Private Premises

The request was partially successful.

Dear Health and Safety Executive,

I am aware that a postal worker has successfully taken legal action against a private homeowner for an injury incurred on her property while delivering mail.

1. Does the HSE consider a private dwelling to be a 'premises', i.e. a place of business or commerce, for the purposes of legislation and enforcement? Please refer to the above incident and case in 2010. Please provide details of other cases in your records where private homeowners have suffered legal action as a result of visitors injuring themselves.

2. Should I post an entry notice requiring that all persons other than friends, family and neighbours are required to complete an induction training course before they can enter my private dwelling, would this be as enforceable as if it were in other commercial premises where I have worked? My main aim here is to offer some control to my liability to incidents and accidents by visitors. I do have hazards in my private property that could lead to injury, accident or death by persons unaware of their existence.

3. I own a dog which is kept safely either inside my privately owned house or in the enclosed rear garden. Am I protected from prosecution if I post a notice warning of the presence a dog should anyone enter my premises without my permission (express or implied)? Could you provide any literature or guidance on this matter that the HSE has issued in the past or present?

I thank you for your time dealing with this FOI request and look forward to as full and complete a response as you can provide.

Yours faithfully,

R Austin

Infoline Admin,

Ref: HPHS-8FQC3M

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your correspondence.

With regards to your FOI request we will require further detail of the case
you are referring to, to be able to help further. If you could provide
detail of where and when this occurred, we may be able to help further.

With regards to your other questions, you will need to speak with the local
HSE office for advice. However, it is unclear from your correspondence
where in the country you are based. If you can provide this, I will forward
on your enquiry for interpretation.

I hope this helps, but if you require further assistance, please do not
hesitate to contact this address again or telephone HSE Infoline on 08453
450055.

Yours sincerely

Helena Phillips

HSE Infoline

HSE is committed to maintaining your personal information in a manner that
meets the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Sometimes, we may need to pass your details to another government
department or public body so that they can help you with your enquiry.

HSE Infoline is provided by Connaught Compliance Services Ltd on behalf of
HSE

Dear Infoline Admin,

Thank you for your prompt reply Helena.

Please refer to this website link for more information relevant to specific case I mentioned:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...

The name and town of the lady are in the article. It appears the actual incident occurred in the first half of 2008 but this I have deduced from the article. A report would have been sent by Royal mail to the HSE as an injury occurred while the gentleman was at work. You may want to refer to this. A court decision was reached apparently in August 2010.

I am based near Wigan, Lancashire however this should be irrelevant as the issue should be a national one.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

R Austin

Infoline Admin,

Ref: HPHS-8FUDKT

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your further correspondence.

The story you refer to on to on the Daily Mail's website refers to a claim
for compensation against the householder not a case brought forward by HSE
for breaches of health and safety legislation. Compensation claims are made
under civil legislation rather than criminal legislation. As such HSE will
not hold details of this case.

Health and safety legislation does not place any duties on 'domestic'
householders. Our legislation relates to the protection of employees at
work but places duties on employers and landlords of properties where work
is taking place.

I hope this helps, but if you require further assistance, please do not
hesitate to contact this address again or telephone HSE Infoline on 08453
450055.

Yours sincerely

Helena Phillips

HSE Infoline

HSE is committed to maintaining your personal information in a manner that
meets the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Sometimes, we may need to pass your details to another government
department or public body so that they can help you with your enquiry.

HSE Infoline is provided by Connaught Compliance Services Ltd on behalf of
HSE

Dear Infoline Admin,

Thank you for your informative reply, Helena. I am now left wondering from your response what is the difference between a workplace and a domestic home (or whatever formal title you give a privately owned dwelling). Could you provide the HSE's definition of these please? Does the HSE then consider a domestic home not to be a place of business (work)?

To clarify my reasons for this seemingly strange request, I am aware that it is my Person, my Legal Fiction, my Strawman and NOT me as a living human being with a soul that owns my home. It is registered under my Legal Fiction and not me, as a human being. The Person, as a corporate entity (formed at the Birth Registration event), has been created with the sole purpose of trade and commerce. It is in effect a Trust. Please feel free to consult your legal team on this matter for clarification. Therefore every time I pay a bill on the telephone here or receive a letter at this address addressed to the Person I am engaging in commerce. This then makes my home a place of business and thus arguably a workplace. I could quote from various legal textbooks and dictionaries and can do so if you require.

The fact that in the case mentioned, Person A successfully had legal redress against Person B for injuries suffered at their domestic address is entirely a commercial matter and thus cannot be cleanly differentiated from any other location where corporate liability is present. If the place was not a corporate premises then I would not have to register it and any claim for damages would fall squarely under Common Law and not statute or Civil Law. Civil Law deals with contracts and contracts can only be created between corporate entities. Therefore to quote Civil Law is admitting that this is a corporate matter and must surely then take place in a corporate premises where business is being carried out.

In effect, my understanding is that by not preventing any employee (a corporate entity) of a business to enter my private domestic land I am granting Him/Her as a Person implied right of access and accepting any and all liability for that Person's well-being and safety while they are on my land. I am not happy with this scenario and would like to take control of my liability and to whom I accept liability for.

Interestingly I have been advised by a Council bin man (Refuse Collector being his Corporate persona or identity) that the reason we have to place our bins at the border of our property is due to the Council's understanding of the liability issue. This also seems to make the statement that a public footpath is a place of business (or workplace) and gives me more cause for confusion? This seems to agree with my own understanding from my own research and I am looking for some clarification from the HSE on this matter.

I'm sure from my clarification that you will understand why I ask for this information as it is an important matter for all home owners.

Yours sincerely,

R Austin

Health and Safety Executive

1 Attachment

Dear Sir
In answer to your questions

1.A private dwelling only becomes a "premises" if a business is being run
from it. If any civil action is taken against a private dwelling then HSE
would not be involved and would not hold any of the details.

2.In a private dwelling/home HSE has no jurisdiction and any action
taken against the owner from injuries sustained would fall to civil law
and not criminal law under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

3.Again injuries which are incurred from an animal in your home or private
dwelling would be subject to other relevant authorities and again would
not fall within the remit of HSE, and do not therefore hold any literature
on this subject.
I must reiterate the comments made earlier:

Health and safety legislation does not place any duties on
'domestic'
householders/ home owners. Our legislation relates to the protection of
employees at
work but places duties on employers and landlords of properties
where work
is taking place.

Regards
Jannette Moorhead
FOD NW
Health and Safety Executive
2 Victoria Place
Carlisle

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