David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government has taken to implement the health and safety requirements set out in EU Directive 2013/35/EU on the exposure of workers to risks arising from electromagnetic fields.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government has been working for the last three years to transpose the requirements in EU Directive 2013/35/EU by 1 July 2016. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has worked closely with industry, trade associations, unions and other affected parties in developing an implementation approach which ensures workers are properly protected and employers are not subject to unnecessary burdens.

Formal public consultation gave strong support for transposing the Directive’s requirements into standalone regulations, the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016, which are tightly focused on areas not covered by existing legislation.

In conjunction with stakeholders, HSE has developed practical and clear guidance for employers on complying with the new regulations and managing risks from electromagnetic radiation. This will be published to coincide with the introduction of the Regulations on 1 July 2016.