Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	Law of Health and Safety at Work
School	Birmingham Law School
Department	Law
Module Code	08 21927
Module Lead	G Applebey
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	All LLB Programmes It is an optional module offered to final year students along with a variety of other optional modules
Contact Hours	Lecture-33 hours Tutorial-3 hours Guided independent study-164 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	On the basis of a detailed examination of primary law, secondary legislation and case law: The history of employer's liability; strict liability and regulatory criminal offences; and Health and Safety at Work Act 1974; the role of the Health and Safety Executive and Enforcement; The European Framework directive and implementing British Regulations; Corporate manslaughter and the proposal offence of corporate killing; major disasters, Zeebrugge to the Paddington rail crash; Employer's liability at common law; the tort of breach of statutory duty; selected case studies on certain types of claim, e.g. Occupational stress; the relationship between civil and criminal liability; social security claims for industrial disablement benefits; the process of prescribing diseases, the work of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council; employment relation aspects of health and safety, worker participation, etc; the European Union's role in the working environment; the Working Time Regulations 1999; the Human Rights Act 1998 and Health and Safety Law. The International Labour Organisation and International Law.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module the student should be able to: Understand the key principles and theories regulatory criminal offences in general and in the field of Health and Safety Law in particular. Demonstrate a reasonably detailed knowledge of the main features of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 Evaluate the policy issues surrounding Health and Safety Law Understand the main rules and theories principles of civil actions for personal injuries in the course of occupations, with particular emphasis on the tort of breach of statutory duty. Show an understanding of the practical aspects of major areas of concern such as occupational stress, asbestos related claims, etc. Understand the importance of the European Union as a source of Health ad Safety at Work Law. Evaluate the Labour law and employment relations aspects of health and safety. Gain an insight and understanding of the social security system in the area of industrial injuries and diseases Evaluate the work of non-governmental advisory committees as law making bodies. Make a personal and reasoned judgment on the effectiveness of all the above systems, and of ongoing and possible future reform. Demonstrate an understanding of an important practical area of law in context of four different but inter-related areas of law.
Assessment	21927-01 : Essay 1 : Coursework (50%) 21927-02 : Essay 2 : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessments: 2 x 3,000 word essays (50% each) Reassessment: This is a final year module.
Other
Reading List