An Employer's Checklist for Manual Handling Compliance

Manual handling is one of the most frequently cited causes of workplace injury in Ireland, and it is also one of the easiest areas for an inspection to find gaps, because the paperwork trail is either there or it is not.

1. Identify the handling in your workplace

Walk the site with the people doing the work. Deliveries, waste removal, stock moves, equipment setup, patient moves, event work — list the tasks rather than the job titles.

2. Avoid it where you reasonably can

Can the delivery be pallet-dropped closer to where it is needed? Can the supplier split a 25 kg bag into two? Can shelving be reorganised so heavy items sit between knee and shoulder height? These changes usually cost less than the sick leave they prevent.

3. Provide and maintain equipment

Trolleys, sack trucks, pallet trucks, hoists, slide sheets and lifting aids only reduce risk if they are available where the work happens, serviced, and people are trained to use them. An unusable hoist in a corridor is a hazard, not a control.

4. Write and review the risk assessments

• Use the Task, Individual, Load, Environment structure
• Record the controls, not just the hazards
• Name who reviewed it and when
• Review after any change of process, equipment or premises
• Review after every reportable handling injury

5. Train, and keep the evidence

Training should be given before the person starts the task and repeated on a defined cycle. Keep the certificate, the date, the expiry and what the course covered. For higher-risk roles, keep evidence of assessed technique, not just attendance.

6. Know your reporting obligations

An accident that prevents an employee from doing their normal work for more than three consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident, is reportable to the Health and Safety Authority. Reports are made through the HSA's online system and there are deadlines, so build it into your incident procedure rather than dealing with it ad hoc.

7. Check that it is working

Supervisor spot checks, toolbox talks, and a look at your own injury and near-miss data will tell you more than the training folder does. If the same task keeps producing complaints of back pain, the control is wrong, not the worker.

Compliance is a by-product of doing the work properly. Aim at fewer injuries and the paperwork tends to look after itself.