Work at Height Regulations 2005: what builders must do
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply wherever a person could fall far enough to be hurt, and they set no minimum height. Employers and those in control of the work must avoid work at height where they reasonably can, prevent falls where they cannot, and reduce the distance and consequences of any fall that remains.
There is no minimum height
The regulations define work at height as work in any place, including at or below ground level, where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury if the required measures were not taken. Getting to or from the place counts too, except by a staircase in a permanent workplace. No height is stated. The duties fall on employers, the self-employed and anyone who controls the work of others.
The figure builders remember is 2 metres. In the regulations it only marks when a working platform used for construction work needs an inspection within the previous 7 days and a written report. It is not where the law starts. HSE adds that simple, low-risk tasks need less planning.
Avoid, prevent, minimise
Regulation 6 sets the order, starting from a risk assessment:
- Avoid: do not work at height where the job can reasonably be done safely another way, for example with extendable tools from the ground.
- Prevent: work from an existing place that is already safe, or provide equipment that stops a fall, such as a scaffold, tower or mobile elevating work platform.
- Minimise: where a fall could still happen, provide equipment to cut the distance and consequences, such as nets or airbags, plus extra training and instruction.
Collective protection, which works without the person doing anything, comes before personal protection such as a harness (regulation 7).
Planning, competence and supervision
Regulation 4 requires work at height to be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out as safely as is reasonably practicable. Planning includes choosing the equipment, planning for emergencies and rescue, and not working when the weather puts people at risk.
Regulation 5 says nobody may plan, supervise or do the work, or deal with the equipment, unless they are competent or, if being trained, supervised by someone who is. HSE means skills, knowledge and experience, not a formal qualification. For a ladder, instruction and on-the-job training can be enough. Planning a complex scaffold needs more, and trade certification is one way to show it. Workers must report defects and use equipment as trained (regulation 14). Putting the plan in your RAMS and briefing the crew is good practice.
Ladders, scaffolds and edges
Ladders are not banned. Schedule 6 allows one only where a risk assessment shows that more suitable equipment is not justified because of the low risk and short duration, or because of existing features on site that cannot be altered. As a guide, HSE recommends considering other equipment if the task means staying up a leaning ladder or stepladder for more than 30 minutes at a time.
For construction work, the top guard rail must be at least 950 mm above the edge, any gap between rails no more than 470 mm, and toe boards must be suitable (Schedule 2). HSE says a scaffold must be built to a recognised standard configuration or designed by calculation.
Fragile surfaces and falling objects
Regulation 9 says nobody should pass across, near or work on a fragile surface where the work can reasonably be done another way. If it cannot, provide platforms, coverings or guard rails that carry the load, cut the distance and consequences of any fall, and put prominent warning notices at the approach. HSE lists roof lights, non-reinforced fibre cement sheets, corroded metal, wired glass, rotted chipboard, and slates and tiles as likely to be fragile.
Regulation 10 requires steps to stop materials falling, or to stop anyone being struck, and bans throwing or tipping material from height where it could injure someone.
Inspections and records
Under regulation 12, equipment whose safety depends on how it is assembled, such as a scaffold, must be inspected in position before use. Equipment exposed to deterioration must be inspected at suitable intervals and after anything exceptional, and the result recorded. A competent person must do it.
For a working platform used for construction work from which a person could fall 2 metres or more, the inspection must be within the previous 7 days. The inspector writes a report before the end of the working period and passes a copy to the person who asked within 24 hours. Keep it on site until the work is finished, then at your office for 3 months.
Regulation 13 also requires, so far as is reasonably practicable, a check before each use of the surface and every parapet or rail at a place of work at height.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 6
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 9
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, Schedule 2
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, Schedule 6
- HSE: Introduction to working at height safely
- HSE: Working at height, a brief guide (INDG401)
- HSE: Work at height, step-by-step guide
- HSE: Common work at height myths
- HSE: Construction, work at height (FAQ)
- HSE: Work at height, frequently asked questions