ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the scope and nature of occupational health and safety. It describes the legal responsibilities that exist between duty-holders under the Construction Regulations to ensure that health and safety is fully integrated into the management of any construction project and to encourage everyone involved with the project to work together effectively. The chapter explores the legal framework for the regulation of health and safety including sources and types of law. It presents the legal responsibilities that exist between people who control premises and those who use them, and between contractors and those who hire them; and the duties of suppliers, manufacturers and designers of articles and substances for use at work. The chapter examines the legal and organisational health and safety roles and responsibilities of clients and their contractors. It discusses the principles of assessing and managing contractors. The chapter introduces the foundations on which appropriate health and safety management systems may be built.
