Your entitlement to a safe place of work

Your employer is under a statutory duty to provide a safe place of work for you, pupils (whether in school or off site) and visitors to the school (including volunteers involved in school activities), under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.

There is also an implied term in your contract of employment that your employer will provide a healthy and safe working environment, and this includes protection from violence or the risk of violence. 

For community schools, community special schools, voluntary-controlled schools, maintained schools and pupil referral units, the employer is the local authority (LA). For foundation schools, foundation special schools and voluntary-aided schools, the employer is usually the governing body. For independent schools, the employer is usually the governing body or proprietor and in further education colleges and sixth form colleges, the employer is the governing body.

As an employee, you also have obligations. Under the HSW Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 you must take reasonable care of your own health and safety and that of others, including your colleagues and the pupils in your care cooperate with your employers on health and safety matters. You must also  carry out activities in accordance with training, instructions, policies and procedures, and tell your employer of any serious risks.

Duty of care

The employers' obligations, as set out above, are normally described as the "duty of care" that your employer owes to you as an employee. This duty does not provide a comprehensive guarantee of your safety but means that your employer must take reasonable steps to ensure that you are protected and remain safe from reasonably foreseeable dangers. Its applicability will differ depending on the facts of each circumstance. For example, if you work at a school with pupils that have a history of behavioural difficulties, then you are likely to be more at risk of assault. Your employer, therefore, would be expected to act accordingly, taking reasonable steps to safeguard your health and safety. 

For further guidance, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has published Health and safety: responsibilities and powers (DfES/0803/2001), available from the Teachernet  website.

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) offices or email info@atl.org.uk

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

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