ABSTRACT
Falls from height remains the single most frequent cause of fatalities and major injuries in the workplace. Until now, legal controls have remained piecemeal, and contained in law of broader scope, notably the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSWR), now obsolete. The new Regulations (SI 2005 No 735) came into force on 6 April 2005. They gave effect to EC Directive 2001/45/EC and amended regulations transposed from other directives dealing with the use of work equipment, minimum requirements for workplaces and temporary or mobile construction sites. In the UK they were implemented late, and were preceded by rumours that they would ban or severely limit the use of ladders and stepladders. Neither is true and there was nothing throughout the extensive consultation process to suggest that either would be. Some contractors have chosen to ban stepladders from their sites entirely, on the grounds of best practice, but there is nothing in these Regulations to support such action.
