Providing Health and Safety Information for Employees

All Employees

The employer must provide all his employees with comprehensible and relevant information on:

• the risks to their health and safety identified by his risk assessments;
• the preventive and protective measures to eliminate or minimise the risks;
• the procedures for emergencies and danger areas;
• the identity of fire marshals or other nominated competent persons for evacuation procedures;
• the risks notified to him by any other employers sharing the workplace.

Fixed-Term Contract Employees

In addition to the above information (which can be provided before, on or after commencement of the contract), the employer must also provide any fixed-term contract employee with comprehensible information, before they commence, on:

• any special occupational qualifications or skills to be held by that employee in order to carry out their work safely;
• any health surveillance that his risk assessment shows is required to be provided to that employee.

Comprehensible Information

To be comprehensible, the information must be capable of being understood by the recipient. The employer should take account of each recipient's level of training, knowledge and experience, together with any language difficulties or disabilities which may impede their receipt of information.