Understanding Terminology - Part 3

“Absolute” “Practicable” and “Reasonably Practicable”

When applying health and safety legislation to your organisation.

Reasonably Practicable

In part three, we are going to look at the term “Reasonably Practicable” using the example of work at height.

So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable (SFAIRP)

So far as is reasonably practicable is open to interpretation and as an employer, you must be careful to ensure that you use your professional judgment to ensure that you have taken all necessary sensible precautions to reduce the risk as low as is partially possible.

“When a legal duty is qualified by ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, duty holders must assess the measures needed to protect workers and others.”

With professional judgment being based on:

“A risk assessment, balancing risk against cost, time, or effort.”

Introducing the element of professional judgment by the employer is why many organisations find this a tricky statement to navigate and often over complicate the process.

A good example of so far as is reasonably practicable is The Work at Height Regulations 2005 which state:

“Every employer shall ensure that work at height is carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe.”

If you need to access work at height once a year to inspect, maintain or carry out a repair, you might choose to transfer the risk by contracting the work to specialist company who are skilled, competent, experienced and have the most suitable equipment to carry out the works. It may cost more than undertaking the work yourself but based on time, cost and effort, it may be the most reasonably practicable solution.

If access to work at height is required once a week, based on cost alone, you may choose to carry out the work in-house by a skilled employee.

Is a ladder suitable? Maybe a mobile elevating working platform? A designed scaffolding rig? A permanent access ladder and gantry?

All of the options outlines above will impact the time it takes to carry out the work, the amount of effort involved and will have varying levels of cost.

A reasonably practicable solution will reduce the risk without adding any unnecessarily or costly measures and will be a balance of:

“Time, cost and effort”

If you are challenged as an organisation as to your chosen method for carrying out work at height in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable, it is the duty of the organisation to prove that additional measures over and above those chosen where not reasonably practicable, feasible or justified.

Failure to comply will result in the organisation being presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence. It is worth noting that in health and safety Law, the burden of proof is reversed in comparison to most legal cases

“The organisation will be resumed guilty and must prove their innocence.”

Summary

• Reasonably Practicable Definition: Employers must take all necessary precautions to reduce risks as much as possible, considering cost, time, and effort.

• Professional Judgment: Employers need to use their professional judgment to determine the most appropriate measures for risk reduction.

• Reasonably Practicable Solution: Balances risk reduction with time, cost, and effort, avoiding unnecessary or costly measures.

• Legal Burden of Proof: Organisations must prove that chosen methods are reasonably practicable and that additional measures were not feasible or justified.

• Consequence of Non-Compliance: Organisations are presumed guilty until they can prove their innocence, reversing the typical legal burden of proof.

At Yorkshire Health and Safety, we build strong relationships with clients based on communication, collaboration, commitment, trust and aligning with your key safety performance goals.

With over 30 years’ experience delivering successful projects for clients and working with clients’ principal contractors, we know the challenges that come with delivering successful projects, be it commercial, industrial, construction manufacturing, housebuilding, refurbishment, shopfitting and office interiors.

If you require further assistance with any of the topics raised in this post or assistance with current or future projects, please get in touch.

Yorkshire Health and Safety