General duty
An overarching statutory obligation on employers and others to protect the health, safety and welfare of workers and others. Each framework has its own general duty clause; they are related but not identical.
The same term carries different legal meaning across frameworks. Read each jurisdiction entry carefully.
Also known as
By jurisdiction
UK HSE
“general duty”Exact equivalentSections 2 to 7 of HSWA 1974 impose general duties on employers, the self-employed, persons in control of premises, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and employees. The core employer duty is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
Irish HSA
“general duty”Close equivalentSection 8 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 imposes a general duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of employees.
US OSHA
“general duty clause”GDCClose equivalentSection 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act 1970 requires each employer to furnish a place of employment free from recognised hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This General Duty Clause is used where no specific OSHA standard applies.
Practitioner note: In OSHA context this is the General Duty Clause (s5(a)(1)), used where no specific standard covers the hazard. In GB/IE the general duty is in HSWA s2-3 and SHWWA s8. Same concept, different legal instrument and scope.