OpenLegislation

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

S.I. 1992/2793 · Made 5 November 1992 · Extends to England, Wales and Scotland

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 1 October 2015.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Made 5th November 1992

Laid before Parliament 16th November 1992

Coming into force 1st January 1993

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by sections 15(1), (2), (3)(a), (5)(a) and (9) and 80(1), (2)(a) and (4) of, and paragraphs 1(1)(a) and (c) and 8 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974f1 (“ the 1974 Act”) and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf and—

  1. (a)

    for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to her by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act; and

  2. (b)

    it appearing to her that the repeal of section 18(1)(f) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933f2 and section 28(1)(f) of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937f3 except insofar as those provisions apply to such employment as is permitted under section 1(2) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act 1920f4 is expedient in consequence of the Regulations referred to below after the carrying out by her of consultations in accordance with section 80(4) of the 1974 Act,

hereby makes the following Regulations:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1974 c. 37; sections 15(1), 50(3) and 80(4) were amended by the Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Schedule 15, paragraphs 6, 16(3) and 19 respectively.

f2

1933 c. 12.

f3

1937 c. 37.

f4

1920 c. 65.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Disapplication of Regulations
  4. 4Duties of employers
  5. 5Duty of employees
  6. 6Exemption certificates
  7. 7Extension outside Great Britain
  8. 8Repeals and revocations
  9. Signature
  10. Schedule 1FACTORS TO WHICH THE EMPLOYER MUST HAVE REGARD AND QUESTIONS HE MUST CONSIDER WHEN MAKING AN ASSESSMENT OF MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONS
  11. Schedule 2: REPEALS AND REVOCATIONS
  12. IREPEALS
  13. IIREVOCATIONS
  14. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

These Regulations may be cited as the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 1st January 1993.

2InterpretationI1

(1)

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

  • “injury” does not include injury caused by any toxic or corrosive substance which—

    1. (a)

      has leaked or spilled from a load;

    2. (b)

      is present on the surface of a load but has not leaked or spilled from it; or

    3. (c)

      is a constituent part of a load;

  • and “injured” shall be construed accordingly;

  • “load” includes any person and any animal;

  • “manual handling operations” means any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force.

(2)

Any duty imposed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his employees shall also be imposed on a F1relevant self-employed person in respect of himself.

F2(3)

For the purposes of paragraph (2) “relevant self-employed person” means a self-employed person who conducts an undertaking of a prescribed description for the purposes of section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

3Disapplication of RegulationsI1

These Regulations shall not apply to or in relation to the master or crew of a sea-going ship or to the employer of such persons in respect of the normal ship-board activities of a ship’s crew under the direction of the master.

4Duties of employersI1

(1)

Each employer shall—

(a)

so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured; or

(b)

where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured—

(i)

make a suitable and sufficient assessment of all such manual handling operations to be undertaken by them, having regard to the factors which are specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations and considering the questions which are specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Schedule,

(ii)

take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable, and

(iii)

take appropriate steps to provide any of those employees who are undertaking any such manual handling operations with general indications and, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, precise information on—

(aa)

the weight of each load, and

(bb)

the heaviest side of any load whose centre of gravity is not positioned centrally.

(2)

Any assessment such as is referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(i) of this regulation shall be reviewed by the employer who made it if—

(a)

there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or

(b)

there has been a significant change in the manual handling operations to which it relates;

and where as a result of any such review changes to an assessment are required, the relevant employer shall make them.

F1(3)

In determining for the purposes of this regulation whether manual handling operations at work involve a risk of injury and in determining the appropriate steps to reduce that risk regard shall be had in particular to—

(a)

the physical suitability of the employee to carry out the operations;

(b)

the clothing, footwear or other personal effects he is wearing;

(c)

his knowledge and training;

(d)

the results of any relevant risk assessment carried out pursuant to regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;

(e)

whether the employee is within a group of employees identified by that assessment as being especially at risk; and

(f)

the results of any health surveillance provided pursuant to regulation 6 of the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999.

5Duty of employeesI1

Each employee while at work shall make full and proper use of any system of work provided for his use by his employer in compliance with regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) of these Regulations.

6Exemption certificatesI1

(1)

The Secretary of State for Defence may, in the interests of national security, by a certificate in writing exempt—

(a)

any of the home forces, any visiting force or any headquarters from any requirement imposed by regulation 4 of these Regulations; or

(b)

any member of the home forces, any member of a visiting force or any member of a headquarters from the requirement imposed by regulation 5 of these Regulations;

and any exemption such as is specified in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be revoked by the said Secretary of State by a further certificate in writing at any time.

(2)

In this regulation—

(a)

“the home forces” has the same meaning as in section 12(1) of the Visiting Forces Act 1952f1;

(b)

“headquarters” has the same meaning as in article 3(2) of the Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) Order 1965f2;

(c)

“member of a headquarters” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(1) of the Schedule to the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964f3; and

(d)

“visiting force” has the same meaning as it does for the purposes of any provision of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952.

7Extension outside Great BritainI1

These Regulations shall, subject to regulation 3 hereof, apply to and in relation to the premises and activities outside Great Britain to which sections 1 to 59 and 80 to 82 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply by virtue of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application Outside Great Britain) Order 1989f1 as they apply within Great Britain.

8Repeals and revocationsI1

(1)

The enactments mentioned in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 2 to these Regulations are repealed to the extent specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that part.

(2)

The Regulations mentioned in column 1 of Part II of Schedule 2 to these Regulations are revoked to the extent specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that part.

Signature

Signed by order of the Secretary of State.

Patrick McLoughlin

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of Employment

5th November 1992

Schedule 1FACTORS TO WHICH THE EMPLOYER MUST HAVE REGARD AND QUESTIONS HE MUST CONSIDER WHEN MAKING AN ASSESSMENT OF MANUAL HANDLING OPERATIONSI1

Column 1Column 2
FactorsQuestions
1

The tasks

Do they involve:

  • holding or manipulating loads at distance from trunk?

  • unsatisfactory bodily movement or posture, especially:

    • twisting the trunk?

    • stooping?

    • reaching upwards?

  • excessive movement of loads, especially:

    • excessive lifting or lowering distances?

    • excessive carrying distances?

  • excessive pushing or pulling of loads?

  • risk of sudden movement of loads?

  • frequent or prolonged physical effort?

  • insufficient rest or recovery periods?

  • a rate of work imposed by a process?

2

The loads

Are they:

  • heavy?

  • bulky or unwieldy?

  • difficult to grasp?

  • unstable, or with contents likely to shift?

  • sharp, hot or otherwise potentially damaging?

3

The working environment

Are there:

  • space constraints preventing good posture?

  • uneven, slippery or unstable floors?

  • variations in level of floors or work surfaces?

  • extremes of temperature or humidity?

  • conditions causing ventilation problems or gusts of wind?

  • poor lighting conditions?

4

Individual capability

Does the job:

  • require unusual strength, height, etc?

  • create a hazard to those who might reasonably be considered to be pregnant or to have a health problem?

  • require special information or training for its safe performance?

5

Other factors

 Is movement or posture hindered by personal protective equipment or by clothing?

IREPEALSI1

Column 1Column 2Column 3
Short title of enactmentReferenceExtent of repeal
The Children and Young Persons Act 1933.1933 c. 12.Section 18(1)(f) except insofar as that paragraph applies to such employment as is permitted under section 1(2) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons,and Children Act 1920 (1920 c. 65).
The Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937.1937 c. 37.Section 28(1)(f) except insofar as that paragraph applies to such employment as is permitted under section 1(2) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons,and Children Act 1920.
The Mines and Quarries Act 1954.1954 c. 70.Section 93; in section 115 the word “ninety-three”.
The Agriculture (Safety, Health and Welfare Provisions) Act 1956.1956 c. 49.Section 2.
The Factories Act 1961.1961 c. 34.Section 72.
The Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963.1963 c. 41.

Section 23 except insofar as the prohibition contained in that section applies to any person specified in section 90(4) of the same Act.

In section 83(1) the number “23”.

IIREVOCATIONSI1

Column 1Column 2Column 3
Title of instrumentReferenceExtent of revocation
The Agriculture (Lifting of Heavy Weights) Regulations 1959.S.I. 1959/2120.The whole Regulations.
The Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961.S.I. 1961/1580.In regulation 3(1)(a) the phrase “and 55”; regulation 55.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1

Subject to the exceptions specified in paragraph 2 below, these Regulations give effect as respects Great Britain to the substantive provisions of Council Directive 90/269/EEC on the minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling of loads where there is a risk particularly of back injury to workers (OJ No. L 156, 21.6.90, p. 9)

2

These Regulations do not extend to sea transport (regulation 3); nor do they give effect to the first indent of article 6.1 of the Directive referred to in paragraph 1 above.

3

Regulation 4 requires each employer—

(a)

so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so, to avoid the need for his employees to undertake manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured; or

(b)

where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured—

(i)

to assess all such manual handling operations to be undertaken by them having regard to Schedule 1 to these Regulations,

(ii)

to reduce the risk of injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable, and

(iii)

to provide any of those employees who are undertaking any such manual handling operations with certain information about the loads to be carried by them; and

(c)

in the circumstances specified in paragraph (2) of that regulation, to review (and where necessary change) any assessment such as is referred to in sub-paragraph (b)(i) above.

4

Regulation 2(1) defines, among other expressions, what is meant by “injury”, “injured” and “manual handling operations” and regulation 2(2) provides that where these Regulations impose duties on employers in respect of their employees those duties are also imposed on self-employed persons in respect of themselves.

5

Regulation 5 requires each employee while at work to make full and proper use of systems of work provided for his use by his employer in compliance with that employer’s duty under regulation 4(1)(b)(ii) of these Regulations.

6

Regulation 6 enables the Secretary of State for Defence to grant certificates of exemption from these Regulations in the interests of national security.

7

Regulation 7 extends the application of these Regulations to and in relation to certain premises and activities outside Great Britain.

8

Regulation 8 (together with Schedule 2) repeals a number of enactments and revokes a number of instruments.