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United Kingdom
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Key definition
authorities definition

What does authorities mean? Authorities are the legal sources a lawyer relies on to justify a proposition of law in submissions, skeleton arguments and judgments. The term is descriptive and widely used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, rather than being defined by statute. Authorities typically include: primary legislation and subordinate legislation; binding appellate case law within the relevant jurisdiction; and, as persuasive material, decisions from other UK or foreign courts, tribunal rulings, EU and ECHR jurisprudence where applicable, and reputable academic commentary. In Scotland, the writings of the institutional writers (e.g. Stair, Erskine, Bell) may carry particular weight. Textbooks and...

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Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974: Duties, Material Risk, Foreseeability, Reverse Burden and Sentencing

Practice notes
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Across England and Wales, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities oversee compliance with health and safety law. For details of how Enforcement is carried out, including the HSE’s power to recover the costs of its pre-charge investigations, refer to:

  • Practice Note: Health and Safety Executive prosecutions policy
  • Practice Note: Powers of health and safety inspectors under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
  • Practice Note: Improvement and Prohibition Notices under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

For information on the position in Scotland, see: Scottish health and safety enforcement—overview.

Statutory duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees at work

Employers are required, so far as is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees while at work. This obligation is set out in section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974)...

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