It is the duty of an employer:

• to provide a safe place of work; 
• to provide a safe environment and safe systems of work, so far as is reasonably practicable; 
• to minimise risk arising from manual handling tasks.

This Policy has been drawn up to comply with The Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering work-related health and safety in the United Kingdom. It sets out an employer's responsibilities regarding health and safety at work. Employers have a 'duty of care' to look after, as far as possible, the health and safety and welfare of employees while they are at work. Not only are the employers responsible for the health and safety of their employees but they are also responsible for any visitors to their premises such as customers, suppliers and the general public.

Under section 2 (3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the written statement must:

• state general policy on health and safety;
• describe arrangements for carrying out policy;
• be brought to the notice of all employees;
• be revised whenever appropriate, and every revision must be brought to employees’ attention.

We have drafted this Policy to cover all the regulations and legislation relating to health and safety at work. This Policy is comprehensive and up to date.

This Manual Handling Policy contains the following clauses:

1. Objective 
2. Scope 
3. Legislative requirements
4. General function of management
5. Employer’s duties
6. Manager/supervisor duties
7. Employee duties
8. Information and Training 
9. Safe System of Work 
10. The elimination of hazardous manual handling activities
11. Assessment of risk
12. Incidents and ill health reporting 
13. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
14. Emergency Procedures
15. Training requirements 
16. New equipment, plant, machinery and substances
17. First aid
18. Communication
19. Health and safety poster 
20. Further Information

This Manual Handling Policy is in Microsoft Word format, written in plain English, easy to use and edit.