Guidance

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Back Pain - Legal Duties

Legal duties of employers

Employers have a legal obligation to protect the health and safety of their employees and other people who might be affected by what they do. Some health and safety regulations are particularly relevant to dealing with back pain in the workplace:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000
regulation 3 requires that all employers assess the risks to the health and safety of their employees while they are at work.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992
require an employer to carry out a risk assessment on the manual handling tasks that pose a risk of injury.
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 as amended (DSE Regulations)
some users of visual display units may get aches and pains, including back pain. The regulations set out what employers need to do if their employees are habitual users of DSE. Specific advice on DSE and the DSE regulations.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005
regular long-term exposure to Whole Body Vibration (WBV) is associated with back pain. The regulations require an employer to take actions to protect persons against risk to their health and safety arising from exposure to vibration at work. More information can be found at the HSE’s vibration website.

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Back Pain - Legal Duties

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