ABSTRACT
Looking after the health and safety of site visitors, employees, and volunteers is important. Visitors rightly expect that a visit to the countryside will not end up with a trip to hospital or to a mortuary. Whilst it is impossible to ensure that no accidents will ever happen in the countryside, managing organisations have a duty of care over those who visit, those whom they employ and volunteers. This chapter looks at issues associated with health and safety, outlines the legislation and suggests steps that can be taken to minimise the risk of accidents and to comply with the law.
Ensuring the health and safety of employees and visitors on countryside recreation sites is a vital component of managing a site. There are a number of reasons for this. First there is a moral issue in that people are employed to work on sites and visitors are encouraged to use them. There is therefore a moral duty for the organisation that manages a site to take all necessary steps to ensure that the risks of injury or death to people there (visitors or employees) are minimised as far as is practically possible. A second reason is that consideration of the health and safety of employees and visitors is a legal requirement and therefore has to be done. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. Finally health and safety needs to be considered to minimise the risk of litigation. Litigation is where an individual makes claims against an organisation through the courts, for damages and compensation with regard to breaches in the duty of care enshrined in health and safety legislation. Sadly, the culture of litigation that has developed over the last ten years means that fear of litigation forms an increasingly important part of decision making on sites, particularly with regard to health and safety.
