ABSTRACT
Many Acts of Parliament create a duty to do something. The question then arises whether a person who is injured or suffers damage because the duty has not been carried out can sue in tort for damages for breach of statutory duty. Some statutes expressly grant a right to claim damages, for example the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, while others expressly exclude any right to damages, for example the Medicines Act 1968. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 now provides an example of a statute which both gives a right to obtain damages and excludes any such right! By the Management of Health & Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 employees are given the right to bring an action against an employer for the employer’s breach of the statutory duty to ensure the safety of employees. The new rules only apply to employees; independent contractors or anyone else who is injured by a breach of the statutory duty are still prevented from using breach of the Act or the Regulations made under it as the basis of a claim. A third category of statutes causes problems as a person can be subject to punishment for a breach but the Act is silent about the question of civil liability. It is the last category that we are concerned with.
