Category: Health benefits · Reviewed by Taylor Watts, Broker · New Business · Last reviewed 2026-06-10
The employer’s occupational health obligation in UK law is a composite of statutory duties under (i) the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the general duty to ensure so far as reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of all employees; (ii) specific regulations imposing health surveillance, risk assessment, and information/training duties on particular risks; and (iii) the Equality Act 2010, which imposes a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Discharging these duties typically requires the employer to commission or maintain access to occupational health expertise.
Category: Health benefits Also known as: Statutory OH obligations Key statute: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 Related concepts: Occupational health service, Health and Safety Executive HSE, Reasonable adjustments Equality Act 2010
The general duty under s.2(1) HSWA 1974 is qualified — “so far as is reasonably practicable” — but specific regulations impose absolute or strict duties for defined risks. Compliance is supervised by the Health and Safety Executive and (for premises occupied by the public) by local authority environmental health.
Principal statutory sources: HSWA 1974 ss.2–9; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (general risk assessment); Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH; including health surveillance for certain substances); Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (hearing surveillance above defined thresholds); DSE Regulations 1992 (eye tests for DSE users); Equality Act 2010 ss.20–22 (reasonable adjustments).
The scope of the OH obligation depends on the workplace. A typical office-based employer must risk-assess workstations, provide DSE eye tests, maintain stress and mental health risk assessment, and make reasonable adjustments. A manufacturing employer must additionally provide noise, COSHH and (where relevant) vibration health surveillance.
A manufacturing employer with 200 employees uses solvent-based adhesives requiring COSHH health surveillance, operates noisy presses requiring annual audiometry above the upper action threshold, and has 20 DSE users in its office. The employer commissions an OH service providing annual audiometry, COSHH health surveillance, DSE eye tests and ad hoc absence case management. The cost is approximately £40 per employee per year.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-10. Next review: 2026-12-10.
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