A health and safety law’s primary goal is to provide employees with a secure work environment. Health and safety are governed by laws and common law since all employers, regardless of the workplace’s conditions, have a duty of care to keep their employees safe while they are at work (Suff, 2022f). Employers have obligations to maintain a safe workplace under the laws of negligence, contracts, and other special obligations. It is one of the employment sectors that is initially addressed by law.

The Health and Safety Work Act of 1974 outlines many important requirements, but the primary obligations of an Employer to an Employee are as follows:

• An Employer must provide safe premises and a safe place of employment An Employer must hire competent and safe fellow Employees.
• When it comes to making sure that the necessary health and safety requirements are met, an employee must always cooperate with the employer (Acas, nd).
• To protect workers. In the event of an accident, every employer is required to carry employer’s liability insurance.
• Employers are required to create and uphold an up-to-date health and safety policy that is visible to all employees (Acas, n.d).

Since it is nearly impossible to cover every possible hazard that an employee can encounter across various work environments, in addition to the wide range of people, a contract or health and safety policy should include (Suff, 2021). It is crucial that employers maintain a level of expectation that their staff will use common sense when it comes to potential hazards at work, take it seriously, and assume accountability for their decisions when appropriate.

Therefore, if an employer shows that they take their responsibility to provide a “safe place of work,” “a safe system of work,” “adequate plant and equipment” that are appropriate for the industry, and “recruit competent and safety conscious staff,” they have demonstrated that they have a duty of care toward their employees (Boland, 2019). However, if it is determined that an employer did not exercise reasonable care in any of the aforementioned areas, an employee may be able to make a claim for “constructive unfair dismissal and personal injury” because they felt forced to quit their position (Boland, 2019). Management must ensure that employees comprehend this implied term in order to protect and minimize any potential harm.

The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act of 1992 (TULRCA) contains a clause defining freedom of association, which is defined as “the right of an individual to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membership based on certain criteria (Craig, P., & De Búrca, 2020).” The TULRCA 1992 protects workers’ freedom to join or leave unions without fear of discrimination or retaliation (CIPD, Trade Union Recognition & Industrial Action Q&AS,nd). It also gives unions a framework for engaging in collective bargaining with employers to demand higher business or workplace standards. Finally, it protects workers’ freedom to take action, including industrial action without a strike, to support and defend their union. In light of the aforementioned rule, employees are free to join and create whatever associations they like.