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The Work at Height Regulations 2005 will apply from the 6th April 2005 to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. The Regulations will not apply to the provision of instruction or leadership in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team building or similar activities.

The Regulations will require employers to ensure:

all work at height is properly planned and organised; those involved in work at height are competent; the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used; the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.

The Regulations include Schedules giving requirements for existing places of work and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (e.g. guardrails and working platforms), collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc), personal fall protection (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders.

The Regulations aim to cut the number of fatal and major injuries at work caused by falls from height – in 2003/4 falls from height accounted for 68 fatal accidents at work and nearly 4,000 major injuries. Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the biggest causes of major injury.

The Regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Employers must:

avoid work at height where they can; use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.

The Regulations cover a wide range of industries and activities and as an enforcing authority for health and safety our key messages are:

those following good practice for work at height now should already be doing enough to comply with these Regulations;

follow the risk assessments you have carried out for work at height activities and make sure all work at height is planned, organised and carried out by competent persons;

follow the hierarchy for managing risks from work at height - take steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks; and

choose the right work equipment and select collective measures to prevent falls (such as guardrails and working platforms) before other measures which may only mitigate the distance and consequences of a fall (such as nets or airbags) or which may only provide personal protection from a fall.

The Health and Safety Executive have produced a guidance leaflet on these Regulations. This guide is written for employers, the self-employed and anyone who works at height. It tells you what you need to do to comply with the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Further information is available on the "Revitalising Topic" of falls from heights on the Health and Safety Executive's website.