Employers have a general duty under section 2 of the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health safety and welfare of their employees at work.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require that employers, so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured or take appropriate steps to reduce the risk to injury to those employees arising out of their undertaking any such manual handling operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

Manual Handling is defined as any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or by bodily force.

Regulation 3 of Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations requires employers to make a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risks presented by work activities to the health and safety of employees and other persons.