Posted By Ciaran McAleenan Steve The short answer to your question is No. Each EU state has interpreted the Directives and legislated for them according to their own established legal frameworks. Having said that the good news is that most of H&S training and advice has nothing to do with the law. I have long held the view that if you work to the principles of international best practice (with an eye to specific legal requirements from the National Statutory Safety Body in the country that you are working) then the largest portion of your material will easily cross jurisdictions. For instance confined spaces legislation differs between Ireland, UK, Australia and US however the safety principles remain the same; * Avoid entry (if possible) * Enter only with a safe system of work * Have an emergency response plan in place. I am over simplifying here but that is the bottom line. Now there may, for example, be a requirement for “10 minutes” escape time in one jurisdiction and “15 minutes” in another but these are the details that can be added to the core information. Where the local legislation conflicts or is at odds with UK law then compare and work with whichever is the stronger, unless of course your own safe working practices are already strong. Where the local jurisdiction hasn’t got an equivalent piece of legislation you could work to the UK requirements or better still work to international best practice. Consider the following. The core legal requirement for employers in Europe and in US is to provide work places and environments that are free from recognised hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. The parent law is then supplemented by regulations, approved codes of practice and guides that provide more specific details on how the fundamental duty may be met in regard to specific work operations and industries. The specifics of how the law is presented within each jurisdiction differs but the foundation remains constant. Thus, in Europe for example, the basic premise in construction safety legislation is that projects should be designed, built, maintained and demolished in a manner that does not cause harm to the workers or others who come in contact with them. But there are many different ways of how this is presented. On the island of Ireland this is presented in two entirely different ways and those of us who work across jurisdictions need to be aware of that. On the up side it is only the legal context that differs, normally and the bulk of training or advice offered needs no reference to the law, since it should be based primarily on international best practice, which by definition will go beyond statutory obligations. There is a saying “the law is for idiots” and those of us working in the safety field need to be comfortable with the advice we give or training we provide, not because it is the law but because we are pushing the boundaries; Identifying where the harm exists and providing solutions for preventing the harm being realised. If it was the law that saved lives or prevented injury then how is that despite the existence of our present laws, the introduction of new laws, and the continuing implementation of supplementary regulations and codes of practice, workplace accidents continue to occur unabated, albeit with a decreasing rate of incidence, in many instances. It is not the standard of the law that causes accidents in the workplace. If the fundamental legal requirement is to provide safe working environments and products, then we do not need additional laws to control industry, rather we need to work with what we have and manage it better. What is called for is dynamic management (including provision of training, advice and information), focussed on the elimination of hazards or control of the work operation/ environment. Best wishes Ciaran