Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

17.33 
W
ork at Height Regulations 2005

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Summary of the main legal requirements
395
17.33.5
General principles for selection of work 
equipment – Regulation 7
Collective protection measures must have priority over 
personal protection measures.
Employers must take account of:
➤
working conditions and the risks to the safety of 
persons at the place where the work equipment is 
to be used
➤
the distance to be negotiated for access and egress
➤
distance and consequences of a potential fall
➤
duration and frequency of use
➤
need for evacuation and rescue in an emergency
➤
additional risks of using, installing and removing 
the work equipment used or evacuation and rescue 
from it
➤
other provisions of the Regulations.
Work equipment must be:
➤
appropriate for the nature of the work and the fore-
seeable loadings
➤
allow passage without risk
➤
be the most suitable work equipment having regard 
in particular to Regulation 6.
17.33.6
Requirements for particular work 
equipment – Regulation 8
Regulation 8 requires that various pieces of work equip-
ment comply with the schedules to the regulations as 
follows:
(a) a guard-rail, toe-board, barrier or similar means of 
protection, schedule 2 – in summary:
➤
they must be suitable, of suffi cient dimensions, 
of suffi cient strength and rigidity
Figure 17.8
Work at height flow chart
Yes
Yes
No
No
Assess the risks to help decide how to work safely
Is there a risk of a person falling a distance
liable to cause personal injury?
Is it reasonably paracticable to safely 
carry out the work other than at height?