영국의 위험성 평가와 시사점

The United Kingdom has imposed a duty of suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks faced by employees at work upon employers and the self-employed through the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999(SI 1999/3242). The process of risk assessment is considered to be the cornerstone of good health and safety management. Failure to comply with the duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment is one of the most commonly prosecuted health and safety offences and gives rise to civil liability in the majority cases in the United Kingdom. This article deals with legal foundations, enforcement powers and enforcement methods of the British risk assessment. The legal foundations are Council Directive 89/391/EEC, Regulations 1999 mentioned above, and Approved Code of Practice concerned. The important enforcement powers are Health and Safety Executive, Local Authorities, and Inspectors. The main enforcement methods of risk assessment are improvement notice/prohibition notice and criminal penalties. The features of the British system could be summarized like followings: ① self-imposed control on the employers and emphasis of strict liability on them, ② comprehensive and strong competence of inspectors. To apply the British system relevantly to Korean industry, the followings have to be considered seriously: ① decide the regal status of risk assessment appropriately, ② restructure Korean legal frame of health and safety laws, ③ strengthen the powers of inspectors.