Knowing and following current manual handling regulations is good business sense.
All employers have a legal duty to protect their employees from risk or injury due to manual handling. ‘Manual Handling’ refers to a range of manual tasks, including lifting, transporting or carrying good or objects.
Not only is the appropriate manual handling training a legal requirement, but a lack of training amongst employees is responsible for a third of all injuries that happen in the workplace. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), approximately 498,000 workers suffered with musculoskeletal disorders in the UK in the year 2018/19, which resulted in 6.9 million working days lost.
Manual Handling injuries can have serious implications for the person who has been injured, and their employer. Injuries can occur anywhere in the workplace, but manual labour, awkward postures, heavy lifting and repetitive movements of arms, legs or back can increase the risks. Safe manual handling techniques helps to increase employees’ awareness of the risks involved with lifting, and will lead to safer working environments and less workplace injuries.
The cost of poor manual handling training to businesses
Every year, accidents in the workplace of all kinds can lead to the average of 20 days off for every injured employee. There are some injuries that employees may never recover from, including slips or falls from height.
Many employers in all kinds of industries suffer costly setbacks as a result of an injured employee, but it can also hurt the businesses reputation, productivity as well as lasting damage to the injured party.
What are the manual handling laws that employers need to know
Three key legislation that apply to manual handling in the UK are:
- The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999
- The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
The Health and Safety at Work act 1974
This act identifies:
- The duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public.
- The responsibilities employees have towards themselves and each other.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work regulations 1999
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) are built upon the general duties within the HSWA, by adding additional and more specific health and safety requirements.
The majority of the duties stated in the MHSWR fall on the employer.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) provide a clear order of measures for dealing with manual handling associated risks. These are stated as:
- First: Avoid hazardous manual handling operations unless reasonably practicable
- Second: Assess any manual handling operations that cannot be avoided
- Third: Reduce the risk of injury so far as is reasonably practicable
Online Manual Handling Training
To safeguard your staff welfare, we recommend our Manual Handling Online Training Course.
Our CPD Certified online manual handling course takes 35 minutes and costs just £15 + VAT. Topics covered include defining manual handling, the main laws governing manual handling in the workplace, the key hazards and risks associated with manual handling and the main ways to avoid or reduce the risks that manual handling presents.
Our online courses can be completed on any device that can access the internet and includes a free downloadable and printable certificate on completion.
We hope you found the above information useful. Should you have any questions, doubts or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Call us on 01344 830015
Contact us on our ‘We are here’ live that
Email us at info@pd-training.co.uk
Fill in an enquiry form on our ‘Contact us page’
Message us on one of our social media channels
