Posted By Ken Taylor Regulation 10 of the Workplace (HS&W) Regs says that 'every room where persons work shall have sufficient floor area, height and unoccupied space for purposes of health, safety and welfare'. Para 76 of the ACoP says that 'workrooms, except those where people only work for short periods, should be of sufficient height (from floor to ceiling) over most of the room to enable safe access to workstations' and adds that 'in older buildings with obstructions such as low beams the obstruction should be clearly marked'. Does anyone have any case law, experience, official guidance, views, etc regarding: 1. what is a 'short period' and whether this refers to individual employees only being there for short periods or to the room only being in use for work for short periods; 2. a definition of 'most of the room' (ie Does this mean over 50%?); 3. whether 'obstructions such as low beams' would include low parts of 'Gothic' style aches, diagonal timbers, trusses and braces supporting angled ceilings and other architectural features that are not horizontal or necessarily overhead; and 4. whether 'clearly marked' requires additions such as warning signs or hazard tape or if evident features such as black-stained wood against a white ceiling might be regarded as already clearly marked. You might guess from the above that I am dealing with insurers in connection with a building of some antiquity which would be swathed in signs and hazard tape throughout if the stricter interpretation of the ACoP was followed - to an extent that the real non-evident low headroom hazards would be indistinguishable from the rest and probably go unnoticed. I realise that the ACoP is only one way of meeting the duties imposed by the Regs but this is what gets quoted when the claims are prepared.

Posted By Ken Taylor Thanks, Laurie. I have been of the same opinion with regard to persons entering historic buildings and have concentrated on signing the less-evident hazards rather than going for hazard sign 'overkill'. However, when it comes to insurers' preparedness to defend claims it is beginning to seem that the ACoP is becoming more like the 'letter of the law'. Your examples of 'short term' are clear but the problem arises with rooms like toilets, waiting rooms, rest rooms, corridors, etc where any individual may only be there for short visits but the area is frequently in use by different employees. There seems to be a lack of clarity of interpretation in the ACoP on this and the other points I have raised.