Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

HSWA definition

What does HSWA mean? Shorthand for the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the principal occupational health and safety statute in Great Britain. In practice, lawyers use HSWA to refer to the statutory framework imposing general duties on employers, the self-employed and those in control of premises to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees and non-employees, and to the associated enforcement regime. The abbreviation is not defined in the Act but is standard practitioner usage. HSWA 1974 enables extensive secondary regulations (for example, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999) and creates...

Health and safety investigations in Scotland: regulators, inspector powers, interviews, enforcement notices and appeals, and COPFS prosecutions

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), established under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974), is the principal regulator of health and safety law in Scotland. A distinct Scottish division within HSE works closely with the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal Service, supporting both the investigation and prosecution of health and safety offences in Scotland. The obligations placed on employers and workers by HSWA 1974 apply equally across England, Wales and Scotland.

For information on key health and safety offences, see the following Practice Notes below:

Safety and the risk to safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Failure to carry out health and safety duties under HSWA 1974—offences
Directors’ duties for health and safety
Employees' duties to take reasonable care for health and safety at work

See also the Health and safety collection.

Basis of the HSE’s statutory powers

The HSE’s powers and duties derive from a suite of Acts and statutory instruments, including:

HSWA 1974
Nuclear Installations Act 1965
Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015, SI 2015/483
Mines and Quarries Act 1954
Activity Centres (Young Persons Safety) Act 1995

...

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Charlotte O'Kane

Pinsent Masons

Charlotte is a senior associate in the Litigation and Regulatory team in Pinsent Masons LLP and is involved in a broad variety of general commercial litigation and regulatory law. She has appeared on behalf of clients in Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland. She advises on investigations by HSE, SEPA, and other regulators, improvement and prohibition notices, prosecutions, health, safety and environmental policy and incident response, and fatal accident inquiries. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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