Recent regulations clarify that UK designers are indeed responsible for health and safety issues for all designs they and their employees prepare. The changes were made partly in reaction to a recent case where the HSE brought legal proceedings against Paul Wurth SA after a fatal accident occurred during installation of a conveyor at British Steel’s Port Talbot works. In that case, an employee had prepared the designs, and Paul Wurth SA was found not responsible under the Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations of 1994. Under the amended CDM Regulations 2000, designers will be held responsible for the safety of all designs prepared by them personally as well as by an employee or other person under their control.
Based on a report from workplacelaw.net
