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XIX Factory Act
Act for the preservation of the Health and Morals of Apprentices and others employed in Cotton and other Mills, and Cotton and other Factories 1802 -
1819, 1825, 1831 The pieces of legislation were intended to fortify the 1802 Act
Which was widely evaded. The 1831 Act imposed a maximum 12 hour day for all young persons in cotton mills. It too was evaded -
Factories Act 1833
Pressure from the “Ten Hours Movement” resulted in the Factory Act 1833.
This Act whilst maintaining a 12 hour day for all young persons, was extended to woollen and linen mills.
The first factory inspectors were appointed under the provisions of the Factories Act 1833. Initially their main duty was to prevent injury and overworking in child textile workers. -
The case of Priestley v. Fowler (1837)
Appeared to established for the first time that an employer owed, in common law, a duty of care to his employee which was actionable by the employee if breach resulted in injury. -
Royal Commission established to investigate working conditions into the Mining Industry
The Commission’s findings published in 1842 made shocking reading. Accidents, brutality, lung diseases, long hours and highly dangerous and adverse working conditions were found to be the norm. Public outcry resulted and the Mines Act 1842 was brought into force. -
Coal Mines Act 1842
This Act prohibited the women and children from underground work. The radical nature of this measure undoubtedly eased the way for the milder Factories Act of 1844.
First appointment of an inspector of mines and collieries
The 1842 Mines Act allowed for the appointment of an inspector of mines and collieries and the first inspector, Hugh Seymour Tremenheere took up his post in 1843. -
Factories Act 1844
This required safeguarding of mill gearing and prohibited the cleaning of machinery in motion. -
Between 1844 and 1856 a succession of seven factory statues and subordinate regulations provided for the safety of children young person and women, including provision for the fencing of machinery, hours, mealtimes and holidays.
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Factories Act 1847
Also known as the Ten Hours Act. Stipulated that as of 1 July 1847, women and children between the ages of 13 and 18 could work only 63 hours per week. -
Coal Mines Inspection Act
This act together with the Factories Act 1844 were significant in giving the Home Secretary power to award part of any fine imposed on an employer to a worker injured by the criminal breach. This form of compensation was not used extensively and fell into virtual disuse by the end of the century, being finally abolished in 1959. -
Factories Act
Under pressure from factory owners the 1856 Act relaxed some of the requirements of the 1844 Act.
The workday was changed to correspond with the maximum number of hours that women and children could work. -
Specified non-textile factories, including pottery, match-making, foundries, blast furnaces, copper mills and all manufacturing processes employing more than 50 people, and workshops were subjected to some of the statutory requirements.
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Mines Act
This provided for the imprisonment as a penal sanction, a means of enforcement continued in the subsequent mines statutes, but not extended for a hundred years to other legislation which relied on fines as the penal sanction. -
Explosives Act
This Act introduced a system for the licensing and regulation of factories for the production of gunpowder and other explosives.
This was superseded by the Explosives Act 1923. -
Factory and Workshop Act
This Act brought all the previous Acts together in one consolidation.
Threshing Machines Act 1878
First legislative steps directed towards safety in agriculture. -
The first women factory inspector were appointed
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XX There was a call to license all drivers and restrict the age of drivers.
Accident data was collected. Three children’s safety competitions were run involving 57,000 pupils.
A railway safety committee was established -
A conference at Mansion House, London under the auspices of the London Safety First Council led to the establishment of the British Industrial Safety First Association (BISFA) to tackle workplace safety on a national scale.
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Cinema films promoting work safety were made. Five Government
Departments sat on the British Industrial Safety First Association (BISFA) Council. -
The London Safety First Council introduced a ‘Think Safety’ campaign to deal with the one-and-a-half million new motorists who took to the road following the end of the War.
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First safety group established in Sheffield. BISFA planned a “safety first” campaign in the coal mines.
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The National “Safety First” Association began operations. Two reports about dockyard safety called for the introduction of “Safety First” principles as essential to reducing accidents.
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Lead Paint (Protection against Poisoning) Act 1926. This was repealed and replaced by the Factories Act 1961
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Employment Act for Women and Youth of 1936
This was repealed and replaced by the Factories Act of 1961. -
Safety First Movement
Safety First Movement taken into the Ministry of Labour to help with safety in war production -
Formation of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
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Mines and Quarries Act 1954
This Act imposed the most extensive safety regime in any industry. -
Offices Act 1960
Since 1886 shopworkers’ hours had been regulated and since 1904 local authorities had powers to limit opening hours of shops, but no other statutory protection extended to shop workers and none at all to office workers. -
Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act
This Act gave statutory protection to the largest remaining group of unprotected workers. -
Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act
Required that all employers carry insurance to cover potential liability to employees. -
Robens Report (Cmd. 5034)
The Robens Report was the product of the first comprehensive Health and safety legislative approach was transformed. Employment Medical Advisory Service Act 1972
This act amends and complements the Factories Act 1961 in relation to medical arrangements. -
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 was described as “a bold and far-reaching piece of legislation” by HSE’s first Director General, John Locke. -
First Health and Safety Commission (HSC) annual report published covering the period 1974–1976
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HSE starts to enforce asbestos licensing industry
The Health and Safety Commission’s Advisory Committee on Asbestos reached agreement on two European Union directives concerning protection of workers exposed to asbestos and the marketing and use of asbestos -
HSE starts to enforce transport of dangerous goods by road safety
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HSE starts to enforce rail safety
Responsibility for railway safety passed from the Department of Transport to HSE in 1990.
HSE starts to carry out nuclear safety research
Responsibility for nuclear research passed from the Department of Energy to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) on 1 April 1990. -
Major Review of Regulation completed
In 1992, the Health and Safety Commission was charged with undertaking a review of extant health and safety legislation. -
Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards (Amendment) Regulations 1994 – S.I. 1994 No. 118
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Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) becomes an agency of HSE
An experimental station to investigate explosions in coal mines was set up at Eskmeals in Cumberland in 1911 by the UK government. -
Southall rail accident
The UK Southall rail accident occurred when the 10.35 high speed train from Swansea to London Paddington collided with a freight train operated by English Welsh and Scottish Railway. -
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 – S.I. 1999 No. 743
The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (CIMAH) set out the responsibilities of operators of plants where scheduled hazardous chemicals are used, to prevent major accidents and limit the consequences of major accidents to people and the environment. -
Revitalising health and safety strategy launched
Pressure Systems Safety Regulations – S.I. 2000 No. 128 to, the Health and Safety at
Work. Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations – S.I. 2000 No. 1059 Batteries and Accumulators (Containing Dangerous Substances) (Amendment)
Regulations – S.I. 2000 No. 3097 -
Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations – S.I. 2001 No. 2975
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Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ORSA)
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application to Environmentally Hazardous
Substances) Regulations – S.I. 2002 No. 282
Personnel Protective Equipment Regulations – S.I. 2002 No. 1144 -
OSHA issues the largest fines in its history and initiates increased inspections in oil refineries across the country.
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Standard which provides greater protection for workers were established
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Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application to Environmentally Hazardous Substances) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 – S.I. 2007 No. 1332
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Adopted a standardized approach to hazard classification, labels and safety data sheets.
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Proposal to protecting workers involved in the cleanup of health and safety dangers. This initiative follows the lead of 15 States, such as California and Minnesota.
