Working at Height

Working at height is defined as ‘work in any place, including a place at or below ground level, or obtaining access to or egress from such a place, while at work, except by a staircase where, if suitable measures were not taken, a person could fall a distance likely to cause personal injury’. This means that anyone undertaking ANY work where they could fall is working at height and therefore the risks this poses must be taken into consideration and properly controlled as far as is reasonably practicable. 

The Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 which came into force on 6 April 2007 apply to those who work at height providing instruction or leadership to one or more people engaged in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team building or similar activities in Great Britain.

Legal Requirements

The main piece of legislation covering work at height is the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007, which consolidates previous legislation on working at height and implements the codified European Council Directive 2009/104/EC (The Use of Work Equipment at Work Directive).  The overriding principle of the Regulations is that those who have control over work at height must do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone falling.  The codified Directive brings together existing directives into one consolidated directive and replaces directives 89/655/EEC - Use of Work Equipment at Work Directive; 95/63/EC - Amending Directive 89/655/EEC and 2001/45/EC - Work at Height Directive.

The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. Duties are placed on employers, the self-employed and any person who controls the work of others (eg facilities managers or building managers who employ contractors to work at height) on the extent they control the work.

Barbour Resources

We offer a range of resources to help you create policy and communicate with the workforce, including regularly reviewed documents which provide technical guidance, and policy and risk assessment assistance.

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