The Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Made8th June 2006

Coming into operation17th July 2006

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment1, being a Department designated2 for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19723 in relation to measures relating to employers' obligations in respect of the health and safety of workers, makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on it by the said section 2(2) and being the Department concerned4, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 2(5), 17(1), (2), (3), and (5)5, 43(2), 54(1) and 55(2) of, and paragraphs 5(1), 6, 7(1), 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17(a) of Schedule 3 to the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 19786 (“the 1978 Order”). The Regulations give effect without modifications to proposals submitted to it by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland under Article 13(1A)(c)7 of the 1978 Order after the Executive had carried out consultations in accordance with Article 46(3)8 of the 1978 Order.

Citation and commencement1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and shall come into operation on 17th July 2006.

(2)

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 19549 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Amendment of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 20002.

For regulation 22 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200010 there shall be substituted the following regulation—

“Restriction of civil liability for breach of statutory duty22.
(1)
Breach of a duty imposed on an employer by these Regulations shall not confer a right of action in any civil proceedings insofar as that duty applies for the protection of a third party.
(2)
Breach of a duty imposed on an employee by regulation 14 shall not confer a right of action in any civil proceedings insofar as that duty applies for the protection of a third party.
(3)
In this regulation, “third party”, in relation to the undertaking, means any person who may be affected by that undertaking other than the employer whose undertaking it is and persons in his employment.”

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment on 8th June 2006.

M. Bohill

A senior officer of the

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend regulation 22 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”), which concerns civil liability for breach of the duties imposed by those Regulations.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (S.R. 2003 No. 454) amended regulation 22 of the 2000 Regulations so as to activate the statutory presumption of civil liability contained in Article 43(2) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, subject to a specific limitation. The effect was to permit civil claims to be brought against employers and employees who are in breach of duties imposed on them by those Regulations but the amendment provided that claims could not be brought against employers insofar as the duty applies for the protection of persons not in their employment, that is, third parties.

The effect of these Regulations is to extend to employees that protection against claims by third parties, in circumstances where employees may owe a duty to third parties under regulation 14 of the 2000 Regulations.

In Great Britain, the corresponding Regulations are the Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/438).