Special Protections
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007
Sensitive Risk Groups
Chapter 1 — Protection of Children and Young Persons
Interpretation for Chapter 1.
143. In this Chapter:
“child” means a person resident in the State who is under 16 years of age;
“night work” means—
(a) in the case of a child, any work between 8 p.m. on any one day and 8 a.m. on the following day, and
(b) in the case of a young person, the hours mentioned in paragraph (b) of section 6(1 of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 (No. 16 of 1996), as qualified by that section and sections 7 and 8 thereof;
“risk assessment” means the assessment of a risk referred to in Regulation 144;
“young person” means a person who has reached 16 years of age but is less than 18 years of age.
Risk assessment.
144. An employer shall—
(a) carry out a risk assessment before employing a child or young person and whenever there is a major change in the place of work which could affect the safety or health of such child or young person,
(b) without prejudice to the provisions of section 19 of the Act, assess any risk to the safety or health of a child or young person and any specific risk to their safety health and development arising from—
(i) his or her lack of experience, absence of awareness of existing or potential risks or lack of maturity,
(ii) any work activity likely to involve a risk of harmful exposure to the physical biological and chemical agents specified in Part A of Schedule 7, and
(iii) the processes and work specified in Part B of Schedule 7,
and take the necessary preventive and protective measures,
(c) take account of the following when carrying out a risk assessment:
(i) the fitting-out and the layout of the place of work and of the workstation,
(ii) the nature, degree and exposure to any physical, chemical or biological agent at the place of work,
(iii) the form, range and use of work equipment, in particular agents, machines apparatus and devices, and the way in which they are handled,
(iv) the arrangement of work processes and of work operations at the place of work and of the way in which these may be organised in combination for the purposes of carrying out work, and
(v) the training, instruction and level of supervision provided to a child or young person at the place of work,
(d) in taking the protective and preventive measures in accordance with paragraph (a and as regards planning for and implementing measures to monitor and protect the safety and health of a child or young person, take account of section 18 of the Act and
(e) without prejudice to the provisions of section 9 of the Act, inform a child or young person of any risk identified in accordance with paragraph (a) and of the preventive and protective measures taken and, in the case of a child, inform the parent or guardian of such child of such risk and such preventive and protective measures.
Circumstances prohibiting employment of a child or young person.
145. An employer shall not employ a child or young person at work where a risk assessment reveals that the work—
(a) is beyond the physical or psychological capacity of the child or young person concerned,
(b) involves harmful exposure to agents which are toxic, carcinogenic, cause heritable genetic damage, or harm to the unborn child or which in any other way chronically affects human health,
(c) involves harmful exposure to radiation,
(d) involves the risk of accidents which it may be assumed cannot be recognised or avoided by a child or young person owing to insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training, or
(e) which presents a risk to health from exposure to extreme heat or cold or to noise or vibration.
Health surveillance.
146. An employer shall—
(a) where a risk assessment reveals a risk to safety or health or to the physical or mental development of a child or young person, make available health surveillance in accordance with section 22 of the Act,
(b) make available to a child or young person a free assessment of his or her health and capabilities before assignment to night work and at regular intervals thereafter, and
(c) inform a child or young person of the result of any health surveillance or health assessment carried out in accordance with paragraphs (a) or (b) and, in the case of a child, inform the parent or guardian of the child of the results of any health surveillance or health assessment.
Chapter 3 —
Night Work and Shift Work
Interpretation for Chapter 3.
153. In this Chapter:
“1997 Act” means the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (No. 20 of 1997);
“night work” and “night worker” have the same meaning as they have in the 1997 Act;
“shift work” and “shift worker” have the same meaning as they have in the 1997 Act.
Application
of Chapter 3.
154. This Chapter applies in respect of—
(a) an employee and employer to whom the 1997 Act applies, and
(b) a self-employed person.
Night work risk assessment.
155. For the purposes of section 16(2)(a) of the 1997 Act, an employer shall carry out, in compliance with section 19 of the Act, a risk assessment, taking account of—
(a) the specific effects and hazards of night work, and
(b) the risks to the safety and health of the employee concerned that attach to the work that a night worker is employed to do,
so as to determine whether that work involves special hazards or a heavy physical or mental strain.
Protective or preventive measures with respect to night workers and shift workers.
156. An employer, taking account of the risk assessment under Regulation 155, shall—
(a) take such steps as, having regard to the nature of the work concerned, are appropriate for the protection of the safety and health of a night worker or an employee who is a shift worker, and
(b) in taking steps to comply with section 18 of the Act, have regard to the employer’s duty under paragraph (a).
Health assessment and transfer to day work.
157. (1) An employer,
(a) before employing a person as a night worker, and
(b) at regular intervals during the period that that person is employed as a night worker,
shall make available to that person, free of charge, an assessment by a registered medical practitioner, or a person under the practitioner’s supervision, in relation to any adverse effects of that night work on the night worker’s health.
(2) In discharging the duty under paragraph (1) the employer—
(a) may take into account any entitlement to an assessment referred to in that paragraph that is provided by the State, and
(b) shall facilitate the night worker’s attendance at the assessment if so required.
(3) The person who performs an assessment referred to in paragraph (1) shall—
(a) endeavour to detect if the health of the employee concerned is being or will be adversely affected by the fact that the employee performs or will perform night work, and
(b) on the completion of the assessment, inform the employer and employee concerned—
(i) of the opinion of the person who performs the assessment as to whether the employee is fit or unfit to perform the night work concerned, and
(ii) if that opinion is that the employee is unfit to perform that night work by reason only of the particular conditions under which that work is performed suggesting changes in those conditions that could be made so that the employee could be considered fit to perform that night work.
(4) Neither a registered medical practitioner nor a person acting under his or her supervision shall disclose—
(a) the clinical details of the assessment referred to in paragraph (1) to any person other than the employee concerned or a person designated under section 63 of the Act, or
(b) the opinion of the registered medical practitioner of such an assessment to any person other than the employee and employer concerned.
(5) If a night worker—
(a) becomes ill or otherwise exhibits symptoms of ill-health, and
(b) that illness is or those symptoms are recognised as being connected with the fact that the night worker performs night work,
the employer, whenever possible, shall assign duties to the employee that do not involve performing any night work and to which the employee is suited.