Work at Height Regulations 2005
Also called WAHR, The Work at Height Regulations 2005
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 are the UK regulations governing any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. There is no minimum height in the definition — it covers work in any place, including a place at or below ground level — and the regulations set a sequence: avoid work at height where the work can reasonably practicably be done safely otherwise, then prevent falls, then minimise the distance and consequences of a fall that remains possible.
The UK position
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735) are free to read in full at legislation.gov.uk, which is worth doing, because the instrument is short and its wording is what gets quoted back at you. Regulation 6 sets the sequence: work is not to be carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry it out safely otherwise than at height; where it is carried out at height, the employer takes suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury; and where a risk of a fall remains, sufficient work equipment is provided to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall. Regulation 7 then decides between the options, and it is the sentence most often skipped: an employer selecting work equipment for work at height must give collective protection measures priority over personal protection measures. Regulation 4 requires work at height to be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe — and adds that the reference to planning of work includes planning for emergencies and rescue. Regulation 5 requires competence of everyone involved, including in organisation, planning and supervision.
Cited by number and title:
- The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735) — full text at legislation.gov.uk
Where it matters on site
Two things follow for anyone buying equipment. The first is that regulation 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 puts a net rigged under the work, or an opening that has been covered, ahead of a harness issued to an individual — not alongside it. A safeguard that protects everyone beneath it without anyone having to clip on is a collective measure, and it wins unless there is a reason it cannot be used. The second is that a service hole in a floor is work at height under the definition above, because a person could fall through it a distance liable to cause personal injury, which makes covering it a preventive measure rather than an arrest one. This is separate ground from CDM 2015, which governs how the project as a whole is planned and managed, and from LOLER, which governs the lifting equipment: those two can be fully complied with on a site where the fall protection is still wrong. We teach the fall side of it — our CPD-accredited seminar on innovations in construction health and safety covers fall protection systems, working at height, and slips, trips and falls, and is written for health and safety professionals and main contractors.