Health and Safety
Every working day in Northern Ireland there are people who suffer an injury at work.
In addition, many thousands of workdays are lost as a result of work-related illnesses.
Workplace accidents and ill-health are costly to both workers, their families and to business in terms of absenteeism, personal injury claims, rising insurance premiums, damage to property or equipment etc.
In an attempt to reduce accidents and ill health, our health and safety officers inspect workplaces and provide advice and assistance to business owners, employees and members of the public.
Enforcement is triggered largely by intervention through inspections and investigations.
Inspections are organised according to a system of prioritisation based on risk.
Environmental Health are responsible for securing occupational health and safety standards in certain workplaces within the Mid and East Antrim area (see table below).
What about the Health and Safety Executive?
Health and Safety law is also enforced by inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), however these inspectors are responsible for enforcement in different sectors.
A breakdown is given in the table below:
Division of responsibilities for council inspectors and HSENI
| Type of Business | Responsible authority |
|---|---|
| Retail outlets | Council |
| Wholesale outlets | Council |
| Officers | Council |
| Restaurants | Council |
| Hotels | Council |
| Residential homes | Council |
| Places of entertainment | Council |
| Manufacturing | HSENI |
| Construction | HSENI |
| Mines and Quarries | HSENI |
| Chemical plants | HSENI |
| Agriculture | HSENI |
| Schools and Universities | HSENI |
| Transport | HSENI |
| Hospitals | HSENI |