Manual handling is moving or supporting a load by hand or by bodily force. In Ireland it is one of the most common causes of injury at work. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has reported that manual handling caused about a third of the accidents reported to it (34 % in 2003, in its 2005 guidance).
What the Regulations say
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007) deal with it in Part 2, Chapter 4. Regulation 68 defines manual handling of loads as any transporting or supporting of a load by one or more employees. It includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load which, because of its characteristics or unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury.
Three points are easy to miss:
- A load can be an object, but also a person or an animal.
- The rules apply to handling that involves a risk of injury. The HSA gives the example of a light load of about 5 kg at waist height: that is not a risk in itself.
- The Regulations set no maximum weight. The risk depends on the whole job, not on the weight alone.
The main laws
- The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 is the main workplace safety law in Ireland.
- Section 8: the employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of employees.
- Section 9: the employer must give information about hazards and the measures to take, in a form and language that employees are likely to understand.
- Sections 8 and 10: the employer must give the instruction, training and supervision needed for safety (section 8(2)(g)), in a form and language you can understand. Under section 10, training must be given on recruitment, on a change of task, and when new equipment or a new system of work is introduced. It must be repeated periodically where appropriate.
- Section 19: the employer must identify hazards and keep a written risk assessment.
- Section 20: the employer must prepare a written safety statement.
- The 2007 Regulations, Chapter 4 (Regulations 68 and 69) and Schedule 3, set the specific manual handling duties.
Your duties as an employee
Section 13 of the 2005 Act says an employee must, among other things:
- take reasonable care to protect their own safety and that of others;
- co-operate with the employer;
- attend the training the employer reasonably requires;
- make correct use of equipment provided;
- report as soon as practicable any work done in a dangerous way and any defect in the place of work or the systems of work.
The HSA and its guidance
The HSA is the national body for workplace safety. It publishes guidance, such as the Guidance on the Management of Manual Handling in the Workplace (2005) and a guide to Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the 2007 Regulations. Guidance is not law, but it shows what the HSA regards as good practice.
Is training compulsory for everyone?
No. The HSA says manual handling training is not mandatory for all staff. The Regulations apply where handling involves risk. Where it does, the employer must act, and the first option is to remove or reduce the handling, not just to train. Training must be specific to the tasks involved.
Key points
- Manual handling includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying and moving.
- A load can be an object, a person or an animal.
- The law sets no weight limit; it looks at the risk of the whole task.
- The employer must assess, give information and train. You must co-operate and report problems.
- Training is not a substitute for avoiding or reducing risky handling.