Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

What Does Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Mean?

Created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a national independent watchdog in the United Kingdom that oversees, regulates, and enforces laws and regulations associated with work-related health, safety, illness, and wellbeing. It functions in the public interest to reduce work-related accidents, serious injury, and death across the workforce.

Safeopedia Explains Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

The HSE is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. As an executive non-departmental public body, the HSE is responsible for investigating industrial accidents. It is also tasked with the provision of the Employment Medical Advisory Service, which operates as part of its Field Operations Directorate. The HSE focuses on regulation of health and safety in a number of sectors in the industry.

The responsibilities of the HSE include the following:

• Proposing regulations on workplace health, safety, and welfare
• Enforcing occupational health standards across England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland
• Encouraging research, publication, and training in connection with workplace health and safety
• Advising and keeping the general public adequately informed on such matters