Health and safety legislation does not only protect employees, but extends to protect people who are visiting business premises rather than working there. People visiting workplaces have a right to be safe while on those premises and may be entitled to compensation if they are injured, through no fault of their own, during that visit.
What the law says
There are a number of UK laws in place to help keep employees, visitors, contractors, maintenance workers and the general public safe in work premises.
For instance:
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
The law requires that employers and owners of premises properly assess the risks faced by their employees, but also those which may be relevant to customers, suppliers, visitors, partners, and any other persons who might come into contact with or be affected by their business activities.
Taking care of yourself and foreseeable risk
As with employees, people visiting a business premises do have some responsibilities for their own safety; they are under a duty to take care of their own health and safety and must not undertake any reckless actions that might put themselves or someone else at risk.
Visitors must be informed of any site or premises safety rules and will be under a duty to comply with them. If given health and safety equipment, such as protective clothing, they must make use of it properly.
In short, if the chances of an accident are reasonably foreseeable, then a member of the public might not necessarily have grounds to claim compensation if one occurs and they had not taken proper precautions.
For example, if signage at the entrance to a building site requires visitors/workers to wear a hard hat, then it is reasonable to expect there to be a danger of falling items or a risk of collision with low hanging equipment etc. If a visitor chooses not to wear a hard hat, they will have put themselves at risk of injury.
Have you been injured while visiting a workplace
If you have suffered personal injury while visiting, delivering to or working on a site or premises, and the incident was not your fault, the work accident solicitors at Thompsons Scotland could help you.
We can quickly ascertain the eligibility of your claim and will advise you of the likelihood of success.
Start your compensation claim now.
Call us on 0800 0891331 for no win no fee help and advice.
