Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

53 General interpretation of Part I. U.K.

(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

• F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “article for use at work” means—

  (a)

  any plant designed for use or operation (whether exclusively or not) by persons at work, and

  (b)

  any article designed for use as a component in any such plant;

• [F2 “ article of fairground equipment ” means any fairground equipment or any article designed for use as a component in any such equipment; ]

• [F3 “the building enactments” means the provisions of, and of instruments made under—

  (a)

  the Building Act 1984, and

  (b)

  Parts 2 and 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022;]

• [F3 “building function” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022;]

• “code of practice” (without prejudice to section 16(8)) includes a standard, a specification and any other documentary form of practical guidance;

• F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “conditional sale agreement” means an agreement for the sale of goods under which the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments, and the property in the goods is to remain in the seller (notwithstanding that the buyer is to be in possession of the goods) until such conditions as to the payment of instalments or otherwise as may be specified in the agreement are fulfilled;

• “contract of employment” means a contract of employment or apprenticeship (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing);

• “credit-sale agreement” means an agreement for the sale of goods, under which the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments, but which is not a conditional sale agreement;

• [F5 “ customs officer ” means an officer within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act M1 1979; ]

• “domestic premises” means premises occupied as a private dwelling (including any garden, yard, garage, outhouse or other appurtenance of such premises which is not used in common by the occupants of more than one such dwelling), and “non-domestic premises” shall be construed accordingly;

• “employee” means an individual who works under a contract of employment [F6 or is treated by section 51A as being an employee], and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;

• “enforcing authority” has the meaning assigned by section 18(7);

• “the Executive” has the meaning assigned by section [F7 10(1)];

• “ the existing statutory provisions” means the following provisions while and to the extent that they remain in force, namely the provisions of the Acts mentioned in Schedule 1 which are specified in the third column of that Schedule and of the regulations, orders or other instruments of a legislative character made or having effect under any provision so specified;

• F8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• [F9 “ fairground equipment ” means any fairground ride, any similar plant which is designed to be in motion for entertainment purposes with members of the public on or inside it or any plant which is designed to be used by members of the public for entertainment purposes either as a slide or for bouncing upon, and in this definition the reference to plant which is designed to be in motion with members of the public on or inside it includes a reference to swings, dodgems and other plant which is designed to be in motion wholly or partly under the control of, or to be put in motion by, a member of the public; ]

• “the general purposes of this Part” has the meaning assigned by section 1;

• “health and safety regulations” has the meaning assigned by section 15(1);

• “hire-purchase agreement” means an agreement other than a conditional sale agreement, under which—

  (a)

  goods are bailed or (in Scotland) hired in return for periodical payments by the person to whom they are bailed or hired; and

  (b)

  the property in the goods will pass to that person if the terms of the agreement are complied with and one or more of the following occurs:

  (i)

  the exercise of an option to purchase by that person;

  (ii)

  the doing of any other specified act by any party to the agreement;

  (iii)

  the happening of any other event;

  and “hire-purchase” shall be construed accordingly;

• “improvement notice” means a notice under section 21;

• “inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 19;

• F8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “local authority” means—

  (a)

  in relation to England F10 . . ., a county council, F11 . . . a district council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London, the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple or the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple,

  (aa)

  [F12 in relation to Wales, a county council or a county borough council,]

  (b)

  in relation to Scotland, a [F13 council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994];

• [F14 “ micro-organism ” includes any microscopic biological entity which is capable of replication; ]

• [F15 “nuclear safeguards purposes” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013 (nuclear regulation etc.) (see section 72 of that Act);

• “nuclear safety purposes” has the same meaning as in that Part of that Act (see section 68 of that Act);

• “nuclear security purposes” has the same meaning as in that Part of that Act (see section 70 of that Act);]

• “offshore installation” means any installation which is intended for underwater exploitation of mineral resources or exploration with a view to such exploitation;

• [F16 “the ONR's purposes” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013 (see section 67 of that Act);]

• “personal injury” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition;

• “plant” includes any machinery, equipment or appliance;

• “premises” includes any place and, in particular, includes—

  (a)

  any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft,

  (b)

  any installation on land (including the foreshore and other land intermittently covered by water), any offshore installation, and any other installation (whether floating, or resting on the seabed or the subsoil thereof, or resting on other land covered with water or the subsoil thereof), and

  (c)

  any tent or moveable structure;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State;

• “prohibition notice” means a notice under section 22;

• [F17 “the radioactive material transport purposes” means the transport purposes within the meaning of Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013 (see section 73 of that Act);]

• F8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• [F18 “ railway safety purposes ” has the same meaning as in Schedule 3 to the Railways Act 2005; ]

• “the relevant statutory provisions” means—

  (a)

  the provisions of this Part and of any health and safety regulations F19 . . .; and

  (b)

  the existing statutory provisions;

• “self-employed person” means an individual who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of employment, whether or not he himself employs others;

• “substance” means any natural or artificial substance [F20 (including micro-organisms)], whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;

• F21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “supply”, where the reference is to supplying articles or substances, means supplying them by way of sale, lease, hire or hire-purchase, whether as principal or agent for another.

F22 (2)—(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F1 Definitions repealed by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 18

F2 Definition inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 36, Sch. 3 para. 7(a)

F3 Words in s. 53 inserted (E.W.S.) (28.6.2022) by Building Safety Act 2022 (c. 30), s. 170(5), Sch. 1 para. 7; S.I. 2022/561, reg. 3(a)

F4 S. 53(1): definition of "the Commission" omitted (1.4.2008) by virtue of The Legislative Reform (Health and Safety Executive) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/960), art. 17(a) (with art. 21, Sch. 2)

F5 Definition inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 36, Sch. 3 para. 7(b)

F6 S. 53(1): words in definition of "employee" inserted (E.W.S.) (1.7.1998) by 1997 c. 42, s. 6(1); S.I. 1998/1542, art. 2

F7 S. 53(1): word in definition of "the Executive" substituted (1.4.2008) by The Legislative Reform (Health and Safety Executive) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/960), art. 17(b) (with art. 21, Sch. 2)

F8 Definition repealed by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 18

F9 Definition inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 36, Sch. 3 para. 7(c)

F10 S. 53(1): words in definition of "local authority" repealed (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 22(3), Sch. 9 para. 9, Sch. 18 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 3, Sch. 1

F11 Words repealed by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 102, Sch. 17

F12 S. 53(1): in definition of "local authority" para. (aa) inserted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 19, s. 22(3), Sch. 9 para. 9 (with ss. 54(5)(7), 55(5), Sch. 17 paras. 22(1), 23(2)); S.I. 1996/396, art. 3, Sch. 1

F13 S. 53(1): words in definition of "local authority" substituted (S.) (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 39, s. 180(1), Sch. 13 para. 93(3); S.I. 1996/323, art. 4(1)(b)(c)

F14 Definition inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 36, Sch. 3 para. 7(d)

F15 Words in s. 53(1) inserted (1.4.2014) by Energy Act 2013 (c. 32), s. 156(1), Sch. 12 para. 12(a); S.I. 2014/251, art. 4

F16 Words in s. 53(1) inserted (1.4.2014) by Energy Act 2013 (c. 32), s. 156(1), Sch. 12 para. 12(b); S.I. 2014/251, art. 4

F17 Words in s. 53(1) inserted (1.4.2014) by Energy Act 2013 (c. 32), s. 156(1), Sch. 12 para. 12(c); S.I. 2014/251, art. 4

F18 S. 53(1): definition of "railway safety purposes" inserted (E.W.S) (1.4.2006) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 2, 60, Sch. 3 para. 15(3); S.I. 2006/266, art. 2(2), Sch.

F19 Words repealed by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 18

F20 Words inserted by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 36, Sch. 3 para. 7(e)

F21 Definition repealed by Consumer Protection Act 1987 (c. 43, SIF 109:1), s. 48(3), Sch. 5

F22 Ss. 2(5), 29, 31, 32, 50(4)(5), 53(2)–(6) repealed by Employment Protection Act 1975 (c. 71), Sch. 18

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Pt. 1 modified (1.1.2018) by The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1075), regs. 1(2), 2(3) (with regs. 2(5), 3, Sch. 8)

C2 Ss. 1–25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34–59, 80, 81 and 82 applied by S.I. 1989/840, arts. 2–10

C3 Ss. 1-59, 80-82 applied (11.7.2001) by S.I. 2001/2127, arts. 4(1), 5(1)(2), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1), 10 (with art. 11) (as amended by S.I. 2009/1750, art. 2(2)(4))

C4 Ss. 1-59, 80-82 applied (temp.) (5.8.2009) by The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2127), arts. 8A, 8B (as inserted by S.I. 2009/1750, art. 2(3))

C5 Ss. 1-59 applied by S.I. 2001/2127 art. 8A 8B (as inserted (E.W.S.) (6.4.2011) by The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) (Variation) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/745), arts. 1(1), 3(2))

C6 In s. 53: definition of "relevant statutory provisions" applied by Tay Road Bridge Order Confirmation Act 1991 (c. iv), s. 1, Sch. Pt. VII s. 62

In s. 53: definition of "relevant statutory provisions" applied (25.7.1991) by Highland Regional Council (Harbours) Order Confirmation Act 1991 (c. xii), s. 1, Sch. s. 61(1)(f)

Marginal Citations

M1 1979 c.2(40:1).