On 1 July 1998 the
Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997 came
into force, formally recognising police officers as 'employees'
for the purposes of regulations made under Part
1 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
On 14 April 1999 the Police (Health and
Safety) Regulations 1999 came into force,
formally recognising that police officers were now fully
covered by the health and safety legislation.
Part 1 of the 1974 Act places a 'duty
of care' on employers
to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the
health, safety and welfare at work of all their
employees. This duty extends to the provision of
systems of work, which is interpreted as including hours of work
and, in particular, shift work. (Section 1).
Under the same legislation an employee
has a general 'duty of care' while at work
to take reasonable care for the health and safety of
himself and of any other persons who may be affected
by his acts or omissions at work (Section 7).
Since the European Council Directive No.93/104/EC
of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the
organisation of working time, Member States
have been under an obligation to ensure that
employers who intend to organise work according to a
certain pattern take account of the general principle
of adapting work to the worker.
As a response to that directive the Working
Time Regulations 1998 were introduced in the UK. These
regulations lay down statutory requirements on
employers to restrict and monitor their employee's
working time, and give employee's certain rights with
regard maximum working hours, rest breaks and rest periods.
The Working Time Regulations 1998 came into force on 1st
October 1998 and apply specifically to the Police
Service by virtue of Regulation 41.
The consequences of the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974 and the Working Time Regulations 1998 on the
Police Service are that:
- Police managers are now legally bound to
produce shift patterns which seek to minimize
the adverse effects of shift work upon their staff; and
- staff have an obligation to be aware
of the consequences of shift work on their
health and safety and that of their colleagues.
Guidance on how the Working Time Regulations
should be interpreted and applied is provided by the
Department of Trade and Industry.