Hooray if you’re self-employed!

From 1^st of October 2015 health and safety law does not apply to you any longer wooooo!!!!

BUT. Ha ha – there is always a BUT!

Only if the self-employed persons work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others. I don’t think that would be many of our readers, this includes people like novelists, journalists, accountants, confectioners and more.

What is risk to the health and safety to other?

This is the likelihood of someone else being harmed or injured (eg members of the public, clients, contractors etc) as a consequence of your work activity

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (General Duties of Self-Employed Persons) (Prescribed Undertakings) Regulations 2015 sets out a list of work activities that the law still applies to. This includes:

• Agriculture;
• Asbestos work;
• Construction;
• Gas work;
• Genetically modified organisms; and
• Railways.

For health and safety law purposes, ‘self-employed’ means that you do not work under a contract of employment and work only for yourself. If you’re self-employed and employ others the law will apply to you. You may be self-employed for tax purposes, but this may not be so for health and safety.

So stay safe all!