Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
Published on legislation.gov.uk as Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (1974 c. 37).
Official UK legislation. Verify the current status on legislation.gov.uk before relying on it. This page is general information, not project-specific legal or engineering advice. The presence of a commencement provision does not mean every provision is in force.
Jurisdiction, extent and status
Enactment type, territorial extent and practical application are separate questions. Each statement below carries its own source reference.
Citation
1974 c. 37
Table of contents (citation) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.citation
Type of enactment
An Act of the United Kingdom Parliament.
Table of contents (UK Public General Act) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.enactment
Territorial extent
Section 84(1) states that the Act, with the listed exceptions, does not extend to Northern Ireland. Section 84(2) states that Part III, except section 75 and Schedule 7, does not extend to Scotland.
Section 84(1)–(2) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/84 · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.extent
Practical application
Section 84(3) allows provision by Order in Council for Parts I and II and Part IV to apply outside Great Britain, to the extent and for the purposes specified in the Order. Northern Ireland is dealt with by its own legislation.
Section 84(3) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/84 · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.application
Commencement
Short title and commencement are dealt with by section 85. Commencement of individual provisions and of later amendments is recorded on the official page.
Section 85 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.commencement
Version in view
legislation.gov.uk publishes this instrument in a revised form. The revision date, outstanding effects and any prospective changes are shown on the official page itself; check it for the current position.
Contents page (version banner) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.version
Changes and outstanding effects
Any outstanding effects, amendments and changes not yet in force are listed on the official legislation.gov.uk page for this instrument. This page does not restate them.
Contents page (changes to legislation) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.changes
Official statutory record
Every statement below is taken from legislation.gov.uk and carries its own source reference and verification date.
Section 3 is headed “General duties of employers and self-employed to persons other than their employees”.
Section 3 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/3 · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.s3
Section 4 is headed “General duties of persons concerned with premises to persons other than their employees”.
Section 4 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/4 · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.s4
Section 7 is headed “General duties of employees at work”.
Section 7 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/7 · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.s7
Enforcement provisions include section 20 (Powers of inspectors), section 21 (Improvement notices) and section 22 (Prohibition notices).
Sections 20–22 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.enforcement
Part IV is headed “Miscellaneous and General”, and extent and short title are dealt with by sections 84 and 85.
Part IV, sections 84–85 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · verified 2026-09-10 · hswa74.part4
Official guidance (secondary)
Guidance published by official bodies. Guidance explains; it is not the law itself, and this page does not summarise its contents.
- Health and Safety Executive — the Act and how it applies — published by Health and Safety Executive
How Magnus can help
Commercial information from Magnus Opifex Seven. It is not clause-level legal or engineering advice, and it is not a statement of any statutory requirement.
Magnus Opifex Seven can help scope a project-specific review that places fire safety duties in their wider health and safety context.
How the general duties in this Act bear on a specific building or activity is a project-specific judgement that needs competent advice.
Ask about Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
This feature selects from 5 propositions recorded here from this instrument on The National Archives — legislation.gov.uk and displays them as recorded. It does not write its own answer, so nothing you read here is a summary, an interpretation, a legal conclusion or a statement about your building, and the selection is not exhaustive. Whether the instrument is in force, amended or commenced is not verified here — check the official page .
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Ask what the instrument itself says, and the propositions recorded here that bear on it are displayed as recorded. Questions about a specific building, a design or whether something complies are matters for a fire engineer.
The 5 recorded propositions this feature can select from and display
- [1] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 3 — official source (read 2026-09-10; current status, amendments and commencement not verified here)
- [2] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 4 — official source (read 2026-09-10; current status, amendments and commencement not verified here)
- [3] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 7 — official source (read 2026-09-10; current status, amendments and commencement not verified here)
- [4] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Sections 20–22 — official source (read 2026-09-10; current status, amendments and commencement not verified here) — bibliographic: identifies the instrument only.
- [5] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Part IV, sections 84–85 — official source (read 2026-09-10; current status, amendments and commencement not verified here) — bibliographic: identifies the instrument only.
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