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  Healthy,
safe and

lives
productive Menu
and enterprises

Working at Height

These are briefing notes on the Work at Height Regulations - and some of the things you should be doing
about them.

What is work at height?

Work at height is work in any place, including a place at, above or below ground level, where a person could be
injured if they fell from that place. Access and egress to a place of work can also be work at height. 
Examples of work activities that are classified as working at height:

Working on trestles
Working on a flat roof
Erecting false work or formwork
Working on a ladder
Working at ground level adjacent to an excavation;
Working on formwork within an excavation
Working near or adjacent to fragile materials

Our key messages 

Carry out risk assessments for work at height activities and make sure that all work is Planned, Organised
and carried out by a competent person
Follow the  General Principles of Prevention for managing risks from work at height – take steps to avoid,
prevent or reduce risks
Chose the right work equipment and select collective measures to prevent falls (such as guard rails and
working platforms) before other measures which may only reduce the distance and consequences of a fall
(such as nets or airbags) or may only provide fall-arrest through personal protection equipment. 

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Requirements for employers

The Work at Height Regulations require employers to ensure that:

All work at height is properly planned and organised

A risk assessment is carried out for all work conducted at height
Appropriate work equipment is selected and used
People working at a height are competent
Equipment used for work at height is properly inspected and maintained
Risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled 

The risk assessment should include a careful examination of what harm could be caused from working at
height with a view to taking the effective steps to reduce the likelihood of this harm occurring, either through
avoiding the activity or, where this is not reasonably practicable, by carrying it out in a safe manner using work
equipment that is appropriate to the task and the level of risk.
 

Exceptions
Examples of where these regulations do not apply would include:

Walking up and down a staircase in an office

Working in an office on the upper floors of a temporary accommodation building
Sitting in a chair
Work carried out by private individuals on their own homes where this is not for the purpose of business or
trade

Related File(s)

Gen_Apps_Work_at_Height
Format:PDF | File Size:921KB

Height TT
Format:PDF | File Size:178KB

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9/20/22, 4:36 PM Work at Height - Health and Safety Authority

HSA MEWPs Guidance

Format:PDF | File Size:1.07MB

Working at Height in Agriculture - Info Sheet

Work other than very minor repairs is considered “Construction Work” and the extensive legal requirements
for construction work must be complied with.
Format:PDF | File Size:893KB

Accident and Dangerous Occurrence Reporting

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Complaint
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Display Screen Equipment
Education
Electricity
Employees Duties

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Explosives
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First Aid
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Machinery
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Manual Handling
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Call: 0818 289 389

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9:00am to 3:00pm, Monday to Friday.

Overseas callers should call +353 1 614 7000.
If you wish to make a complaint about a workplace, please use our online complaints
form to ensure your complaint is handled as efficiently as possible or
email contactus@hsa.ie.

       

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