health and social care settings
Legislation is a law or collection of laws passed by Parliament to regulate our work and lives for the
better. It gives people liability to follow legislation as within the legislation there are acts and within
these acts there policies and procedures. Policies are documents outlining the expected standards
and the procedures are the framework of how to carry out a certain objective. These must be
followed therefore people have a job of liability to abide by this. Otherwise from not upholding a
liability role, this is an act against legislation and is then seen as breaking the law.
Within health and social care settings it is mandatory that the acts set out by the legislation and the
policies and procedures that come under the act are followed at all times. This is essential in
providing the best care possible.
In order for a health and social care setting to run, by law there has to be certain regulations and
acts which must be followed and acted on for the setting to aspire. As well before starting a job,
employees will need to sign a contract explaining the importance of following policies and
procedures within their job title.
Therefore within every health and social care setting there is an act recognised as the ‘Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974’. This act is essential for any work place, also especially essential for my
work placement at Davenham Day Care Centre, as the staff hold liability for the vulnerable adults
they care for so this act must be followed to effectively carry out their roles. I am now going to
outline this act below to indicate why it is essential for any work place.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Firstly this act works as a source of protection for the health, safety and welfare of employees and
the public who enter the premises. It stresses the importance of safe place of employment and a
safe working environment, free from any hazards and potential risks. If accidents in the workplace
do occur there must be a record of all accidents and incidents. Provide training to ensure health and
safety standards are met. Provide and maintenance of work equipment and work systems and lastly
safe handling of storage and substances is crucial.
Within a business there needs to be a health and safety at work policy. This outlines the approach
and arrangements put into practise for ensuring management for health and safety in the
organisation or setting. Every business has to have a health and safety policy and they have to be