General duties of employees at work

23.—(1) Every employee must, while at work—

(a)take reasonable care for the safety of himself and of other relevant persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work;

(b)as regards any duty or requirement imposed on his employer by or under any provision of this Order, co-operate with him so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with; and

(c)inform his employer or any other employee with specific responsibility for the safety of his fellow employees—

(i)of any work situation which a person with the first-mentioned employee’s training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a serious and immediate danger to safety; and

(ii)of any matter which a person with the first-mentioned employee’s training and instruction would reasonably consider represented a shortcoming in the employer’s protection arrangements for safety,

in so far as that situation or matter either affects the safety of that first-mentioned employee or arises out of or in connection with his own activities at work, and has not previously been reported to his employer or to any other employee of that employer in accordance with this sub-paragraph.

 

What the Guidance says:

Every employee while at work, must take reasonable care of their own safety and
other relevant persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions. They must
co-operate with their employer, and inform the employer of any work situation which
they consider to be a serious and immediate danger. They should also inform their
employer or any other employee with specific responsibility for the safety of their
fellow employees of any shortcomings in the employer’s protection arrangements
for safety.
Whilst there is no compulsion in the Order for the responsible person to
include procedures for employees to alert them to any such shortcomings, enforcing
authorities may wish to discuss the possibility of this with the responsible person where
appropriate.
The duty is very similar to the duty contained in section 7 of the Health and Safety at
Work etc Act 1974. The purpose of the article is to ensure that a duty of care applies
to employees in relation to fire safety and may be enforced by the relevant enforcing
authority under the Order. It does not however absolve the responsible person from
compliance with the duty of care contained in article 8, or the requirements of other
articles in the Order. It should be noted that serious failures to comply with this duty
may constitute an offence under this article but does not provide an employer with a
defence in any criminal proceedings (see article 32(11)).