Legal Provisions
Get a grip (440Kb) can help you to prevent slips, trips and falls in your workplace.
Section 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the design, provision and maintenance of a safe workplace with safe access. Duties in respect of hazard identification, risk assessment and safety statements are set out in sections 18, 19 and 20.
Section 16 requires designers, manufacturers, importers or suppliers of articles used at work to provide or arrange for adequate information (and any revised information) to ensure safe use. They must also ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the article -
- is designed and constructed so that it can be used safely and without risk,
- complies with relevant legislation, and,
- is properly tested and examined.
Section 17 places a duty on those who design buildings or structures to ensure that they are safe and without risk to health.
The Safety, Health and Welfare (General Application) Regulations require that floors of rooms shall not have dangerous bumps, holes or slopes and that they be fixed, stable and not slippery.
These Regulations state an employer shall ensure personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided where risks cannot be avoided or sufficiently limited by other means. The regulations require that the employer providing PPE should ensure it's properly maintained and replaced as necessary. PPE should be provided free-of-charge to the employee.
Regulation 160 says safety signs can only be used where hazards cannot be avoided or adequately reduced by other means.
Further Information and Advice
Education - Slips, trips and falls risk assessment in Guidelines on Managing Safety and Health in Post-Primary Schools
Food and Drink -Simple Safety - Slips, Trips and Falls.pdf (size 636.8 KB)
Get a Grip.pdf (size 410.8 KB)
Guidelines on Risk Assessments and Safety Statements.pdf (size 2.1 MB)
Guide to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 (size 869 KB)
Healthcare - Stop Slips and Trips HSA web page
Healthcare - Get a grip in healthcare
Hospitality - Section 1.5. of Safe Hospitality Part 1 General.pdf (size 3 MB)
Icy Conditions press release (30/11/2010) - Employers and workers urged to take care in icy conditions
Icy Conditions press release (1/12/2010) - Workers advised to take extra precautions in icy conditions
Mapping slips, trips and falls.pdf (size 282.9 KB)
Retail - Simple Safety -Slips, Trips and Falls.pdf (size 347 KB)
Safety Toolkit and Short Guide to General Application Regulations 2007 - Workplace Section (size 280 KB)
Safety Toolkit and Short Guide to General Application Regulations 2007 - Safety Signs Section (size 223 KB)
Suppliers - RR747 - Assessment of slips safety information/literature provided by flooring and footwear suppliers - HSE UK
Transport - Workplace Transport Safety - Falls from Vehicles.pdf (size 56.8 KB)