E N E M A N NBr. J. Sp. Med., Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 5-9, 1995

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Implications of health and safety legislation for theprofessional sportsperson

Colin W. Fuller BSc, PhDCentre for Hazard and Risk Management, Loughborough University of Technology, Loughborough LE11 3TU,UK

There are a large number of injuries in most professionalsports every year, and research interest has usually centredaround the medical aspects of these injuries. However,health and safety legislation also applies to professionalsport, and it is important, as with any other occupation, tounderstand the underlying causes of the incidents leadingto the injuries and to take steps to minimize futureinjuries. The introduction of the Management of Healthand Safety at Work Regulations 1992 formalized a riskassessment approach to health and safety issues; anapproach that has always been implicit in the Health andSafety at Work etc. Act 1974. This review assesses how therelevant UK health and safety legislation impacts on theprofessional sportsperson.

Keywords: sport, health, safety, injuries, legislation

Interest in accidents and injuries suffered by profes-sional sportspersons has increased in recent years asa result of several deaths and serious injuries. Thisinterest was heightened during 1994 by the deaths ofa number of leading sportsmen: Steve Wood (horseracing), Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger(motor racing), and Bradley Stone (boxing). Despitethe high level of injury and ill-health in professionalsportspersons, the subject is unfortunately generallytreated as being somehow different from injury andill-health in other occupations. However, it should beremembered that the professional sportsperson issubject to the same requirements of health and safetylegislation as an employee in most other occupations.A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reporta on the

hidden costs of accidents at work showed that thetrue costs to an organization can be more than tentimes the insured costs recovered. This situation isunlikely to be different in professional sport. Forexample, 'hidden costs' to a Premier League footballclub resulting from an injury to a key player mayinclude the following: (1) time spent by medical andtraining staff during the rehabilitation period; (2) costof buying a replacement player to cover the period ofinjury; (3) reduced income from lower match attend-ance figures; (4) reduced income from lower finalleague placing; (5) elimination from a cup competi-

tion; (6) failure to qualify for European competition;(7) loss of match and/or elimination from a Europeancompetition; (8) loss of advertising revenue; (9)increased insurance costs.

DiscussionTwo major pieces of legislation dominate the man-agement of health and safety issues for all people atwork: the Health and Safety at Work (HASAW) Act19742 and the Management of Health and Safety atWork iMHSW) Regulations 19923. Other Regula-tions are relevant to this issue but these onlyamplify and add detail to the general principles raisedin the other documents. A third major piece oflegislation, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases andDangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 19858,is also important and has far-reaching consequences.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974-

The HASAW Act places duties of a general nature onemployers, employees, the self-employed, providersof workplaces and manufacturers of work equipment;it also makes provision for establishing more detailedRegulations in specific areas of health and safety. PartI of the HASAW Act refers to the health, safety andwelfare of employees and the self-employed inconnection with work. The professional sportspersonis either an employee or self-employed person and,as such, the Act contains several important andrelevant sections.There are a number of general requirements in the

Act under Section 2, 'General duties of employers to theiremployees'. The legislation states that 'it shall be theduty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonablypracticable, the health, safety and welfare at work of allhis employees'. A sportsperson at work includes timeduring which a sporting event takes place, timebefore and after the event whilst at the location of theevent, time travelling to and from the event iftravelling together as a team and time spent training.The term so far as is reasonably practicable is not definedin the Act; however, its meaning has been establishedin case law. The HSE9 and the law courts accept thatthe statement means:

'the degree of risk in a particular activity orenvironment can be balanced against the time,

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Address for correspondence: Colin W. Fuller BSc, PhD, Centre forHazard and Risk Management, Loughborough University ofTechnology, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK

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trouble, cost and physical difficulty of takingmeasures to avoid the risk. If these are so dispro-portionate to the risk that it would be unreasonablefor the persons concerned to have to incur them toprevent it, they are not obliged to do so'.

The responsibility for preventing injury and ill-healthrests with those people who give rise to the risk andemployers therefore have an obligation to make thenecessary resources available, commensurate withthe risks involved, to reduce those risks. By the verynature of all sporting activities, a sportsperson is atgreater risk of injury or ill-health than someone notparticipating in sport. Therefore, employers mustdemonstrate that they have identified the hazardsinvolved with the sporting activity and assessed therisks associated with these hazards. Unless em-ployers have carried out this duty they can notdemonstrate that their actions fit the description of sofar as is reasonably practicable. The implementation ofthis general requirement for risk assessment has beenamplified in the MHSW Regulations 19923 and isdiscussed further below.

Section 2 of the HASAW Act also defines the dutyof employers to ensure that items of plant provided tocarry out work are safe and maintained in a safecondition. The Act defines, in section 53, plant as:'includes any machinery, equipment or appliance'.So, for example, teams providing racing cars wouldbe expected to ensure that the vehicles, taking intoaccount the speed and race conditions they will besubjected to, are appropriate and maintained in acondition to minimize the risk of accident and injuryto the driver. This would include the provision of thecorrect type of aerodynamic body design, tyres, rollbars and interior design to minimize the risk of injuryto the driver in the event of an accident during a race.Requirements covering work equipment are con-tained in the Provision and Use of Work EquipmentRegulations 19925.Under Section 3, 'General duties of employers and

self-employed to persons other than their employees' theAct requires every employer and self-employedperson to conduct their undertaking in such a way asto ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that personsnot in their employment are not exposed to risks totheir health or safety. This section of the Act isparticularly relevant in sport where there is thepotential for direct contact or interaction betweencompetitors (Figure 1). The implication is that, forexample, team tactics employed within a sportingevent should not put the health and safety of anothersportsperson at risk. This could be particularlyrelevant in sports such as rugby, football and icehockey where aggressive tactics by a team could leadto the injury of opposing players. Many of the laws orrules of a sport are included to reflect, and minimize,the risk of injury or ill-health. Hence, if it is knownthat a particular action can lead to the injury of aplayer then the sport's ruling body should change thelaws or rules of the sport to make the actionunacceptable. For example, the ways in which aplayer may bowl the ball to a batsman in cricket andthe way in which tackles may be made in rugby arerestricted in order to minimize the risk of injury.

Figure 1.

Arbiters of sporting events, e.g. umpires andreferees, have a responsibility to implement the lawsand rules of the sport to ensure the health and safetyof the participants. Arbiters, who fail to take actionagainst players who commit breaches of the laws ofthe game, are themselves not implementing theirduty of care to the other competitors (Figure 2).

Section 4, 'General duties of persons concerned withpremises to persons other than their employees' covers theresponsibilities that the operators of venues forsporting events have towards the professional sports-person and spectators, together with their duty toprovide safe places for the event to take place. Asportsperson can reasonably expect to have asporting arena provided that allows an event to takeplace with the level of risk of injury or ill-healthreduced so far is reasonably practicable to a minimum.This requirement can be illustrated by sports wherethere could be injury arising from collision withsurrounding barriers or as a result of the condition ofa playing surface.

Section 6, 'General duties of manufacturers etc. asregards articles and substances for use at work' highlightsthe responsibility of equipment designers and manu-facturers to the professional sportsperson for ensur-ing that their equipment designs are safe and without

Figure 2.

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however be confused with assault or causing injuryintentionally during competition.Under Section 47, 'Civil liability', the HASAW Act

specifically excludes civil liability for a breach of anyof the general duties required under the Act.Therefore, if a sportsperson is injured duringcompetition or training and wishes to claim forcompensation their only option is to bring a civil caseagainst an employer, fellow competitor or equipmentsupplier. In this case, it is necessary for the injuredsportsperson to demonstrate a failure by the defen-dant to show a duty of care to those with whom hecame into contact. There has been an increase in thewillingness of sportspersons to consider this optionusing the torts of negligence and assault. A furtherroute open to a sportsperson who has incurred injuryduring his work, as for any other occupation, is tolodge an industrial injury claim with the Departmentof Social Security.

risk when used. This is a wide ranging responsibilityand would include, for example, the need for thecorrect design of sports shoes to minimize the risk ofinjury or long-term health problems. The design ofprotective equipment should also be included in thisarea of responsibility, for example, cricketers' gloves,helmets and pads (Figure 3); however, surprisingly,the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regula-tions 19924 excludes protective equipment usedduring competitive sports.

Section 7, 'General duties of employees at work' has themost wide ranging implications for the sportsperson.There is a legal responsibility defined for employeesto not only ensure that they do not put themselves atunnecessary risk of injury but also to ensure that theydo not put any other person at risk of injury. Theimplication here is that provided a sportspersonperforms within the laws or rules of the governingbody of the sport it can be considered that reasonablecare is being taken of their own and others health andsafety. However, if there is a transgression of thelaws or rules of the sport, and it is reasonablyforeseeable that an injury to a sportsperson wouldresult from that transgression, then there is a breachof this section of the Act (Figure 4). This should not

Figure 4.

The Management of Health and Safety at WorkRegulations 1992

The two main Regulations, within the MHSWRegulations, affecting the professional sportspersonare Regulation 3, Risk assessment and Regulation 5,Health surveillance.

Regulation 3 requires every employer to make asuitable and sufficient assessment of risks to the healthand safety of employees and other people affected bytheir activities. It is essential therefore for employersto ensure that the way in which a sportsperson isexpected to carry out the sporting activity, either incompetition or in training, is managed in such a waythat the sportsperson is not put at risk of injury orill-health. To satisfy this requirement it is importantthat the employer is aware of the hazards and risks towhich a sportsperson is subjected and to define andimplement management systems to minimize the riskof injury and ill-health. For example, an employershould ensure that training schedules have beenassessed and are appropriate for out-of-season,pre-season and in-season requirements; efficientwarm-up regimes are employed prior to competition;equipment used is fit for the purpose and thesporting stadium is safe for the event taking place.Routine training schedules often require weight

training and this presents an interesting issue underhealth and safety legislation. The specialized aspectsrelating to the lifting of weights are covered in theManual Handling Operations Regulations 19927.These regulations primarily address the problems oflifting heavy loads as part of a work programme

rather than the lifting of weights as a means ofimproving muscle strength. However, the principlesand requirements of these regulations, in terms ofunderstanding the risks associated with lifting, are

equally valid in sports training.As a sportsperson is often required to carry out

onerous playing schedules, minor injuries receivedduring competition or training may not have time tofully recover between matches. Continuing to playmay increase the risk of more serious injury orlong-term ill-health. Although the short-term benefits

Br J Sp Med 1995; 29(1) 7

Figure 3.

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for the employer, and on occasions the player, areclear the long-term risks to the health of thesportsperson and to the asset value of the employershould be fully assessed.An employer is expected to provide the sportsper-

son with the necessary information on possibleinjuries and ill-health arising from the sport and thento provide adequate training and supervision tominimize the risk of injury or ill-health. Thisrequirement is of particular importance to a youngsportsperson where there is a possibility of over-useor over-extension of muscles and stress being placedon developing bones. The stress placed on the spinein fast bowlers, the knee and leg muscles in skiersand the elbow in tennis players are typical examples.Some sport's controlling bodies actively take steps toinstruct young players in these problems but whethersufficient of the sport's resources are channelled inthis direction is debatable. A wide discussion alsocentres around the problem of loss of consciousnessduring sporting events. There are several knownmedical problems associated with losing conscious-ness, and it is arguable that every sportsperson whosuffers from loss of consciousness during competitionshould be withdrawn from participation until amedical adviser has agreed that it is safe for them tocontinue.The employer should also arrange for protective

equipment to be used and regularly checked, e.g. inhorse racing this would include the use of a properlyfitted helmet, in football the use of shin pads and incricket it would be difficult to justify batsmen orclose-in fielders not wearing helmets when the risk ofhead injury from a cricket ball is clearly foreseeable(Figure 5).

Regulation 5, 'Health surveillance' is particularlyrelevant in sports where long-term health problemscan occur to the muscles, joints or bones of asportsperson. The employer should identify thoselong-term health problems associated with the sportand carry out an appropriate health surveillancescheme. Where the sportsperson moves from oneemployer to another, the information regarding theirwork-related health situation should be made avail-able to the new employer's medical advisers.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and DangerousOccurrences Regulations 1985

These Regulations8 could have the greatest impact onthe professional sportsperson if they were fullyimplemented. One purpose of the Regulations is toprovide reports to the HSE or the Local Authority ofany events resulting in accidents at work (Figure 6).These Regulations apply to events that arise inconnection with work activities covered by theHASAW Act 1974 and therefore, apply to allprofessional sports.

Regulation 3, 'Notification and reporting of injuries anddangerous occurrences' requires the responsible personto notify in writing the enforcing authority of a deathor specified injury resulting from a work activity. Thespecified injuries referred to are: (1) fracture of theskull, spine, pelvis and any bone in the arm, wrist(but not a bone in the hand), leg or ankle (but not abone in the foot); (2) amputation of a hand, foot,finger, thumb or toe; (3) the loss of sight of an eye or apenetrating injury to an eye and (4) any other injurywhich results in the person injured being admittedimmediately into hospital for more than 24 hours.There are many sports where accidents occur leadingto injuries of the type described above and theseinjuries should be reported to the appropriateauthority.The responsible person is also required to report

cases 'where a person at work is incapacitated forwork of a kind which he might reasonably beexpected to do, either under his contract of employ-ment, or, if there is no such contract, in the normalcourse of his work, for more than three consecutivedays'. This sub-section of Regulation 3 requires any'three-day' accident to be reported and would includethe case where a sportsperson could not carry outtheir normal training programme as a result of aninjury even though they may still be available for thenext scheduled sporting event.The original intention of RIDDOR was that injuries

arising from violence at work should be classified asreportable; however, this aspect of injury at work hasnot been implemented. However, proposed revisionsto these Regulations, by the HSE and anticipated to

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be implemented during 1995, are intended to includeinjuries arising from acts of violence as reportableinjuries. The implications for professional sport, aswith other occupations, of reporting an injury asarising from an act of violence and the consequentialpossibility of civil legal proceedings are most signifi-cant.

In conclusion, there are many sports where a riskassessment approach to health and safety issues, asrequired by the MHSW Regulations, would highlightareas needing improvement. It should not beassumed, however, that studies of health and safetyissues in sport will result in detrimental changes tothe nature of the sport or will detract from theirpopular appeal. Instead there are real benefits toeveryone associated with sport at all levels. Thebenefits include: the athlete's risk of injury orill-health being reduced; the employer's assets beingmaintained and spectators' enjoyment being in-creased by having the opportunity to see top athletescompeting in more events.Most occupations have seen an improvement in the

health and safety of the workforce as a result ofimplementing proactive health and safety manage-

ment. There is no reason to suggest that professionalsport would not benefit in a similar way.

AcknowledgementsPictures 1-4 and 6 are reproduced by permission of the LeicesterMercury Group Ltd and Picture 5 is reproduced by permission ofC. Lester.

References1 Health & Safety Executive. The Costs of Accidents at Work,

HS(G)96, 1993.2 Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. London, UK: HMSO.3 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.

London, UK: HMSO, (SI 1992 No 2051).4 Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. London,

UK: HMSO, (SI 1992 No 2966).5 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992. London,

UK: HMSO, (SI 1992 No 2932).6 Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. London,

UK: HMSO, (SI 1992 No 3004).7 Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. London, UK:

HMSO, (SI 1992 No 2793).8 Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regula-

tions 1985. London, UK: HMSO, (SI 1985 No 2023).9 Health & Safety Executive. Successful Health and Safety

Management, HS(G)65, 1993.

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