Legislation & Responsibilities

Which piece of UK legislation places the primary general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees at work?

• AThe Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974✓
• BThe Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• CThe Equality Act 2010
• DThe Road Traffic Act 1988

Answer: The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASWA) is the foundation of UK workplace safety law and places general duties on employers, employees and the self-employed. Forklift operation falls squarely within its scope.

Under which regulations is a lift truck classed as 'work equipment' that must be suitable, maintained and operated only by trained, competent people?

• AThe Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• BThe Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)✓
• CThe Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
• DThe Building Regulations 2010

Answer: PUWER 1998 governs the provision and use of work equipment, including fork lift trucks, requiring it to be suitable, maintained and used only by trained operators. It works alongside LOLER for lifting operations.

Which regulations specifically cover the thorough examination of a forklift truck used for lifting loads?

• AThe Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• BThe Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
• CThe Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
• DThe Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)✓

Answer: LOLER 1998 requires that lifting equipment such as a forklift undergoes a thorough examination, normally at least every 12 months (or 6 months if it lifts people). PUWER covers its general use, while LOLER covers the lifting function.

Under HASWA 1974, what is a forklift operator's own legal duty while at work?

• ATo set the rated capacity shown on the data plate
• BTo take reasonable care for their own and others' health and safety and co-operate with their employer✓
• CTo write the company's health and safety policy
• DTo carry out annual thorough examinations of the truck

Answer: Section 7 of HASWA places a duty on every employee to take reasonable care of themselves and others and to co-operate with the employer on safety matters. Thorough examinations and policy-writing are employer duties.

How often does the law require a lift truck operator to have refresher training?

• AEvery twelve months, at the same time as the truck's thorough examination
• BEvery three years, after which the operator's certificate automatically expires
• CEvery five years, in line with the validity of the original training certificate
• DThere is no set interval in law — re-assessment is based on the operator and the job✓

Answer: This is the most repeated myth in the trade. HSE is explicit that there is no specific requirement to provide refresher training after set intervals. What triggers re-assessment is the operator and the circumstances: someone who has not driven for a while, an occasional user, anyone showing unsafe practice, or anyone involved in an accident or near miss. Employers often set three or five years as their own policy, which is sensible — but it is policy, not law.

What are the three stages of lift truck operator training set out in HSE's ACOP?

• AInduction training, supervised probation, and an annual competence re-assessment
• BTheory training, practical training, and a final written examination set by HSE
• CBasic training, specific job training, and familiarisation training on the actual site✓
• DClassroom training, simulator training, and a certificate issued by the manufacturer

Answer: L117 sets out basic training in the skills of operating the truck, specific job training covering the particular truck, attachments and loads the operator will handle, and familiarisation training on the actual site under supervision. All three matter — a well-trained operator who has never seen your racking, gradients or traffic routes is not yet a safe operator on your site.

Where must the basic stage of lift truck operator training be carried out?

• AAt the truck manufacturer's premises, using their own demonstration equipment
• BOn the job, so the operator learns using the real loads from the start
• COff the job, away from the pressures of normal production work✓
• DAnywhere the employer chooses, as the location is not specified in the guidance

Answer: Basic training has to be off the job. Someone learning the controls of a truck while also being expected to keep a production line supplied will make mistakes under pressure, and a lift truck is unforgiving of them. Off the job does not have to mean off site — it means away from the demands of normal work.

Is an employee who only drives a lift truck occasionally required to be trained?

• ANo, as long as a trained operator is somewhere on site and can be called on
• BNo, provided they hold a full driving licence for a car or a van
• CYes — the same basic training standard applies however rarely they operate✓
• DOnly if they operate the truck for more than four hours in any single week

Answer: The ACOP standard applies even to people who operate a truck only occasionally, and occasional users are one of the specific groups HSE says may need re-assessment. If anything the risk is higher: skills fade, and the once-a-month driver is the one who forgets the load is still raised. A car licence is irrelevant — it tests nothing that applies here.

What is the minimum age for operating a lift truck at work?

• AOver the minimum school leaving age, except in ports where it is 18✓
• BEighteen everywhere, with no exceptions in any workplace or industry
• CSeventeen, matching the minimum age for holding a UK driving licence
• DTwenty-one, because of the insurance requirements that apply to lifting equipment

Answer: HSE's position is that operators should be over the minimum school leaving age, with ports the exception at 18. Anyone under 18 counts as a young person, so a specific risk assessment is required and their inexperience has to be taken into account. There is no link to the driving licence age — a lift truck is work equipment, not a road vehicle.

A forklift truck overturns on site. Nobody is injured. What must the employer do?

• ANothing formal, provided the truck is inspected and repaired before it goes back into use
• BRecord it in the accident book only, since a report is needed only where someone is hurt
• CReport it to HSE — the overturn of lifting equipment is a dangerous occurrence✓
• DReport it only if the truck was actually carrying a load at the moment it overturned

Answer: Under RIDDOR the collapse or overturning of any lifting equipment, or the failure of a load-bearing part, is a reportable dangerous occurrence in its own right — no injury required, load or no load. Dangerous occurrences are reportable precisely because they are the near misses that show what could have happened. The truck must also be examined before it is used again.

Who is responsible for making sure only trained and authorised people use a lift truck?

• AThe truck's supplier, as part of the maintenance contract on the equipment
• BThe operator, who must decide whether they are competent before each shift
• CThe training provider that issued the operator's certificate of basic training
• DThe employer, who must control access to the truck and authorise its operators✓

Answer: PUWER puts the duty on the employer to ensure work equipment is used only by people who have received adequate training, and that means actively controlling who can get on the truck — keys secured, authorisation in writing, supervision that notices the untrained. Leaving a truck keyed up in a warehouse is handing it to whoever fancies a go.

What is the status of a certificate of basic training in lift truck operation?

• AA legal permit that entitles the holder to operate any type of lift truck anywhere
• BA licence issued under statute, which HSE can suspend or withdraw for unsafe operation
• CEvidence of training — there is no state licensing system for lift truck operators✓
• DA qualification that must be renewed with HSE every three years to remain valid

Answer: People talk about a "forklift licence", but there is no state system for training lift truck operators and no national register. What you hold is evidence that you were trained and assessed to a standard by an accrediting body. It says nothing about a truck type you were never trained on, and it is the employer — not a licensing authority — who authorises you to drive on their site.