequential amendments to the instruments specified in Schedule 2 (regulation 29). The Regulations contain a transitional provision (regulation 30). A copy of the regulatory impact assessment prepared in respect of these Regulations can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, Policy Unit, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament.

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