Common Law and Revision Questions

Revision questions for NGC1 element 1 Foundations in health and safety
These will probably be the first set of revision questions that you attempt. The questions are, as their name indicates, intended to help you revise the main points of each element. Having said that, many of the questions could also be found, little changed, in your Certificate examination.
Past examinations
Actual past papers must form an integral part of your revision programme as you prepare for the examinations; your tutor will advise you on obtaining past papers and will then mark and comment upon your attempts at the questions - undertaken under ‘examination conditions’ if you please (ie without reference to course materials and carried out within the usual time constraints). The first ‘actual’ past examination you might attempt is the ‘sample examination paper’ that you will find in the
NGC Guide - we have a model answer for this sample paper, prepared for us by a long time NEBOSH examiner.
Analysis of past questions
Also remember to consult our analyses of questions that have appeared in the NGC examinations over recent years. Patterns of questions emerge as similar questions may occur on a regular basis. It should be emphasised that, even though the syllabus changes, the great majority of questions from the last five or six years will still be relevant and could thus re-appear little changed in your examination. (The major exception here relates to pre2005 questions on fire legislation in unit NGC2 - don’t attempt these.) The separate ‘Past papers,
Practice papers’ leaflet (above) provides the student with a range of ‘real’ past papers to attempt and submit to the tutor for comment and discussion.

Revision questions
Note that the revision questions are simply to test your knowledge on particular areas; they are not intended to be examination-type questions in terms of either style or length of answer required.
In fact, NEBOSH examination ‘questions’ are actually instructions rather than questions. A key part of the instruction is the ‘action verb’ (describe, outline, list, etc), which is intended to indicate the depth of answer required. Thus, instead of asking
‘Which organisations enforce health and safety law in the UK?’
(see Question 4 below), a NEBOSH ‘question’ might instruct you to ‘List the organisations that enforce health and safety law in the Make sure you also consult
UK’.
the series of leaflets in which we analyse the examination
Generally, our element-by-element revision questions fall into questions of recent years.
‘syllabus content’ order. Here they are for element NGC1/1 ...

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Question 1
Outline three reasons for maintaining high standards of health and safety in the workplace. Question 2
Why do you think that good standards of health and safety are not always achieved? Question 3
Distinguish between health, safety, welfare and environmental protection.
Question 4
Which organisations enforce health and safety law in the UK? … and, as a supplementary question, which UK bodies prosecute health and safety offences in the courts?
Question 5
List the powers that an HSE inspector can use to investigate whether there has been a breach of health and safety law.
Question 6
What actions might an HSE inspector consider when s/he believes that a breach of health and safety law has been committed - and what might determine the actual course of action taken?
Question 7
Make two lists, one headed ‘criminal law’ and the other ‘civil law’. Now take each of the 20 items below and place them under the heading that you think most appropriate. You should end up with an equal number of items under each heading and, if you are careful about the ordering, they should form complementary pairs:
Time limitations usually apply
Purpose is to settle disputes and / or to provide a remedy (eg compensation)
Concerned with the rights / rules of Society
Onus of proof is placed primarily
Action is between two individuals* on the prosecution
Primary purpose is to punish (also
Offences are largely written to rehabilitate and to deter) down in statute law
Cannot insure against penalties
Can (or sometimes must)
Burden of proof is ‘on the
Much is based on common law insure against liabilities balance of probabilities’
Concerned with the rights of individuals*
Aim is to decide the degree of culpability or liability (if any) of the defendant

Onus of proof is placed on the claimant
Cases are heard by the civil courts (eg County Courts, High
Court [in England and Wales])

Cases are heard by the criminal courts
(eg Magistrates’ Courts, Crown Court
[in England and Wales])

Action is between the State and an individual*
Burden of proof is ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’

Aim is to decide the guilt or innocence of the accused

Normally there are no time limits

* In law, an ‘individual’ is a person or other single entity such as a company or other organisation. The concept of the ‘legal person’ applies.

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Revision questions www.praa.org.uk Question 8
Provide a brief description of civil law starting with the sentence ‘Civil law is concerned with the rights of individuals and the duties of care that individuals owe to each other’. In your answer, try to include a mention of the laws of contract and tort, giving examples of the various torts that apply. You could also mention some of the other types of dispute that are considered by the civil courts. You might want to refer to some of the items identified in your answer to Question 7.
Question 9
Which two elements make up the ‘body of law’? Briefly distinguish between them. Question 10
Fill in the blanks:
For a criminal case to succeed, the prosecution must prove ... … … … that the accused is guilty.
For a civil case to succeed, the claimant must show ... … … … … that the defendant is liable.
Question 11
Although NEBOSH Diploma candidates need to know several legal cases that now form part of ‘case law’, this is not so at Certificate level. However, you should appreciate the significance of the 1938 case of Wilsons and Clyde Coal
Company Ltd v English, which helped to clarify the four main elements of the duty of care that employers owe their employees. What are these four elements?
Question 12
The deciding factors in an action under the tort of negligence often relate to
‘reasonableness’ and ‘reasonable foreseeability’. Explain what these two terms mean in this context.
Question 13
Fill in the blanks:
To be successful in a claim under the tort of negligence, the following three points have to be satisfied: that the defendant owed the claimant a ... of ... that the … of … was breached due to the defendant’s … that the claimant suffered … as a … result of the breach.
You should also know the five requirements that have to be established for a successful claim under the ‘tort’ of breach of statutory duty. What are they? Check your study material if necessary.
Question 14
Why is ‘contributory negligence’ sometimes referred to as a ‘partial defence’?

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Question 15
The HSW Act 1974 is an ‘enabling’ Act. What does this mean?
Question 16
Explain the function and legal status of (a) HSE approved codes of practice, and
(b) HSE published guidance. Give two examples of each.
Question 17
Explain what is required when a legal duty must be complied with ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. What effect does a ‘qualified’ duty such as this have on a criminal prosecution?
Question 18
Name the parties who have duties under the main requirements of the HSW Act
(sections 2 to 9) and briefly explain what these duties are.
Question 19
In cases where the employer is an organisation (a ‘body corporate’), who else, apart from the organisation, can be convicted for a breach of a duty placed upon employers (eg under HSW Act section 2), and under what circumstances?
Question 20
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
(MHSWR), one of the ‘principles of prevention’ to be applied is ‘giving collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures’. What does this mean? You may want to give one or two examples to help with your explanation.
Question 21
What duties are placed on employees under (a) the HSW Act, and (b) MHSWR?
Question 22
Other than ‘temporary workers’, which two particular categories of employee involve specific requirements under MHSWR?
Question 23
What does an employer need to provide in order to fulfil his duty to ensure the health and safety of a contractor under section 3 of the HSW Act?
[While you are not required to know the details of legal cases at Certificate level, you may nevertheless want to refer briefly to the prosecutions of Swan
Hunter Shipbuilders in 1982 and Associated Octel in 1996 when answering this question.] Question 24
What sort of information might an employer request from prospective contractors in order to assess their ability to work safely?
Question 25
What are the particular problems associated with contract work in terms of health and safety?

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Revision questions www.praa.org.uk Question 26
List the five key parties who have duties under the Construction (Design and
Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM).
Question 27
Under what circumstances does a construction project need to be notified to HSE and who has the responsibility for such notification?
Question 28
What are the purposes of (a) the construction phase plan, and (b) the health and safety file, both of which are requirements under CDM?

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