Posted By Simon Harrison Can anyone let me know, or point me in the direction of someone who knows, if UK H&S legislation applies in Gibraltar? In particular on the rather large MOD establishment there. Many thanks Simon H

Posted By Derek Holt All UK MOD establishments, wherever they are situated, are classed as UK terrirory and as such the same regulations apply to them there as they do on the UK mainland.

Posted By Rob T CR8R, I'm afraid your not quite right in your leading statement. I'm not talking about MoD or Embassy establishments here but I need to ensure that people are aware that UK criminal legislation does not apply abroad in other cases (not talking about "off-shore" here). The local criminal and civil law will apply in the first instance however there are certain situations where Private International Law (aka Conflict of Laws) which is civil, may be used against a UK firm working abroad. These are when the controlling voice of the company is UK based. In most cases PIL will not be used if the country concerned has suitable laws to cover the incident and suitable recompense for injured individuals. The mainstay is "Forum non Conveniens" which effectively decides which is the best place to hear a case. (This is all in a very small nutshell and if you want more info please do contact me). In most cases I use the local laws first as an absolute minimum but insist (where possible) the "spirit of English and Welsh law" should be applied (apologies to Scotland and NI). The only specific absolute duty associated with UK staff travelling abroad is for a risk assessment to be done but even this would be difficult for the HSE to enforce. The civil duty of care still applies but there may be a variance between expats and locals depending on local laws. There's a lot more on this but I don't want to bore you, other than to say there can be a lot of H&S planning associated with working abroad which unfortunately many UK firms are unaware of.

Posted By Rob T Hi CR8R I am sorry to to maybe be a little pedantic but I can wholeheartedly assure you that with the exception of "off-shore" regulations, Crown property (i.e. Embassy's) and some elements of the EU (which are changing), UK criminal law will never apply to H&S abroad.

Posted By Simon Harrison Many thanks one and each for the responses. I have now had a chance to visit the "site" to carry out an initial due diligence assessment. The upshot seems to be Gib legislation is not as demanding so we will be following UK requirements where these exceed the local versions; this is strongly encouraged by MOD but they cannot force us to do so. I must say, some interesting issues have already been identified! Rgds Simon