What’s an ACOP?
We often refer to Approved Codes of Practice and official Guidance notes. But what’s their true legal status, when do they have to be followed and when is it OK to do your own thing?
Information available
The one sure thing you can say about health and safety information is that you can find an awful lot of it if you go looking. The trick is knowing which information is the most important to your compliance with the law. Regulations are often accompanied by either “Guidance” notes or an “Approved Code of Practice” (ACOP). As an example, the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 come with a Guidance note whilst the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations of the same year come with an ACOP. Both the Guidance notes and the ACOP contain useful information but they have a slightly different legal status.
Approved code of practice
An ACOP should be thought of as a semi-legal document that provides you with the best method of complying with the legislation it accompanies. You don’t have to do what it states but if you don’t and are accused at a later time of contravening the regulations, the ACOP is likely to be used in court as evidence that you have failed to do all that was reasonably practicable. In short, you would need a very good reason for doing something other than as stated in an ACOP. The ACOP will provide you with technical information and measures to control the risks. Even though it can be used as evidence for non-compliance, an inspector is unlikely to take action if your systems don’t follow it, but do manage the risks of completing the task in a proportionate manner.
Guidance notes
Guidance notes, on the other hand, are often thought of as purely advisory and have no formal standing in law. Guidance is exactly what it suggests - a guide to complying with the regulations. You are at liberty to read the guidance and then decide to do something completely different! Like many things in health and safety this is all about balancing the risks against the money, time and trouble needed to eliminate them or mitigate against them. After a risk assessment you may decide not to follow a particular piece of guidance because you can manage the risks in a different yet acceptable way. The question is how do you make sure that you are doing something which provides legal compliance if you are not following the Guidance notes? The Guidance may not be compulsory but it does give you sound advice on good practice.
Tip. Remember, that whilst it may only be guidance, it is guidance from a good source, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). If you are going to do something else make sure it is as good or better than the Guidance recommends, and document your reasons.
Enforcement
The documents do not have absolute duties in them so they are open to your individual interpretation. They contain the term “so far as is reasonably practicable” which you should use as your justification for action or non-action. These documents identify controls which can be put into place without factoring in the cost implications and may not be either reasonable or practicable for your business. Find the balance between what is going to be acceptable to the HSE during an inspection and a level which is not going to mean excessive costs that don’t lead to benefits to your business.
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