Employers must ensure that workers understand health and safety instructions

Employers must take particular care to ensure that workers understand health and safety instructions. This is particularly important when English is not their first language, for example where the worker is a refugee.

In the case of Tasci v Pekalp of London Ltd,, Times Law Reports 17 January 2001, the Court of Appeal ruled that the duty of an employer to train an employee in the use of a woodworking machine set out in the Woodworking Machines Regulations not only involved giving a comprehensive explanation in ordinary language of the dangers involved in the use of the machine but also involved some appraisal as to whether the employee understood the instructions and the dangers of the machine.