Nor does it make any mention of the emergency services, ie, fire fighters and the ambulance service.
8.
It is of interest that the House of Lords in White v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1998] 3 WLR 1509, were prepared to consider the plaintiff police officers claiming compensation for PTSD arising out of their involvement in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 as employees of the chief constable for the purposes of those proceedings.
The Directive is not however applicable “where characteristics peculiar to certain specific public service activities, such as the armed forces or the police or to certain specific activities in the civil protection services inevitably conflict with it”.
14.
Section 3 of the 1997 Act.
15.
Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
16.
Section 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
17.
Op. cit. n.9. para. 13.
18.
See reg.2 of the 1999 Regulations.
19.
SI 1997 No.500, as amended by SI 1992 No.2051 and SI 1996. No.1513.
20.
Section 2(4) HSWA.
21.
Regulation 4 of the 1977 Regulations, as amended.
22.
Regulation 3 of the 1999 Regulations.
23.
Ie, The Chief Police Officers' Staff Association; The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland; The Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales; The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents; The Police Federation of England and Wales; and The Scottish Police Federation.
24.
Op. cit. n.21.
25.
Op. cit. n.9.
26.
As well as the Regulations refered to in the text below, the others considered were the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 (SI 1989 No. 1970); and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No.2793).
27.
Op. cit. n.9. para.29.
28.
Ibid. n.9.
29.
SI 1992 No.2966, amended by SI 1994 No.3017, and SI 1994 No.3246.
30.
SI 1998 No.2306.
31.
In para.40 of the 1998 consultation document (op. cit. n.9), the HSC rejected an alternative interpretation of the reg.4 duty about ensuring that work equipment is suitable: “Some might argue that any police work equipment which is designed specifically to cause a degree of harm in some circumstances whether in self-defence or to control criminal activity, would inevitably breach the duty because equipment designed to cause harm can never be suitable for the purposes of [reg.4(4)]. This view would suggest a need to qualify the duty. However, on the information available the Commission and its legal advisers consider the better interpretation to be that [reg.4(4)] can accommodate police use of self-defence and deterrent equipment.
32.
Management of Health and Safety at Work. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992. Approved Code of Practice. HSC. Ref.L21. HSE Books, as above, £5.00.
33.
Proposals for the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Modifications) Regulations 1999 and the amendment of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Approved Code of Practice. HSC(1999) Ref.CD142. HSE Books, as above.
