Workplace Safety and Health Act · 2024 Revised Edition · Part · General Duties of Persons at Workplaces
14. Duties of principals
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Subject to subsection (2), it shall be the duty of every principal to take, so far as is reasonably practicable, such measures as are necessary to ensure the safety and health of —
principal
“principal” means a person who, in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by him, engages any other person otherwise than under a contract of service — (a) to supply any labour for gain or reward; or (b) to do any work for gain or reward;
any contractor engaged by the principal when at work;
any direct or indirect sub-contractor engaged by such contractor when at work;
any employee employed by such contractor or sub-contractor when at work.
The duty imposed on the principal in subsection (1) only applies where the contractor, sub-contractor or employee referred to in that subsection is working under the direction of the principal as to the manner in which the work is carried out.
Workplace Safety and Health
It shall be the duty of every principal to take, so far as is reasonably practicable, such measures as are necessary to ensure the safety and health of persons (other than a person referred to in subsection (1)(a), (b)
or (c) working under the principal’s direction) who may be affected by any undertaking carried on by him in the workplace.
For the purposes of subsection (1), the measures necessary to ensure the safety and health of persons at work include —
at work
“at work” means — (a) in relation to an employee, all times when the employee is performing work in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by his employer, wherever that work is carried out; (b) in relation to a self-employed person, all times when that person is performing work as a self-employed person, wherever the work is carried out; and (c) in any other case, all times when the person is performing work at the direction of the person who engaged him, wherever the work is carried out;
providing and maintaining for those persons a work environment which is safe, without risk to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work;
ensuring that adequate safety measures are taken in respect of any machinery, equipment, plant, article or process used by those persons;
ensuring that those persons are not exposed to hazards arising out of the arrangement, disposal, manipulation, organisation, processing, storage, transport, working or use of things —
in their workplace; or
near their workplace and under the control of the principal;
developing and implementing procedures for dealing with emergencies that may arise while those persons are at work;
ensuring that the persons at work have adequate instruction, information, training and supervision as is necessary for them to perform their work.
Every principal shall, where required by the regulations, give to persons (other than a person referred to in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c)
working under the principal’s direction) the prescribed information about such aspects of the way in which he conducts his undertaking as might affect their safety or health while they are at his workplace.
Workplace Safety and Health 28
Additional duties of principals in relation to contractors [S 56/2018]
Terms defined in s 4
at work
Defined · s 4“at work” means — (a) in relation to an employee, all times when the employee is performing work in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by his employer, wherever that work is carried out; (b) in relation to a self-employed person, all times when that person is performing work as a self-employed person, wherever the work is carried out; and (c) in any other case, all times when the person is performing work at the direction of the person who engaged him, wherever the work is carried out;
machinery
Defined · s 4“machinery” includes — (a) any oil engine, gas engine, steam engine and any other machine in which mechanical movement, either linear, rotated or both, takes place; (b) any steam boiler, gas cylinder, air receiver, steam receiver, steam container or refrigerating plant pressure receiver; (c) any appliance for transmission of power by ropes, belts, chains, driving straps or bands or gearing; and (d) any electrical generator or electrical motor, but does not include any machinery used solely for the propulsion of vehicles;
principal
Defined · s 4“principal” means a person who, in connection with any trade, business, profession or undertaking carried on by him, engages any other person otherwise than under a contract of service — (a) to supply any labour for gain or reward; or (b) to do any work for gain or reward;
sub-contractor
Defined · s 4“sub-contractor” means a person engaged, otherwise than under a contract of service, by any contractor or sub-contractor — (a) to supply any labour for gain or reward; or (b) to do any work for gain or reward, which the contractor or sub-contractor has been engaged as contractor or sub-contractor, as the case may be, to do;
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