Posted By christopher harris My employer is having construction works completed within our yard/workshop area. CDM regs does not apply due to the short duration and number of workers. Apart from section 2 of HASAW act what other legal responsibilities apply to this work???

Posted By David P. Johnson "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the spelling, grammar and punctuation skills of their employees."

Posted By Cr8r David Who was that comment aimed at? I can't see the relevance to the original question. This is a discussion forum, not an English language exam. Who cares about typo's - it's the message that's important. ?????!!!!!!!!??????? There. Christopher - your question is a bit broad. We could list loads of regulations but it probably won't help you much. Can you be more specific?

Posted By David P. Johnson Cr8r, This forum may not be an examination of English; however when you consider that only a few weeks ago evidence was released that bad spelling and grammar is invariably bad business; and that our profession is constantly in the firing line as the medias favourite scapegoat, it is always prudent to try and convey a professional, dignified image as both practitoners, but also in many cases businesspeople. David

Posted By David P. Johnson If you doubt their competence because they cannot supply certificates or other proof of competence, I would serviously question if it is appropriate to make use of their services. Whilst they are on your site you have a dute to co-operate for safety and health - the chances are your own H&S policy statements requires adequate information, instruction, training and supervision. As for specific legal requirements, it is difficult to state without knowing the nature of the work being done more fully. Some of the more generic ones which you may have already thought of: Management Regulations Construction (Head Protection) Regulations Welfare Regulations - [are they making use of your facilities or providing their own] I would most probably approach this situation by requesting a copy of their risk assessment for the job, whilst also completing your own, and comparing the two. If they have considered everything that is relevant they should match up pretty well. Good luck. David

Posted By Mark Talbot Christopher, all the same basic laws apply whether you are working under CDM or not. Yes competencies and training requirements need to be met. There is plenty of guidance on the HSE website under 'contractors'. Spelling is still not a legally defined standard, unlike France and others where the State set the requirements, English is in common ownership and flexible. You write as you like, mate. Using the accepted spellings will however, deprive some people of their fun - which might be a good idea, eh?

Posted By christopher harris David I am sorry to point out that duty is not spelt with E on the end of the word, however mute is!!!! Moving swiftly on and returning to the original thread, my concern is not specific regulations appertaining to construction. What are the ramifications in criminal/civil law to my employer if the bulider injures himself????

Posted By Mark Talbot Sorry David, I can't resist ... There are some good books on grammar and punctuation. They might point out that starting a sentence with "And" is poor practice, asking a question ("What can I say,..") requires a question mark even when it is rhetorical, and maybe that "frank" needs a 'y' in that position - or maybe a comma. There are other slips, but they don't impact on your message. As I said in my other post though, English should be allowed to flow and so long as the reader understands a worthwhile message, perhaps we shouldn't correct each other? (smile)

Posted By John McFeely TecSP, MHCIMA, AMRSH What was the question again?

Posted By Peter Longworth I've got a question for David. You're not a NEBOSH examiner by any chance are you, because if you aren't you should think of applying.